106 MARCH 2020
Fernando Lopez Jr.’s mezcal
collection, brought back from
travels to Oaxaca
below, from left: Fer nando Jr.,
Bricia, and Paulina Lopez, with
their dog, Xoco
THERE’S ONE DISH that brings the three Lopez siblings back
to their childhood in Oaxaca: enfrijoladas. This simple black
bean enchilada made with chile de arból, avocado leaves,
epazote, and queso fresco “screams being Oaxacan,” says
Paulina. “I have never eaten enfrijoladas anywhere else. That
taste of beans is such a part of who I am.” (Pictured at right;
see the recipe on p. 111.)
Paulina makes enfrijoladas all the time, and her three
daughters love them. No matter how busy things get at
Guelaguetza, Paulina always comes home for dinner with
her family. “Sometimes I don’t get to cook it myself,” she
says, “but we at least sit together and talk about our days.”
For Bricia, cooking at home is all about leisure. “When I’m
cooking outside of my home, even though I really love it, it’s
always work for me,” Bricia says. “But when I’m at home, it’s
such a beautiful thing to do.”
Unlike his older sisters, Fernando Jr. doesn’t have kids, but
he loves cooking at home with his wife. They just bought a
sous vide machine and like to experiment together. “We’ll
choose one recipe and do it five times in a row to perfect it,”
Fernando says. “Then we’ll find another one.”
Although the siblings live separately now, the bond they
formed as kids has stayed with them. When the Lopezes
first moved to Los Angeles, both parents and all four kids
crammed into one bedroom. “My brother always says that
it was because we were in such a close space that we were
forced to be close to one another,” Bricia says. “Now as adults
running a business together, we realize that there is nothing
else but family.”
GUELAGUETZA
Los Angeles
THE LOPEZ FAMILY
