La Borinqueña Mexi-catessen, Oakland's home-grown source for everything from tamales and sweet bread to Latino advocacy and history, celebrates 66 years running with a huge birthday fiesta during the Oaklavia street festival Sunday June 27.

Keeping it in the Family

Tina "Tamale" Ramos has clearly inherited the work ethic of her grandmother, La Borinqueña’s business founder, "Mama" Rosa Lopez. Ramos buzzed with excitement about the birthday celebration this weekend and explained the rich history of her family's business. 

"I'm especially excited to celebrate the legacy that my grandmother Rosa started back in 1944," Ramos said. "I unfortunately didn't get to meet her, but I love hearing stories about the good old days. Everyone was poor but nobody knew it. We were and are a thriving community."

The history of La Borinqueña started with Lopez's purchase of a corner store in West Oakland 66 years ago. She sold groceries and other Latin goods to neighbors in the predominately Latin community from that first store on 5th and Brush. While the shop has moved three times since then, it eventually settled in Old Oakland on 7th Street.

"My family was fortunate enough to purchase property back in the 50s. We already owned property here so we chose to remain here," Ramos said.

Restaurant Thrives Despite Displacement of Latin Community

But this location has not been without its challenges. The construction of the interchange connecting the Nimitz freeway (Interstate 880) to the MacArthur Freeway (a portion of I-580) led to a massive displacement of the Latino community housed in those neighborhoods in the late 70s.

During that time, an estimated 500 to 700 homes were evicted by the California Department of Transportation in the name of Oakland's industrial development, said Jose Arredondo, coordinator of the Latino History Project in Oakland, and family friend of La Borinqueña.

This caused the Latin community in West Oakland, also La Borinqueña’s customers, to migrate to East Oakland, San Leandro and beyond, Arrendondo said.

Through that transitional period, La Borinqueña remained a constant force in Oakland, serving Mama Rosa's legendary pork tamales to the changing faces of her customers.

"Back when we were the corner grocery store, our customers were residents who lived in the neighborhood. In the 70s, our customers were the construction workers (building the freeways). In the 80s and 90s, they were office workers. In 2000, by then, we had already started seeing an influx of residents in condominiums," Ramos said.

The history of Latin communities in West Oakland has gone more or less unrecorded, running the risk of this displacement going unrecognized by younger generations.

"When Tina took over (La Borinqueña), she was very active in the Latino History Project," Arredondo said. "She helped just remind people that they were still there."

Ramos worked to promote awareness of the displacement of the Latino community and helped piece together the historical fabric of those communities.

Beyond the Tamale

While some may argue that the restaurant’s legendary tamales and sweet bread are enough of a gift to Oakland, La Borinqueña has done more for the community than just tantalize taste buds.

Tina "Tamale" Ramos has served as a focal point and voice for La Borinqueña’s contributions to various organizations in Oakland.

"Tina is a true renaissance woman. She wears many different hats and, in doing so, she strives to meld her various roles," wrote Sue Mark, co-founder of 10,000 Steps, in an e-mail to Oakland Local.

Besides being the public face and co-owner of La Borinqueña, Ramos has participated in many organizations that help support and celebrate the culture of Oakland. (See her full biography.)

10,000 Steps is one of these organizations. Ramos is an ambassador for the park stewardship program that works to construct a walking narrative of the history of Oakland’s four parks, one of which is Jefferson Square Park, longtime neighbor of La Borinqueña.

"10,000 Steps in Oakland is doing what it can to help preserve the history of the community that did exist and currently exists, including Jefferson Square Park," Ramos said.
 
Oakland organizations and neighbors will coming together to celebrate La Borinqueña’s birthday Sunday afternoon. Mark will speak during the event to share a few words in honor of the Mexi-catessen.

"The fact that La Borinqueña has remained a family-owned business is also very valuable: the survival of local communities depends on a web of committed neighbors and business-owners,” Mark said. “La Borinqueña is what I would call an indigenous gem. It is a de facto meeting point for lots of people; those who now live and work in the neighborhood and even still for those who have moved away.”

Streets Close for Birthday Fiesta

La Borinqueña’s birthday party happening during the Oaklavia street festival was a perfect collaboration for what Ramos called the “good old days” when life was slower paced and the streets belonged to pedestrians.

“Not being a such a rush to get from point A to point B, that’s what Rosa lived, and my mother too, until the early 70s. And, for the last 10 years, that’s been my way of life too,” Ramos said. “Everything old becomes new again.”

La Borinqueña’s birthday celebration will feature a special live performance by The Bomba y Plena Workshop and a guest appearance by the Raiderettes. There will be a presentation of special proclamations by Councilmember Ignacio de la Fuente, Carletta Starks (of local councilmember Nancy Nadel’s office), Richard Cowen (of Oakland councilmember Jean Quan’s office) and Andre Jones (of councilmember Rebecca Kaplan’s office). See a full schedule of the birthday events here.

The birthday party menu will showcase the restaurant’s culinary talents with chorizo and eggs, sangria, strawberry aquafresca, mimosas and even vegan options.

Mama Rosa’s traditional pork tamales will no doubt steal the show, as generations celebrate the restaurant that has united Oakland locals over the years and kept La Borinqueña thriving.

“I think it’s that sense of history,” Ramos said. “Our food, particularly our tamales, it’s a labor of love, we consider love an ingredient and people say they can taste that we enjoy what we do.”