Southern California recently lost a culinary pillar with the passing of Romulo “Momo” Acosta, the patriarch of Carnitas El Momo. Acosta, 81, died on Thursday, October 15, leaving behind a profound legacy that helped define Los Angeles’s vibrant taco culture through his distinctive Salamanca-style carnitas.
Acosta passed away at White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights. His son, Juan Carlos “Billy” Acosta, stated that the cause of death was complications from pneumonia, for which he had been hospitalized since September 25, combined with the lasting effects of a stroke and heart attack suffered in 2018. He had also been previously diagnosed with a cardiocerebral infarction, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and vascular dementia, which complicated his recovery.
Romulo Acosta’s contribution to the local food scene is evident in the ongoing success of Carnitas El Momo, which has three locations, and Carnitas El Wicho, a branch run by the family of his late son, Luis “Wicho” Acosta. These establishments are renowned for their rich, caramel-toned carnitas, a style that put his hometown, Salamanca, Guanajuato, on the culinary map in the U.S.
Born on March 8, 1945, in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Acosta began his culinary journey at just 14, apprenticing with his father, Felix Acosta, at the family’s carniceria. Within two years, he mastered the family recipes for birria and carnitas. By 16, he was working long hours at El Marranito, his father’s taqueria, rising early to cook for early risers and the late-night crowd. Billy Acosta noted that his father always started cooking by 1 a.m. to serve the “crudos,” or hangover crowd, a commitment that was deeply important to him.
At 21, newly a father himself, Acosta sought to open his own carnitas stand, but faced refusal from his father and uncle. Recognizing limited opportunities for advancement in Salamanca, he moved his young family north to Los Angeles. Here, he initially worked as a welder at Faith Plating in Santa Monica, a trade he had also learned in Mexico.
Despite working a full-time job, Acosta began selling his Salamanca-style carnitas, typically served with salsa and pickled jalapeños, on weekends. In a 2017 interview for the book *L.A. Mexicano*, Romulo Acosta recalled, “Around ’75 or ’76 a friend gave me a cazo,” referring to the traditional deep pot used for carnitas. He started by selling door-to-door, as Billy Acosta recounted, and later to garment workers inside a factory in South Central. This side venture grew into a full-time pursuit in the mid-1980s after an industrial accident injured his hand and arm, prompting him to seek catering opportunities.
Carnitas El Momo, which originated as a door-to-door operation selling carnitas from a bucket in South Central in the mid-1970s, gradually built its reputation. By the mid-1980s, Acosta operated as a street vendor on Saturdays in South Central and from two locations on Sundays: a street stand and his home in Boyle Heights. His exquisite carnitas gained wider recognition after a *Los Angeles Magazine* article in 2013, which described customers entering his Boyle Heights home through a side gate where copper cazos simmered. Following the article, Billy Acosta noted a surge in new customers, leading to the opening of a food trailer that same year.
Over the years, Carnitas El Momo attracted significant media attention. It appeared with Phil Rosenthal on *I’ll Have What Phil’s Having* in 2015, and in 2019, *Los Angeles Times* food critic Bill Addison praised Acosta’s taco mixto, which was by then under Billy’s direction. The establishment was also featured on Vice’s *Munchies* in 2020 and Netflix’s *Street Food: Los Angeles* in 2022. In the Netflix episode, Billy Acosta spoke emotionally about the profound meaning of carrying on his father’s family tradition, which transcended the simple act of making tacos.
Romulo Acosta, who mentored his son, Billy, until his health declined in 2018, lived to see his dreams fully realized when Billy opened a permanent space for Carnitas El Momo in Monterey Park in 2022. He is survived by his wife, Inocencia Acosta Avendano, and their five living children: Alma Acosta, Rosaura Acosta, Maria Concepcion “Connie” Acosta, Adriana Acosta, and Juan Carlos Acosta. Three of his children, Luis “Wicho” Acosta, Maria Antonio Acosta, and Luis Antonio, preceded him in death. He also leaves behind 31 grandchildren and great-grandchildren combined.
The culinary skills sharpened by Romulo Acosta in Salamanca will continue through the next generations of his family, including his grandson Daniel Rodriguez, grandson-in-law Francisco Ochoa, Jeshua Acosta at El Wicho, and Billy Acosta. As Billy Acosta shared, Romulo taught them “to love the craft, love what you do, and be for your people,” believing that with these principles, everything would be alright.