The recent passing of Jose Guzman (above right), co-founder of Northalsted Chicago’s Las Mananitas restaurant on April 23, 2024, is a significant loss to the community. Together with his life partner, Elio Solis (above left), they established Las Mananitas in 1984, which has been a beloved fixture in Northalsted for 40 years.
Mass will be celebrated Monday, May 13, at 3pm at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church located at 1351 W Evergreen Ave, Chicago, IL, 60642. After mass, a mariachi band will offer musical tribute to Jose’s life and those who cherish his memory.
To send flowers to the family in memory of Jose Guzman, please visit his MEMORIAL PAGE or click HERE.
Jose was one of eleven children born in Cuernavaca, Mexico, to Lorenzo Guzman and Willibalda Altamirano.
As a young man, Jose attended seminary in Spain. Though his life would take a different path, his education and experience would stay with him as he grew into a worldly man with a love of travel. His venturesome spirit led him to many firsts when he eventually settled into Chicago, which would become his lifelong home.
An actor and model, Jose helped to break down barriers in the industry and define the city’s diverse identity by performing the first Spanish-language municipal advertisements.
In addition to his stagecraft, Jose was a gifted writer and poet, and his love of the written word pervaded many of his endeavours. Of these, his greatest success was his pride and joy: Las Mananitas, the restaurant he operated with partner Elio Solis for more than forty years.
There, his creativity reached into the marketing, the kitchen, and even into the way the restaurant ran. As beloved by its team and alumni as by its surrounding neighborhood, Las Mananitas created a tightly-knit, vibrant community around itself. From this home base, Jose was able to thrive as the kind, generous, funny man he is remembered and missed as.
In addition to his parents, Jose joins his siblings Aurelia, Rodolfo, and Antonio Guzman at rest. He is survived and remembered by siblings Lorenzo, Raquel, Javier, Aurelia, Jesus, Evaristo, and Willibalda Guzman; generations of loving nieces and nephews; and his indispensible partner Elio.
