"Handmade and ugly-ish": Healing homesickness one coyota at a time

From exploitation to entrepreneurship, Sofia's become one of the biggest producers of a Mexican delicacy in the Bay area.

My name is Sofia. I am the founder and owner of Tutuli Coyotas. I am a mom during the day and spend most of my nights running a fully time baking business. I want to share the journey that led me from a messy family working relationship to running my own growing business in the Bay area.

When I first started working in the U.S., it was for my cousin. He distributed produce throughout the state – fruits, peppers, tomatillos. Eventually, though, our relationship soured. After coming back from Mexico where I was visiting family, my cousin left me stranded in San Diego. I had crossed the border through the San Diego/Tijuana checkpoint because all of the tomatillo farms and distribution materials were down there. The plan was for me to come back up to the bay in one of the trailers. One of my cousin’s drivers was going to take me, but he never picked me up. Instead, I was stuck away from my family on both sides of the border, my cousin in possession of my phone and my credit cards. I ended up having to ask a stranger to be able to make a phone to call my soon-to-be husband and ask him to buy me a plane ticket home.

In that moment, I didn't know what to do. I was still in the not-aware-of-the-world stage of my life.

When I finally got home, my cousin humiliated and screamed at me. It was horrible. He became physically abusive. One night when I was in the office, he started grabbing me and I was shocked. After that I was terrified of him. I never said anything. I never told anybody in our family because I didn't want to talk bad about him. Even after I stopped working for him, my cousin continued to threaten me – telling me he would sue me and get the police or ICE to deport me back to Mexico. I was so naïve then. I thought he had a lot of power here.

Things changed after Covid hit. I got married. My husband and my kids are U.S. citizens, but the rest of my family still lives in Mexico. I miss them! So, six months after getting married I completed my paperwork to get my residency sorted out. I had told my family that the moment I got my permit I was going to Mexico for six months. This is why I waited to launch my own business. I was still figuring out details, but visiting my family was my first priority.

For weeks, every time I saw the mailman, I felt the flutter of hope like, “Oh my God, this is the day!”

And then, after waiting for months, my application was denied.

Of course, I called my lawyer right away. It turned out, one of the required forms was missing. I was like, “Are you serious?!” Now I would need to pay yet another processing fee and do the whole process all over again. I was dejected by this outcome. Honestly, I just kind of gave up. It caused me so much depression. It's been nine months since I received the rejection, and I still haven't sent in the new set of application materials.

Every time I saw the mailman, I felt the flutter of hope … And then, after waiting for months, my application was denied.

After this emotional and legal setback, I turned into an antsy housewife. I was frustrated. I was raising my family, but I wanted something else – a new kind of challenge. I am a self-proclaimed YouTube chef, and I think I'm pretty good.

Still homesick and sad, one day I went with my kids to look for coyotas – regional, Mexican pastries (think of a stuffed cookie or a homemade pop tart). My dad always brought me coyotas when I was living in Mexico.

One time when my dad came to the U.S. to visit me he didn't bring me any. So rude! So, my family went to several stores in search of a taste of home. We looked and looked. We only found one brand being sold at a specialty store. They were old and tasted bad. Nothing makes me more annoyed than when I go to a restaurant and the food is bad. I hate that feeling when you order a dish and you say, "Seriously? I can make this better at home." Yeah, these coyotas weren’t going to cut it.

Nothing makes me more annoyed than when I go to a restaurant and the food is bad. These coyotas weren’t going to cut it.

I tried making some in my kitchen with a friend and they didn’t work with her approach. I said, "Okay, let me add my touch. Let me see." And I put my twist on the recipe. I did my own fillings. I gave the first few batches away. All that week, friends would say, "Hey, can you make more?" "Sure." "Hey, can you make more?" Friends kept asking and asking. Finally, I asked my friends if they thought I should sell them and the response was overwhelming.

The most popular coyota I sell today is guava caramel. That's my grandma's recipe. She used to have a guava tree. She would make desserts with guava, and I remember her guava caramel. I feel like I nailed it. I make other flavors too. I’ll talk a bit about the variety and more of the business details in a future post.

This week, I delivered 400 coyotas to one person – that’s a new single-order record for me. I can produce about 1000 coyotas in a week. I do all of the cooking in the evening after my kids go to sleep and with the support of my amazing in-laws. They help with the rolling. It’s a long process to make the sauces and to produce each coyota.

My business has been growing like crazy and I can’t believe how far I’ve come. From the naïve person stranded in San Diego to the person depressed that I cannot travel to visit my family to, now, introducing a Mexican delicacy to folks throughout California, this has been quite a journey. One of the things I like about my coyotas is that they are all handmade. I don't want to make the process too industrial yet. For me, the beauty is how they are irregular. They are ugly-ish which makes them pretty and unexpected. They are always a little different. Like each of our journeys in America, each one is unique.

Propina

If you are in the Bay, you can find Sofia’s coyotas in places like: 

• Tahona Mercado in San Francisco

• Hasta Muerte Coffee in Oakland

• A. Romo’s Cafe in Hayward 

• Snappy’s Cafe in Hayward

• Sabinos Café in San Leandro

• Los Dos Hermanos in Hayward (

Among other spots and collaborations we’ll share in future posts. 

You can also order coyotas directly from Sofia here.

We’ll see you next week.