Rachel Diaz

The Face of Latina Professionals

On this episode of The Face of Latina Professionals, Rachel Diaz, CEO of Borinquen cakes, sits down and chats about all things being Latina, Puerto Rican cakes, and more.

Rachel grew up in Puerto Rico migrating to the United States when she was 19. As she says, “By the time I was 20, I realized there were no Puerto Rican cakes in Chicago.” Thus her journey of bringing a little slice (pun intended) of Puerto Rico to Chicago began.

She called her aunts in Puerto Rico who are professional bakers and they taught her the art of making authentic Puerto Rican cakes complete with brandy and almond icing.

However, Rachel shares how starting a bakery wasn’t her original intention.

“I found a passion for designing logos and things that were corporate and all of that. So, when I came here, I was determined. I wanted to be a designer and that was it. I was just doing the cakes on the side, just for fun for my family and friends.”

Coming to Chicago to follow her heart to be with her now husband, Rachel shares the culture shock she had coming from a country where everyone mixed together without judgment to a city and a country where there were still neighborhoods for different groups of people, keeping them segregated.

With that in mind, Rachel wanted to make sure that she was as inclusive as she could be when creating her brand.

“One of the things that we had to do first when we started the business was define our target audience and define who we're going to be.

Listen in to this episode to hear more about Rachel’s story, how she’s made Chicago her home as a Latina, and stop in to Borinken Cakes on W Fullerton Ave and try the best authentic sweets from Puerto Rico.