Ofelia Perez Galaviz

Ofelia Perez was born in a small pueblo called Doctor Arroyo, Nuevo Leon, near Monterey, Mexico in 1929. When she was seventeen she was introduced to Juan Francisco Galaviz (then thirty-two years old ) who brought her to the United States shortly before they married in 1947. They moved in with his parents who lived on a small farm in Edinburg, Texas, where Juan was already raising his four children from a previous marriage (his wife died during the birth of their youngest child), the oldest of which was five years old.

Not only did Ofelia raise his four children, but she had ten of her own; seven boys and seven girls. Being the mother of fourteen children would be a challenge for anyone, but it was one Ofelia mastered with strength, pride and an unprecedented amount of love. Despite their large family, the Galaviz’s migrated to and from Texas, Oregon, California, and Arizona following the crops as migrant farm workers throughout the year. Then, in 1956, the Galaviz family saved enough money to buy a farm of their own in Dayton, Oregon, where they planted strawberries and marionberries.
Having their own farm meant they no longer had to move around from camp to camp, and their children could now stay in one school all year. This made Ofelia and Juan very proud, particularly since they only reached sixth and third grade respectively. All fourteen children went to school in Dayton and each child’s high school diploma and picture is proudly displayed on the wall of the family home.

Ofelia learned to cook from her mother-in-law and sister-in-laws, as well as through experimentation and observation. She has always cooked in large quantities with rice, beans and potatoes, primarily because meat was always expensive and therefore scarce.

Ofelia’s sweet and hardworking hands have rolled out and cooked thousands of tortillas over the years, and continue to do so today. With her fourteen children, thirty-eight grandchildren, and twenty-six great grandchildren there is always a hungry belly to feed. Everyone knows to come hungry to Grandma Galaviz’s because you will always walk away full of fantastic food made with mucho amor! We hope you do, too!