DOWNEY, Calif. – Maria Elena Rios is perfectly preparing every ingredient for her Mole, a traditional Mexican dish that contains chili peppers, nuts, fruit, and spices including cinnamon.

Maria Elena who also goes by Elenita says her employees already know not to make her mad when she is making mole. For her, how she feels when making it is as important as what ingredients she uses.

She started making the traditional Mexican sauce on her own at just 12 years old.

“I used to help my aunt, but one day she got sick and she couldn’t make it and that’s when I made it, I was just 12 and I realized that I could make it all by myself,” said Rios.

Rios continued to make mole for her family and friends, although she always dreamed of starting own business. She couldn’t at the time because she was married and says her then husband didn’t support her dream.

Years later she got a divorce and then she found out about “La Feria de Los Moles” in Los Angeles, the largest Mexican food festival in the United States honoring Mole.

Lourdes Juarez, the event director, says “every time she gets ready and brings more and more mole, she’s the one that sells out right away.”

Juarez loves seeing people share their family recipes and seeing success stories like Rios’s. Shortly after her first time participating in the festival, Rios started packaging and selling her mole. She even has her own section at Luis butcher shop in Downey, which is owned by her son.

Rios says for her “La Feria de Los Moles” means so much “because it made my dream come true.”

But that is not all, that dream also made another one of her dreams come true. Rios always dreamed of owning a red Jeep and because of her success making mole, she was able to buy one and calls it her “baby.”

She is hoping her story is an inspiration to other women that as long as you want something bad enough and work hard doing what you love that you can achieve anything.

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