How the Lopez Family Made Chorizo Mainstream

by Kamren Curiel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Chorizo, the spicy sausage mix that is a fixture in Mexican-American breakfasts, has come a long way in the past seven decades—in Los Angeles and beyond.

The baseball-cap-wearing, bat-wielding pig of the Carmelita Chorizo logo is nowadays more likely to be found in a Latino family’s refrigerator than Farmer John’s pitchfork, and that is a testament to the work ethic—and love of baseball—of Carmelita’s founder, Mario Lopez, who started the company 74 years ago.

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