| Straight From My Heart: Nuñez family raises the bar |
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The 15th Annual Nuñez Foundation Scholarship Brunch fundraiser at La Cueva Mexican Restaurant on East Colfax in Aurora, has become the summer event people look forward to with live entertainment, savory Mexican cuisine, mingling with interesting people and honoring the year's scholarship recipients. The event will be held on August 7, 11am-2pm, La Cueva is located at 9742 E. Colfax Ave.
The Nuñez Foundation is the culmination of a dream of two people -- Norma Martínez-Nuñez and Nabor Nuñez -- both born in México from humble backgrounds; came to the United States, met, married, worked at La Bonita Restaurant for 19 years and finally realized their dream by opening their own restaurant in 1974.
Nabor Nuñez, head chef of La Cueva, passed away in 2006. His wife Norma and children, Molly and Alfonso continued to manage the restaurant. Last year, Norma suffered a stroke that prevented her from working at the restaurant. Alfonso and Molly took over the family business and continue to jointly care for their mother.
Although, Norma continues to recuperate and is retired from daily business operations, she shapes the organizing of the annual fundraising event.
The Nuñez family has deep roots and a family history of hard work and determination. The patriarch of the family, was born in 1924 in Moroleon, Guanajuato México. Nabor came from a family of six children, and with his father passing away from typhoid fever when he was 7-years-old, Nabor and has brother Pedro worked the fields to provide for the family.
When World War II broke out in the United States, American men were sent off to war which left a shortage of male workers in the fields and factories. At that time, Nabor entered the U.S. as a “Bracero” and worked in many states including Colorado. He loved the country and sent money to his mother in México and supported her until her death.
After the war ended, Nabor obtained a “Green Card” in El Paso, Texas. At the time, the cost was 25 cents and the process consisted of filling out a simple form.
Nabor eventually settled in Denver in the 1950s. His mother taught him the basics of preparing food from the garden they grew on their small piece of land in México. They cultivated corn, beans, wheat and other vegetables and were taught how to cook traditional Mexican food. Often she would tell Nabor, “If you have a tomato, onion, garlic and chile, you can prepare a meal.” That basic philosophy stayed with Nabor all his life and inspired him to become a chef and open his own restaurant.
The Nuñez matriarch, experienced a different upbringing. Norma was an only child born in 1937, to Abraham and Aurora Martínez in Rio Grande, Zacatecas. Her father was a miner and when Norma was 6 months old, her parents moved to Torreon, Coahia where they had family. Her father became a Greyhound bus driver and her mother worked in the family grocery business. Norma's parents were divorced when she was 9-years-old. After the divorce, Norma and her mother lived with her grandmother, Trinidad.
Norma had a wonderful childhood and even then, she had a sharp business mind. She would organize games with her playmates and was always the leader, recalled Norma.
Trinidad had a friend in Denver and was willing to sponsor Norma's mother and hired her as an Au Pair to take care of their children. The family owned one of the first Mexican restaurants in Denver called La Bonita. When Norma was a teenager, her grandmother sent her to live with her mother in Denver. Norma had a difficult time adjusting to American life. Her mother enrolled her in a public high school and sent her to a business college.
Eventually, Norma went on to take her mother's place caring for the family, so her mother could work at La Bonita. She often visited her mother at the restaurant and that is where Norma met Nabor Nuñez, who was also working at La Bonita. Norma was 19 years old when she married Nabor. They continued working at the restaurant for nearly two decades, and began a family of their own.
As a child, Molly remembered that she and her brother Alfonso would go to the restaurant after school to eat, do their homework and help out at the restaurant.
Molly praised her mother's accomplishments. “Besides running the restaurant, my mother developed into a quite a business woman. She got involved with a group called LULAC whose goal was to raise money for college scholarships for Latino students. She and some friends started a chapter in North Aurora. She also joined a group of women called, ‘Las Hermanas’ who were involved with Latino women’s causes and also raised money for college scholarships. She became a member of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce and was instrumental in the revitalization of Old Town Aurora which has become an arts district and is attracting new businesses to the area.”
In 1994 Norma wrote a book, “Recetas De Mi Esposo” and with the money from the book sales, she and her family began a non-profit organization called the Nuñez Foundation to raise money for college scholarships for students in need. The Foundation has been successful and able to offer scholarships each year, because 95% of money raised goes towards scholarships. As of this year, 80 scholarships have been awarded.
Along with his duties as head chef and co-owner at La Cueva, Alfonso is running for a City Council position in Aurora.
The dedication to their community and strong work ethic of the Nuñez family has set the bar high for the younger generations.
For info and tickets to the Nuñez Foundation Fundraiser, 303/367-1422 or 720/984-3606.
Magdalena Gallegos is a writer, playwright, historian, and publisher (Southwest Magazine).
© 2011 The Weekly Issue/El Semanario, Inc.
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