Beloved Carnitas El Momo Taquero Romulo “Momo” Acosta Dies at 81

On Thursday, October 15, Romulo “Momo” Acosta, the patriarch of Carnitas El Momo who helped shape Los Angeles’s taco culture, passed away at White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights after an eight-year battle with health issues. Acosta was initially hospitalized on September 25th for pneumonia; according to Romulo’s son, Juan Carlos “Billy” Acosta, the cause of death was complications of pneumonia and the enduring effects of a stroke and heart attack he suffered in 2018. Acosta was also previously diagnosed with a cardiocerebral infarction, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and vascular dementia that complicated his rehabilitation. He leaves behind a legacy as a carnitas pioneer and one of the city’s most esteemed regional taqueros. The three locations of Carnitas El Momo and Carnitas El Wicho (a branch owned by the family of Luis “Wicho” Acosta, Romulo’s late son) serve the viscid, caramel-toned carnitas that put Romulo’s hometown, Salamanca, Guanajuato, on the map in the U.S.

Romulo Acosta was born on March 8, 1945, in Salamanca, Guanajuato. At 14, he apprenticed with his father, Felix Acosta, at the family’s carniceria, breaking down goats, pigs, and steers. Within two years, he learned the family recipes for birria and carnitas that would make him a legend in Boyle Heights. By the time he was 16, he worked long hours at El Marranito, his father’s taqueria, rising early to cook carnitas himself for morning larks, blue-collar workers, and those who hadn’t yet gone to sleep. “He always started cooking at 1 a.m. so he could serve the crudos (hangover crowd); that was important to him,” says Juan Carlos “Billy” Acosta, Romulo’s son and third-generation taquero at Carnitas El Momo. 

After years of working at his father’s taquería, Romulo found himself at a crossroads. At 21, he was a new father and wanted the chance to earn more and start his own carnitas stand, but his father and uncle refused. Acosta knew that if he stayed in Salamanca, it could take years before he could advance, or perhaps forever. With no alternative, he took his young family north to Los Angeles, where he worked as a welder at Faith Plating in Santa Monica, a trade he’d also learned in Salamanca. 

While working as a welder, Romulo began selling Salamanca-style carnitas, typically dressed with salsa and pickled jalapeños, on weekends. “Around ’75 or ’76 a friend gave me a cazo,” said Romulo, referring to the deep pot used to make carnitas, in his 2017 interview for my book, L.A. Mexicano. “He started selling door to door,” Billy says. Another friend invited him to sell carnitas to garment workers inside a factory near Avalon and 60th on Saturdays to make extra money. The side hustle became a full-time pursuit in the mid-80s when Romulo injured his hand and arm in an industrial accident, leading him to seek catering jobs. 

Carnitas El Momo, which opened as a door-to-door operation selling carnitas from a bucket in South Central in the mid-70s, was not an overnight sensation. Romulo spent the mid-1980s as a street vendor in South Central on Saturdays and sold from two locations on Sundays: a street stand and his home in Boyle Heights. Almost 40 years later, I wrote about Romulo’s excellent carnitas for Los Angeles Magazine in 2013 after visiting the dining room inside his Boyle Heights home, where customers entered through the side gate where a pair of copper cazos simmered, full of tender carnitas. “After the article, lots of new customers started to show up, and a cousin of mine was selling his trailer, so we opened the trailer that year, in 2013,” says Billy. 

In 2015, Carnitas El Momo appeared with Phil Rosenthal on the television program I’ll Have What Phil’s Having, and in 2019, Los Angeles Times food critic Bill Addison wrote of the splendor of Romulo’s taco mixto, by then under the direction of Billy. “It’s important for the future of my family for them to learn this trade and keep it going,” said Romulo in an interview for L.A. Mexicano. Carnitas El Momo was also featured on Vice’s Munchies in 2020 and Netflix’s Street Food: Los Angeles in 2022. In the Netflix episode, Billy tearfully spoke about the weight of carrying on the family tradition, something that meant so much more to his father than tacos. While Romulo’s family stifled his dreams in Salamanca and kept him from starting his own business, he mentored his son until his health gave out in 2018, so he could take up the mantle. In 2022, Billy fully realized his father’s goals and opened a permanent space for Carnitas El Momo in Monterey Park. 

The patriarch of the Acosta family 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. Romulo’s other 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 next generations of Romulo’s family — including his grandson Daniel Rodriguez, grandson-in-law Francisco Ochoa, Jeshua Acosta at El Wicho, and Billy — will shepherd Carnitas El Momo’s future and preserve the culinary skill he sharpened in Salamanca, Guanajuato. “[Romulo] taught us to love the craft, love what you do, and be for your people, and everything will be alright,” says Billy.