Tuesday morning, I left Las Vegas and headed home, tired but optimistic after nearly a week on the road. I spoke to Latinos about their hopes and fears this election year, and took so many notes that I could fill a legal pad. There were so many quotes, so many anecdotes, and one more delicious spot left.
For 87 years, San Bernardino’s Mitla Cafe has been serving Cal-Mex classics like chile Colorado and huevos rancheros. Best known for their hard shell tacos. Ground beef mixed with mashed potatoes is topped with a blizzard of orange cheese, green lettuce, and red tomatoes, held together by a freshly fried shell that glistens like an ingot.
7 days. 7 states. Almost 3,000 miles. Gustavo Arellano speaks to Latinos from across the Southwest about their hopes, fears, and dreams in this election year.
The restaurant was located on old Route 66, where travelers regularly stopped to eat and rest in comfortable booths before their final leg to Los Angeles.
Glenn Bell, a World War II veteran who opened a hamburger stand across the street in the early 1950s, eats at Mitla’s in the evening and then returns to his shop to reverse engineer delicious tacos. did.
Mitra’s owners eventually wised up and advised him to learn how to properly cook Mitra.
Bell ultimately lost his hamburger stand in the divorce, but his dream of becoming a Mexican food millionaire was not realized. He opened one taco chain after another until he landed on the Taco Bell store that made him rich.
Meanwhile, Mitra Café became an Inland Empire institution, hosting Cesar Chavez and other Mexican-American leaders. Generations of families line up every weekend. Employees continued to work for decades. The restaurant sponsored a Little League team and hosted community groups almost weekly.
They remained in the Westside neighborhood even as the city weathered an economic recession. When current Interstate 215 opened in the 1960s, Route 66 traffic was sucked away. Small businesses and large employers closed. Long-time residents have moved out. San Bernardino leaders focused on redeveloping downtown.
Irene Montaño, the founder’s daughter-in-law, said she was considering selling or closing when I talked about Mitra’s in my 2012 book, “Tacos USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.” Ta.
That same year, Montaño’s son Michael and his cousin Stephen Oquendo took over the family business. Since then, a renaissance has continued.
The two renovated the banquet hall next door, and it is now booked out most of the year. They have introduced new specials and tweaked recipes. For example, instead of canned tomatoes for salsa, I roast tomatoes like I used to.
Since Michael Montaño took over Café Mitra after his cousin Stephen Oquendo left, Café Mitra has experienced a resurgence.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
Mitra has been featured on Netflix, The New York Times, “CBS Sunday Morning” and I often praise her, and has gained a new generation of fans. I was happy to do it, not only because the food is amazing, but also because it symbolizes how little we as Latinos actually know about ourselves.
Unless you’re from the Inland Empire, you’ve probably never heard of Mitla Cafe. And it’s embarrassing that neither you nor I knew. I tell my students in class how if we don’t know our past, how can we face our present and future?
Visions of combo platters and amazing tacos filled my heart as I sipped on the 15-item menu. The trip was uneventful, except for a small red sign on a wire fence outside Victorville that read “Viva Trump.”
Oh, I thought so. presidential election.
The past few years have been tough for Mitra, and not just because of COVID-19. A bridge construction project has shut off traffic from Route 215. After that was completed in 2019, additional bridge construction took place on Mount Vernon Avenue (formerly Route 66), blocking traffic from the south.
To save money, Montaño and Oquendo are currently closing Mitra on Mondays and Tuesdays. There’s no historic taco for me on the last day of a Southwest road trip.
Instead, the cousins suggested they meet at Chubbsy’s Burgers, owned by a former street vendor who had recently opened a brick-and-mortar location.
“You want symmetry?” Montaño, 48, said in a deep voice. As we started eating, he pointed to a row of chairs near the register. “They bought it from an old Taco Bell.”
Even though the shopping plaza around the small restaurant was deserted, there was a line outside. Security guards were patrolling outside.
I asked him how San Bernardino was doing.
“It’s a mess, man. It’s a mess in here,” said the burly 51-year-old Oquendo.
For decades, San Bernardino has existed as a metaphor for the decline of the California dream. A Times article nine years ago labeled the city a “broken city”, sparking a fierce backlash from residents, some of whom shrugged their shoulders. Two City Council members have come under fire from their colleagues in the past four years, having emerged from bankruptcy two years ago.
Construction continues on the Mount Vernon Bridge Replacement Project near Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
Above all, Montaño and Oquendo blame city officials for their lack of vision. San Bernardino is not the only city in the Inland Empire to suffer economic disinvestment over the past 30 years, but many have done something about it, Montaño noted.
“There was a big recession in Redlands,” he said, eating tater tots. “Their malls were empty. Their downtown was pretty sparse. And now when you go there, there are bars, restaurants, mom-and-pop stores.”
