8 EL UVALDE TIMES August 10, 1991 La Fiesta Bakery: Maintaining a Tradition and Satisfying Customers One of the greatest pleasures in our Mexican culture is the traditional merienda, the midafternoon break we like to take when a fresh pot of coffee is brewed and glasses of milk are served with the delicious pan dulce. It’s almost a natural craving that comes about for the sweet pastry that has simple & strange names like marrantios, polvorones, campechanas, empanadas, tostadas, semitas, conchas and pan de huevo. Uvalde is fortunate to have a great bakery with Jose and Teresa Gaitan and their two Fiesta Bakeries. The actual bakery is located at 638 S. Getty and the freshly made pastries are brought to their second location at 118 S. High before many of us are awake. Walk into the bakeries any day and you will be fascinated by the name, shapes and colors of the pastry, but best of all the inviting aroma. Jose learned the trade from friends from Mexico that he met in San Antonio, the Garza Over 20 yrs. Experience Free Estimates Ramon Garcia Owner Sun-Ray Carpet Cleaning & Janitorial Service Home Office Auto Furniture (512) 278-9475 209 W. Sabinal Uvalde, Texas 78801 CONCRETE COMPANY Benson Road Uvalde, Texas NICK AYALA EFRAIN MARTINEZ Kentucky Fried Chicken. Full Meal Deal $3.19 Especial diario 728 E. Main St. 278-7508 brothers, Jesus, Paul and Ramiro Garza. They have about eight bakeries in San Antonio. Paul Garza has been Mr. Gaitan's teacher and mentor in the business. Teresa, or Terry as she is most often called, has always enjoyed baking and before her marriage to Jose was already an expert at cake decorating. She manages the location on High Street. She specializes in cakes for all occasions. Cakes can be decorated with the current popular themes as well as custom styles. Wedding cakes require a month’s notice but most birthday cakes are available within a day’s notice. The day for Mr. Gaitan starts about four in the morning and ends in mid-afternoon, preparing only what has been estimated as the day’s sales. This way he assures his customers will only receive fresh pastry. He is proud that all customers are repeat business which indicates his customers like his pastires. Some customers come in and ask for warm, freshly made bread. I explain to them my pastry cannot be sold warm, unless they happen to come in when we are taking it out of the oven and they insist on it. But I do guarantee that our bread is made daily and it is always fresh. Two of the most interesting types of pan dulce we watched Mr. Gai tain make recently are the campechanas and el pan de huevo. Campechanas consist of several thin layers of dough with layers of icing in between. The result is a flaky delicious pastry. El pan de huevo sometimes called tortugas or turtles, consists of round leavened bread which requires allowing the dough to rise overnight. The icing is then patted on top of each ball of dough and a circular cutter gently pressed on top gives the bread the turtle shell resemblance. Next time you visit La Fiesta Bakery look for other traditional and interesting pastries such as llantas, conchas, tamales, cunas, piedras. ■ Terry Gaitan, (right) with Elsa Varela at La Fiesta Bakery at 118 S. High. 4 Jose Gaitan, (center) with his employees Yolanda Garcia and Albert Rodriguez prepare the popular pan duele at Fiesta Bakery at 638 S. Getty. VOUTH VET TV MUTO FARTS Partes en descuento - Instalación • Mecánica en General • Llantas • Venta • Instalación • Reparación 441 S. Getty 278-6111 Marisa Salinas takes a nap at the Teach the Children festival. ■ < Town House RESTAURANT A family place to eat 2105 E. Main • Uvalde, Texas Friday & Saturday - Open till 3 a.m. Friday Fish Buffet 5 pm - 10 pm Saturday Chicken Buffet 5 pm - 10 pm Friday & Saturday Breakfast Buffet Menudo 10 pm - 3 am SOUTH EVANS GROCERY Live 211 SO. EVANS UVALDE, TEXAS 78801 Marisa Salinas duerme una siestita durante el festival Teach the Children. Open 7 Days 278-7315 BARBEQUE Picnic Supplies Fred B. Diaz Owner