Los Angelitos Bakery

Angel Daniel Ductoc Sr. was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba and came to the United States with his parents and 2 siblings in 1971. 

Being a Cuban Refugee, not speaking a word of English, made it very difficult for him to transition to living in the United States.

As Angel grew up, he gained his work ethics by watching his father, Angel Joaquin Ductoc, own his own businesses in Cuba and then working day and night in the United States trying to make ends meet so that he and his wife, Carmen Ductoc, can provide a better future for their children.

Taking advantage of every opportunity offered to him, Angel found himself working for the County of Los Angeles in 1977 where he then met his wife, Luz Trejo-Ductoc in 1988.

Luz Trejo-Ductoc is a child of Mexican Immigrants, and was born and raised in South Gate, CA.

They married in 1989, welcoming their first child that same year, Angel Ductoc Jr. and their second child, Deanna Ductoc, in 1990.

With two children under the age of 2 and a new mortgage payment for their home in Huntington Park, they started to face financial challenges and it was hard to make ends meet.

Luz will always remember Christmas Day in 1991, when she cried because they had no extra money for gifts and there was nothing under their tree.

Angel remembers that day as well, because that was the day he knew he had to find other means of income to be able to provide more for his wife and family for years to come.

Angel then came up with the idea to open a bakery.  This idea came from watching his younger brother, Carlos Ductoc, co-own a local bakery.  So he decided to partner up with his father, Angel Joaquin Ductoc, to open Los Angelitos Bakery in August of 1992.

Being Cuban refugees they were not well equipped with the resources needed to start a business, but that did not stop them.  They were determined and made all the sacrifices needed to ensure that they obtained permits, licenses, approvals, and equipment loans to open up their doors, even while facing the fears of the 1992 LA riots.

Even though Angel and his father were not bakers, they were fortunate enough to find their first baker that taught them the art of making traditional Mexican Pan Dulce, which is the staple of what they sell today.

They were also fortunate enough to hire one of their first cashiers, Sandra Cortes, who was known and loved in this community.  She devoted almost 25 years of her life to Los Angelitos Bakery, even up until her final days, many remembering her welcoming smile every morning as they entered the bakery.

As the years passed: Angel and Luz's family grew, adding two more children - Andrew and Daryanna Ductoc;  They moved from Huntington Park, but remained home and business owners;  Sadly, Angel Joaquin Ductoc passed away, leaving the bakery entirely in his son's hands, who promised to always take care of it;  and fortunately, all 4 of his children began helping out at the bakery, starting as cashiers and cake decorators to now owners - Angel officially transferred ownership of Los Angelitos Bakery to Angel Jr and Deanna in 2010!

Angel was still very much involved, teaching his kids the ropes of owning, managing and running a small business, all while still allowing them time to finish their education, who both acquired Masters Degrees.  Still involved till this day, his children now run the bakery full time with the help of all their staff who are considered family!

Now, 30 years later, Los Angelitos Bakery remains a staple in the community because of the people in this community! They still see some of their first customers from 30 years ago walking through the doors, as well as kids that grew up around the block now bringing their own kids!

Family will always remain as the backbone of this small business and culture will always remain at the heart of everything that they do! 

As things have changed over the years, Angel and his entire family are completely involved with all of the new innovative ideas and the utilization of their social media platform to find ways to give back to their community (i.e raising funds to give an HPHS student a free laptop during the struggles of virtual learning when the pandemic first started, offering free pan dulce to children throughout the pandemic, donating thousands of pan dulce to local schools and organizations, collectively donating over $15,000 to foundations such as Latino Equality Alliance that provides scholarships for LGBTQ+ youth, MambaOnThreeFund, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Semper Fi Fund and so much more).

The Ductoc family's goal is to continue the legacy of their grandfather, Angel Joaquin Ductoc, who would have been proud to be by his family's side in Sacramento, CA when they were presented with the SD33 Small Business of the Year Award!

Los Angelitos Bakery continues to represent the City of Huntington Park by being recognized by the LA Times as one of the most popular bakeries in the Southland - contracting orders with MLS All Star Events, Alaska Airlines, USC, Chase Bank, and even contracted in Arizona to hand deliver conchas to international superstar Ana Gabriel; making the cover of La Opinion; broadcasted on major radio stations such as KiisFM with Ryan Seacrest, KLOVE with Luis Sandoval, and KCRW; televised on local networks such as Telemundo, Univision, NBC, CBS, ABC, and international networks such as PBS, CNN espanol, Despierta America, and Un Nuevo Dia; and even honored in a special short docu series that showcased essential heroes chosen by Eva Longoria and Momento Latino.

Los Angelitos Bakery has faced many challenges and have been close to closing their doors, but thankfully they have been able to survive and prosper because of the people of their community and the outpouring support from everyone in the surrounding LA area! Because of this, Los Angelitos Bakery commits themselves to always giving back to their community as long as their doors are open!