AFC Homegrown Foodways Film

Amanda Meeks

El Camino del Pan a Baltimore chronicles the life of José Vargas, owner of a bakery and taqueria located in Highlandtown, a neighborhood in East Baltimore. Vargas migrated to Baltimore from Huaquechula, Mexico and decided to build on his family tradition of baking bread. José’s story began in Mexico with his family’s bakery, but after arriving in Baltimore he established a business selling Mexican fare using a pushcart stationed in Patterson Park. His first brick and mortar location was a bakery located in the Greektown neighborhood amidst a dwindling European immigrant community. With support from family and friends, he has since grown into a four-business enterprise—a bakery, taqueria, bar, and restaurant in Essex. Traditions of waking …