Abby Torrez | Southern Foodways Alliance arrow left envelope headphones search facebook instagram twitter flickr menu rss play circle itunes calendar
Summer 2026—February 2027
2026 SFA Film Residency, with multi-city in-person experiences and monthly virtual workshops ⟶
Donate Join/Renew
Donate Join/
Renew
Summer 2026—February 2027
2026 SFA Film Residency, with multi-city in-person experiences and monthly virtual workshops ⟶

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

< Back to Oral History project: Comida y Familia: Mexican-American Family Barbecue & Foodways

ORAL HISTORY

Abby Torrez

Abby Torrez was born in Lampass, TX and raised in Mansfield, TX. She has been with Oscar Torrez, her husband, since 1996. They live in Royse City, TX. Abby is a cancer survivor, a woman of faith and loves her family. She works in hospital administration. Their last name is spelled with a “Z”, which is different from other Torres’s because of a recording error by the hospital when Oscar’s father, Johnny (Juan) was born. Abby has four children: Joseph Benavides, Amanda Galicia, Tony Benavides, and Hollie Hernandez. She also has nine grandchildren. In addition to cooking and entertaining, Abby and Oscar refurbish old furniture and make beautiful home furnishings and accents out of their garage for family and friends.

Date of interview:
2022-05-27

Interviewer:
Cynthia Torres

Photographer:
Cooper Neill

Download Transcript

“

“But most of our lives we lived out on the farm. And I always had a good time just cooking and my mother always having family come over and she’d feed ‘em. She was known for her tortillas and her salsa. And when she’d make tamales it was like a whole production because everybody wanted to be part of the tamales because they knew they were gonna leave with a full tummy and a few dozen tamales with them. So that was one of the good things.” - Abby Torrez

Other Project Interviews

Interview

Blanca Torrez

Blanca Torrez is interviewer Cynthia Torres' aunt.

Interview

Corie & Michael Ramírez

Corie Ramírez is interviewer Cynthia Torres' cousin and Michael Ramírez is married to Corie.

Interview

Joe & Lydia Olivares

Joe and Lydia Olivares are interviewer Cynthia Torres' uncle and aunt.

Interview

Joe & Prinisa Benavides

Joe Benavides is interviewer Cynthia Torres' cousin and Prinisa Benavides is married to Joe.

Interview

Richard Garcia & Lori Pathak

Lori Pathak and Richard Garcia are siblings and are the cousins of interviewer Cynthia Torres.

WORKING TOGETHER

WE CAN CULTIVATE PROGRESS.

The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Alex Raij Txikito

Let’s Stay in Touch

Sign up for the SFA newsletter to have the latest content
delivered directly to your inbox.