DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Lala's Café in Webb County, Texas. Now, every great story has a beginning, and this one starts far from Mirando City. Eduarda Banda — known to just about everybody as Lala — was born near San Luis Potosí, Mexico, on October 13, 1910.
She came to the United States with her parents and siblings, and the family settled on the Johnson Ranch right there in Webb County. Then, at the age of twelve, life moved her again — this time to the oil boomtown of Mirando City. An oil boomtown, mind you.
The kind of place humming with rough work, fast money, and hungry people. Lala was paying attention. In 1931, she married Domingo Rodriguez, and they had two children together.
But after four and a half years of marriage, Domingo passed away, leaving Lala to support those two children on her own. Now, some folks might've folded under that weight. Lala did not fold.
She went to work — cooking for several families in the Mirando City area, learning to prepare a diverse array of foods to suit the tastes of different clients. Every kitchen taught her something. She was building something, even if she didn't know yet exactly what it was.
Then came December 31, 1953. New Year's Eve. While the rest of the world was counting down to midnight, Lala Banda was opening a café.
A small four-room house on Main Street, with help from her brother Fructoso — known as Tío — Banda. That was the beginning of Lala's Café. The café was soon successful.
People came from miles around just to get those hand-made tortillas and whatever was coming out of Lala's kitchen. The demand kept growing, and growing, until by 1964 Lala had built a brand-new café — right across the street from the original location. Airmen and their families from Laredo Air Force Base made the trip.
Carloads rolled in from surrounding communities. Religious groups gathered there. The Dallas Morning News took notice.
So did the San Antonio Express News, the Laredo Times, and Texas Monthly. A small four-room house on Main Street in Mirando City had become, by any honest measure, a destination. Lala Banda — a woman of limited means, from humble beginnings, a pioneer in her community — passed away in the spring of 1973.
But here's the thing about a legacy built on something as real as good food made with honest hands: it doesn't pass away with the person. Her family carries on the work, still serving Mirando City and Webb County, still living out Lala's culinary art. She opened on the last night of one year and fed people for the rest of her life.
That's a story that lands right where it ought to.
What the marker says
LALA'S CAFE EDUARDA (LALA) BANDA WAS BORN NEAR SAN LUIS POTOSI, MEXICO, ON OCTOBER 13, 1910. SHE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES WITH HER PARENTS AND SIBLINGS AND LIVED ON THE JOHNSON RANCH IN WEBB COUNTY. AT THE AGE OF TWELVE, SHE MOVED WITH HER FAMILY TO THE OIL BOOMTOWN OF MIRANDO CITY. IN 1931, LALA MARRIED DOMINGO RODRIGUEZ AND HAD TWO CHILDREN. AFTER FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF MARRIAGE, DOMINGO PASSED AWAY, LEAVING LALA TO SUPPORT TWO CHILDREN. LALA WORKED FOR SEVERAL FAMILIES IN THE MIRANDO CITY AREA AND LEARNED TO COOK A DIVERSE ARRAY OF FOODS TO SUIT THE TASTES OF DIFFERENT CLIENTS. ON DECEMBER 31, 1953, SHE DECIDED TO USE HER EXPERIENCE AS A COOK AND OPENED LALA'S CAF��, A SMALL FOUR-ROOM HOUSE ON MAIN STREET, WITH THE HELP OF HER BROTHER, FRUCTOSO (TIO) BANDA. THE CAF�� WAS SOON SUCCESSFUL. PEOPLE CAME FROM MILES AROUND TO ENJOY THE HAND-MADE TORTILLAS AND FOOD FROM LALA'S KITCHEN. THE GROWING DEMAND HELPED LALA BUILD A NEW CAF�� ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE ORIGINAL LOCATION THAT OPENED IN 1964. LALA'S CATERED TO A VARIETY OF CUSTOMERS INCLUDING AIRMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES FROM LAREDO AIR FORCE BASE, CARLOADS FROM SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS. LALA'S CAF�� HAS BEEN NOTED IN MANY NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES, INCLUDING DALLAS MORNING NEWS, THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS, THE LAREDO TIMES AND TEXAS MONTHLY, AS A FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN THE AREA. LALA BANDA, A WOMAN OF LIMITED MEANS FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AND A PIONEER IN THE COMMUNITY, PASSED AWAY IN THE SPRING OF 1973. HER FAMILY CARRIES ON THE LEGACY OF SERVING MIRANDO CITY AND WEBB COUNTY RESIDENTS VIA LALA'S CULINARY ART. (2012)