Montaño contrasted this with San Bernardino, where some city council members have bragged about bringing chain restaurants near the California State University campus.
“‘It’s going to be busy,’ they say — ‘there’s going to be a line of people trying to get on there,'” he says. “I don’t want that.”
He pointed to the tater tots and smashburger, then around Chubbsy. “I want this.”
Cousins feels that favoring national brands over local businesses is emblematic of today’s partisan politics and disregard for what really matters. This is what they experienced after Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by Mitra Cafe in 2022.
Over chips, salsa and guacamole, the cousins grilled Newsom about the Mount Vernon Bridge project. Montaño said the governor immediately directed officials to investigate why the large mound of dirt that was contaminating the neighborhood was still there.
Clockwise from left: Mitra Cafe co-owner Steven Oquendo, 51, and his cousin Michael Montaño, 48, listen to Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
A day later, the mound was gone.
“Newsom sat down and asked some serious questions, which was really great,” Montaño said. “No media or reporting allowed.”
Afterward, the cousins posted photos of Newsom’s visit on Instagram.
Soon, longtime customers began accusing Montaño and Oquendo of being Newsom’s stooges, even though neither are Democrats. Many vowed never to return. Other politicians have since visited Mitra, but the cousins have learned their lesson.
“That’s why I’m afraid to talk about politics in public,” Oquendo confessed. “Because we’re incredibly divisive right now.”
“Everything is a national issue now,” Montaño replied. “Some of the things that are talked about nationally are the first thing that comes out of people’s mouths, and it’s not like, ‘Oh, did you see what’s going on in San Bernardino’s 5th Ward?’ Do you know what’s happening in District 3?
“And when it affects local people, they blame the state side,” Oquendo added. “We never knew if the mayor was a Republican or if the city council was Republican. Now they’re putting that at the forefront. To get an audience, it’s something they identify with. Because it is necessary.”
Michael Montaño and his cousin were the subject of political criticism after posting about meeting California Governor Gavin Newsom at their restaurant, Café Mitra.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
“Instead of trying to fit everything into a national narrative, we want people to hear local voices and apply it to their local context,” Montaño said.
To me, the easiest way to shut someone up about the presidential election is to ask them the names of all their city council members. Very few people can. Then I encourage them to take an interest in local politics and tell them that it affects their daily lives much more than the bulls on the Beltway.
The delicious tacos weren’t the only reason I wanted to visit Mitla. Oquendo is a Republican but has never voted for Trump. Mr. Montaño is a liberal independent. To avoid another backlash for Mr. Mitra from his clients, the pair did not reveal which presidential candidate they supported. I asked instead how they put aside their political differences.
Everything is now a national issue. Some of the things that are talked about nationally are the first thing that comes out of people’s mouths, not like, “Did you see what’s going on in the 5th Ward of San Bernardino?” Do you know what’s happening in District 3? ”
— Michael Montaño
“I have a lot more opinions than he does,” Oquendo admitted. He disagrees with his cousin primarily on how to reform local government. “But I’ll yell and I’ll tell him, and he’ll say, ‘Okay, now listen.’” This, this, this, this, this. And it makes sense. ”
Montaño laughed. Oquendo continued. “And that’s what people today lack. They can’t sit there and listen to the other person and be like, ‘Okay, okay?’ That makes sense. Combine the two to find the answer. ”
“If we are small business owners, we have to be flexible and agile,” Montaño added.
“I have certain political beliefs,” Oquendo said. “But you want to welcome everyone.”
Finally, I asked him if he had any hope for the future.
“It always has to be that way,” Oquendo said.
Republican Steven Oquendo said he and his cousin are afraid to talk about politics publicly after encountering backlash from their meeting with the governor. “Because we’re incredibly divisive right now.”
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
“There were times over the last 12 years when we had more confidence than cash,” Montaño replied. “But we have always remained true to what we have done and continue to believe that things will take care of themselves.”
I took Route 215, which became Route 91, then Route 55, and then I headed home. To solve the mystery of the Latino vote this election year, we traveled nearly 3,000 miles in seven days across seven states, from borders to deserts, valleys to mountains, casinos to small restaurants.
No answer was found. Anyone who says they have it is a liar. But I can tell you this. My faith in this country and its future is stronger than ever because of the Latinos I have met.
Montaño and Oquendo, Clifton Town Councilwoman Jeanine Carrillo and Española farmer Don Bastos, La Mutua of Colorado, the Latino Youth Leadership Council, and all the other people I talked to – they said this Making the country better.
These are the Americans Harris and the Trump campaign need to rally behind, and the Americans we need to keep this country great as Latinos make up an ever-increasing share of the population. It is.
And they are ready to make a decision in this election. Is this country ready for them?
