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Si Charro! Honors Longtime Local News Reporter with Limited-Time Margarita

(Photo of El Charro Cafe by Isaac Stockton)

Si Charro! Honors Longtime Local News Reporter with Limited-Time Margarita

Jul 3, 20242 min read

Ray Flores and the Si Charro! family of restaurants are pleased to announce that they will honor their friend and local media heroine Lupita Murillo.

“We are excited to present the Lupita-Rita, a special drink that is a nod to her husband Don who is known to make a mean Mango-Rita,” said Flores. “Ours will also include mango with an added touch of pineapple.”

This past week, Murillo retired from the local NBC affiliate station KVOA-TV after decades spent — more than 45 years — as one of Tucson’s most well-known reporters covering community and regional news.

When to get the Lupita-Rita

From now through July 31, the new Lupita-Rita will be available at most Si Charro! concepts and a portion of sales benefits Murillo’s favorite charity, Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN).

“We are so thrilled that all of the SiCharro! restaurants are honoring Lupita by naming a drink after her and donating a portion of the proceeds to TIHAN — one of her favorite nonprofits in the community,” said Scott Blades, Executive Director of TIHAN.

The Lupita-Rita is $10 and can be enjoyed at all three El Charro Cafes in Tucson, Charro Chico, Charro Vida, Charro Steak & Del Rey, and The Monica. 

“It’s a wonderful way to pay tribute to Lupita and make a difference for TIHAN and our programs and services that are important to Lupita, the Flores family, and so many folks in our community,” Blades added. “I love the Lupita-Rita and look forward to celebrating with many more before the end of July!”

“It’s a great cocktail and we hope that everyone comes out to enjoy it with us and benefit our good friends at TIHAN who do so much for this community,” said Flores. 

For more information and locations of all Si Charro! restaurants, visit sicharro.com.

Article written by:

Matt Sterner

Matt Sterner

More about Matt

At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.

He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.

If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.

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