The Los Anges Times reports, "The woman credited with introducing
nachos to Los Angeles died on October 9. Carmen Rocha started working
as a waitress at the original El Cholo on Western Avenue in 1959 and
stayed on for almost 40 years.
For those customers in the know (and who
would ask), Rocha would make nachos from a recipe she learned in San
Antonio, layering tortillas with cheese and slices of jalapeno and
warming it in the oven. They finally added the dish to the menu, and
now you can throw a tortilla chip in any direction and hit at least 20
places that serve some version. When she retired in the 90s, the El
Cholo lounge was renamed "Carmen’s Cantina."