By Evelyn Saravia
Special for The Republic | azcentral.com
Red Eagle El Porvenir Tortilla Factory did not start in Lucy Terrones’ kitchen, as most people believe. It started in 1953 when the entrepreneurial 17-year-old bought her first tortilla-making machine.
“I’ve always had a little changarrito,” said Terrones, now 78, using Spanish slang for a small business. The Surprise tortilla factory has made corn and flour tortillas, as well as taco tortillas, chips and other products for 60 years. It supplies Valley supermarkets including Food City, Bashas’ and Fry’s Food stores. The factory does not use any preservatives in its products. It also uses soybean oil and aluminum-free baking powder. The factory’s bestsellers are the gorditas. A gordita contains more ingredients, such as flour and oil, which make it thicker. One gordita is 8 inches in diameter and weighs 2 ounces. Terrones’ daughters, Lucy and Valentine, own a small deli in the front of the factory. There, customers can buy handmade tortillas and a plate of freshly prepared Mexican food. Terrones says she is satisfied that she was able to achieve her dream of doing what she loves. She is proud her children did not have to experience the poverty she faced as a child.
“It was my dream, and I did it because I had lots and lots of ambition to get out of poverty,” she said.
