On Jan. 6, the line to Panadería El Cortez will be long – most likely spilling out into the parking lot of the small, family-owned Stanton bakery.
ROSCA DE REYES, OR THREE KINGS BREAD, IS MADE TO CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY ON JAN. 6. PHOTOS BY DREW KELLEY/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Customers will be waiting to buy the Rosca de Reyes, or Three Kings Bread, in celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany – when the Magi came to greet the baby Jesus and honor him with gifts.
In anticipation of the rush – and the projected sale of about 800 roscas – owners and St. Polycarp parishioners Ruben and Celia Lopez will start preparing for their busiest day of the year a couple of days beforehand.
“Two days before, they work day and night,” explained their son Ivan Lopez, who is a seminarian for the Diocese of Orange. “They go home and rest for just a couple of hours.”
WHAT IS ROSCA DE REYES?
This sweet bread is made in the shape of a circle, because as Celia explained, “there is no beginning and no end.”
Made to resemble the crowns of the Wise Men, the bread has varied colors of gold, green and red as well as candied “jewels” of cherries and figs.
The bread is flavored with cinnamon and topped with powdered sugar.
A tiny plastic baby Jesus is hidden inside because King Herod was out to find and kill the infant.
CELIA LOPEZ HOLDS A MINIATURE PLASTIC BABY JESUS THAT IS HIDDEN IN THE ROSCA DE REYES, OR THREE KINGS BREAD.
The Mexican tradition is to buy the rosca because you’re looking to find baby Jesus. According to Ivan, the whole family will gather, and everybody will cut a slice of the bread. Whoever gets the plastic baby is in charge of hosting a party and serving tamales on Feb. 2, which is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord,
commemorating Jesus’s first appearance in Temple 40 days after His birth.
THE TINY PLASTIC BABY JESUS IS SEEN IN A NEWLY SLICED PIECE OF THREE KINGS BREAD.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Along with Ivan, daughters Evelyn and Xochilth are also on hand to help during this busy time of year. Celia’s 86 year-old mother is also a familiar face in the bakery – and the expert tamale maker.
“They also invite friends to come help,” added Xochilth, who just earned her doctorate in higher education from UCLA. “Priests and seminarians come help too.”
Ivan added: “This is another story, but a bunch of seminarians have come here to learn Spanish while making tamales.”
Offering more than food is nothing new for the Lopez family. Since they opened the bakery in 2004, generations have been coming into the bakery not just for their delicious menu, but for conversation – and even pearls of wisdom.
“They come in to get bread and they leave crying because my mom says something to inspire them,” said Evelyn, who like her sister is active in Christ Cathedral’s Hispanic young adult ministry.
Maybe they sign up for a faith retreat or decide to marry their partner. It seems Celia, with her warm and loving persona, just has a way with people.
“My parents work a lot with people on the streets,” explained Xochilth. “They provide a bit of money and food in exchange for work.”
Evelyn mentioned Alex, a gentleman who once was homeless.
“My parents helped him and now he has a house, he has a car.”
A homeless woman regularly spray washes the bakery carts out back in exchange for a bit of help. Another fellow cleans the oven trays in exchange for $5, bread, two tamales and a drink.
At Thanksgiving they have a feast for people who are living on the streets.
“It’s their ministry as well.”
THE LOPEZ FAMILY HAS OWNED AND OPERATED PANADERÍA EL CORTEZ IN STANTON SINCE 2004.
KEEPING THE FAITH
Arriving in this country with nothing, Ruben and Celia worked hard to save up and make their dreams reality, while relying on their Faith to see them through difficult times.
“My parents have always showed us the importance of hard work,” said Ivan, who as a kid would come to work with his dad early on the weekends and fall asleep on top of the bags of flour.
“But primarily the most important thing is the faith,” added Ivan who said if he wasn’t going to be a priest, he’d be a baker.
“I attribute my vocation to seeing my dad praying at night, with the Bible open.”
Panadería El Cortez is located at 7506 Cerritos Ave. in Stanton. (714) 229-9142. Hours: Daily 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. https://www.instagram.com/panaderiaelcortez