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Adela Fargas
Adela Fargas born March 19, 1939 - June 15, 2018. She is known as a chef and restaurant owner. According to Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, outside the restaurant’s walls Adela was a center of Latino life on the Lower East Side and a tireless community advocate.

Early Life

Adela was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico and moved to the Lower East Side of New York around the 1950’s. Adela was raised by her father. She attended Central High School. She attended school up until the twelfth grade.While in Puerto Rico, she worked in a lunch box business. The lunch box business, for which she worked, was credited with  providing field workers with food that was packaged in to-go containers.

Moving to New York

Adela moved to New York around the 1950’s in order to leave her husband in search of better work and economic opportunity. Upon her arrival, she obtained a job working in a restaurant on 4th Street and Avenue D in Manhattan. She was later laid off after the business was closed by the owner and began selling Pasteles on a street corner. As time progressed Adela, known for being ambitious, started her own restaurant between 1975 & 1976, the Original Casa Adela on 58th Avenue C. There, she began to create her own personal recipes. Her late husband was the main cook at the family's restaurant. Upon his passing Adela took everything over. Later on, the restaurant moved to 66 Avenue C, New York, New York.

Work Ethic

Adela was known among her community as an early bird. She was known as an early bird due her ritual of always waking up at four in the morning. Adele would wake up at four in the morning in order to do an early prayer; once she was done praying she would go to her restaurant which was situated under her apartment. Adela was known as a person who would always do generous such as feed the homeless as well as recovering addicts that were situated in the Lower East Side.

Casa Adela

Casa Adela is located at 66 Avenue C in the heart of Lower East side, Manhattan. Casa Adela is a family ran business that was established in 1976 and has been serving Latin flavors to the community ever since. According to New York City Council member, Carolina Rivera, Casa Adela gives everyone the illusion of being in Puerto Rico, making everyone feel at home. Carolina even stated that eating in Casa Adela feels as though one is eating in their grandmas house. After her passing, Adela's children, including her daughter Abigail and son Luis, continue to manage Casa Adela. According to the film Last One Standing, Adela’s family states Casa Adela survived gentrification due to Adela’s perseverance, hard work, being business savvy, and by fighting. Casa Adela is the last long term family restaurant in the Lower East Side.

Death

Adela Fargas died on June 15, 2018. She died inside of her restaurant while telling the cooks to check on the white rice. According to Adela’s son, Luis, Adela had a stroke and when taken to the emergency room, passed away. During a New York Council meeting, councilwoman Carlina Rivera requested a moment of silence for Adela Fargas. Rivera believed Casa Adela was a symbol of culture, changed a lot of lives, and made others proud to be Puerto Rican. Before passing, Adela once said “Remember Me For Who I Am.”

Last One Standing

Last One Standing is a documentary dedicated to the life of Adela Fargas and the impact her and her restaurant, Casa Adela, made on the entire Lower East Side. The film consist of a plethora of interviews. The people interviewed had interacted with Adela at some point in their life and were asked to speak about her. Marvel Comics writer, Edgardo Miranda Rodriguez, even placed Adela in one of his comics and can be seen interviewed in the film. In the comic, Adela is seen feeding Groot, from the Guardians of the Galaxy, inside of her restaurant. According to Pepe, a poet, eating at Casa Adela is one’s passport to being Puerto Rican. This film not only shows the restaurant before the passing of Adela, but it also shows the restaurant after Adela’s death.

Quotes From Family and Friends

“She was the one who suffered in silence behind the pots and pans.”

“She was everyone's grandmother.”

“She didn’t feed the belly, she fed the soul.”

“Adela is an institution to us.

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