Fernando Valenzuela ate breakfast at Max’s Mexican Cuisine in Monrovia at least once, sometimes thrice a week.
“He’d come in, order machaca with eggs, beans and rice, coffee with creamer, and sit there and talk to us,” said Angelica Arteaga, the restaurant’s CEO, whose family founded Max’s in Azusa in 2000. The Monrovia spot opened in 2011. “But he always, always had one headphone in so he can listen and watch baseball on his phone.”
Memories of the Dodgers pitching ace tasted bittersweet to Max’s staff as crowds gathered at the restaurant for Game 5 of the World Series Wednesday, Oct. 30. For this classic matchup between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees, watching Valenzuela’s beloved team clinch the title at a place he frequented gave the moment a happy-sad flavor, said Ulises Gutierrez, operations director for the restaurant.
Valenzuela, who died Oct. 22 at age 63, is a trailblazer and cultural icon whose “light and love for baseball lives within the friendships he established in Monrovia” and other cities in the San Gabriel Valley, he said.
“That’s the blessing we had here in our part of the Valley,” Gutierrez said. “In his last years, he would be here, he let his hair down and be funny and joyful.”
Joy would have come easy to the Dodgers pitcher, especially after his team took home the World Series title.
Arteaga thinks Valenzuela wouldn’t have too much to say about the championship, “but his smile would say it all. I know his presence was with us the whole time. He loved his Dodgers, he loved baseball. Baseball was the heartbeat of his heart, even in his final moments.”
Aside from quietly marking Valenzuela’s birthday on Nov. 1, Arteaga will lead a tribute to the Dodgers great on Nov. 12, at the Max’s in Monrovia. His favorite table will be renumbered “34” and a mural will be unveiled in his honor. Local mayors are set to attend to honor not only Valenzuela’s baseball legacy but also the local philanthropies he supported.
“His smile would say it all. I know his presence was with us the whole time. He loved his Dodgers, he loved baseball.” — Angelica Arteaga, CEO of Max’s Mexican Cuisine in Monrovia, where Valenzuela frequented
Robert Gonzales, mayor of Azusa, remembers idolizing Valenzuela as a Little Leaguer, feeling thrilled to find out both were left-handed. In 1981, the Mexican-born Valenzuela pitched his way into the history books, winning the National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year. The six-time All-Star attracted generations of Latinos to the game, himself included, the mayor said.
“He meant so much to the Latino community as an inspiration,” Gonzales said. Last year, he helped persuade Valenzuela to serve as co-grand marshal with his friend Max Arteaga of the 75th Azusa Golden Days parade. They sat on hay bales perched on a flatbed truck festooned with blue streamers and a big “Fernando” sign.
“It was a privilege and honor to have met him, and to have a close tie to the Azusa community,” Gonzales said. “I’m grateful to have shared those moments.”
Even as “Fernandomania” waned, fans still approached Valenzuela at the restaurant, talking about his career and his job as a Dodgers broadcaster, a role he took on from 2003 until shortly before his death.
Gutierrez said his favorite memories of the pitcher happened far from cameras and fans.
“It was a gathering of friends at the house of (local businessman) Aner Iglesias and (I remember) us singing happy birthday to Angelica,” he said. “He smiled and laughed and celebrated his friend.”
Gutierrez also remembers Valenzuela dancing the cumbia and demonstrating considerably less skills dancing than he did pitching on the mound.
“It was kind of funny,” he said.
Aside from being a loyal customer, Valenzuela attended every fundraiser at the restaurant. In the past two years, he helped raise more than $20,000 for the Latino Philanthropy Council-USC and USC Arcadia Hospital Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Anissa Rivera
From left, Ulises Gutierrez and Angelica Arteaga sip cafecitos at Fernando Valenzuela’s favorite table at Max’s Mexican Cuisine in Monrovia. The Dodgers pitcher will be honored with a mural and his favorite table will be renumbered to 34 on Nov. 12.
Angelica Arteaga said she regrets not being in Monrovia the last time Valenzuela visited, about two weeks before his last hospitalization.
“He was kind, giving, genuine and so humble, even though he’s a legend,” she said.
She was there at Dodgers Stadium for Game 1, when the team observed a moment of silence for Valenzuela. She watched as his wife Linda and their four children stood along third base with manager Dave Roberts to hear the national anthem sung. Instead of throwing the ceremonial first pitch, Valenzuela’s former teammates, Orel Hershiser and Steve Yeager, placed a ball on the mound. Valenzuela’s No. 34 was written there in Dodger blue and white.
“It was exciting but also emotional,” Arteaga said.
The Dodgers organization said they will honor Valenzuela with a blue No. 34 patch on team uniforms during the World Series and the 2025 season. In Monrovia, as a city takes to the streets in celebration, the Dodgers great will be remembered where he took his “un cafecito” so often.
“I will miss the gift of his presence,” Arteaga said. “He was truly a great human being, a friend and an inspiration.”
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