Interview no. 1793

Interviewee

Luis Orozco

Interviewer

Joshua I. Lopez

Project

El Paso Food Voices -- Public Kitchens

Summary of Interview

Luis Orozco's life in food began at a young age. He was born in El Paso, Texas in 1952 but grew up on a ranch in Chihuahua. As a child, he was inspired by a pots and pans salesmen who set his pans ablaze in a cooking demonstration at a county fair. In awe of the performance, Luis decided he wanted to become a chef. As a young teenager, his family supported him, and paid for his bus ticket to New York so that he can go to school to become a chef. Although there were community colleges and schools in the 1960s that offered professional training, specifically for cooks, Luis was not of age yet, so he worked full time to save money for tuition and to earn a living. When he was finally of age, he enrolled and completed his education as a cook. However, shortly after, he was drafted to the Vietnam War. Because of his outlook on war, he refused to go, and he was threatened with prison. He learned, though, that instead of serving in the military he could work as kitchen staff at the US Embassy in Saigon. He took the job. Since then, he made his way to San Diego where he worked his way up in the kitchen staff at the International Hotel. There, he would begin to form community, and meet his husband, David, who was the butcher at the hotel. Following a tragic accident that killed David, Luis moved back to El Paso. Since returning to El Paso, Luis worked at various restaurants until his heart attack. Luis wanted a slower-paced life following his heart attack, so at his doctor's recommendation, he worked part time. Although his part time schedule helped, Luis felt that it would be best to leave the fast-paced and stressful world of the professional kitchen behind. In his search for work, Luis came across the Borderland Rainbow Center (BRC), El Paso’s LGBTQ+ community center. There, he met Julie Lucas, director of the BRC’s food pantry. After expressing interest in volunteering, the BRC offered Luis a part-time position assisting Julie in the management of the food pantry. Luis has been working for the food pantry since, and he has been pivotal in the many food-centered events and community building activities at the BRC, such as the BRC Brunch and volunteer cook outs. For Luis, food has continued to be a vehicle towards community.

Date of Interview

6-18-2022

Length of Interview

48 minutes

Tape Number

No. 1793

Transcriber

Joshua Lopez

Interview Number

No. 1793

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

Comments

Joshua Lopez transcribed the Summary.

For information on obtaining a transcript of this interview, please contact The Institute for Oral History

Recommended Citation

Orozco, Luis, "Interview no. 1793" (2022). Public Kitchens. 11.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/ep_public/11