Remembering Doña Homa: A Life of Bold Decisions and Sweet Success

The distinctive Persian-Mexican fusion that made Hotel Casa San Ángel a Mérida landmark has lost its guiding force. Doña Homa, as Señora Homa Banuet Abhari was affectionately known throughout the city, passed away Friday at 97, leaving behind a legacy that transformed a corner of Paseo de Montejo into something utterly unique.

Her story reads like fiction: an Iranian immigrant who built a baking empire in Mexico City, then walked away from it all in her 60s to start over in Yucatán—not once, but reinventing herself yet again when her new plans took an unexpected turn.

The Baker Who Couldn’t Wait Until Morning

Doña Homa never planned to become an entrepreneur. In Mexico City during the early 1970s, she was simply a mother indulging her teenage son Alberto’s request to recreate a cake he loved. Her baking skills turned those cakes into neighborhood favorites, then into a business opportunity she seized with characteristic impatience.

One late evening, she loaded her car with cakes and headed to a local restaurant to propose they sell her desserts. They said yes. Most people would have waited until the next day to see how customers responded. Not Homa—she drove back to the restaurant around 1:30 a.m., well before closing time, desperate to know how her gamble had played out. The answer was clear: not a crumb remained.

That midnight run launched what would become a major commercial bakery operation. Within five years, her products filled grocery stores and restaurants across the capital. She eventually purchased property and developed Plaza San Ángel in the Altavista neighborhood, still a recognizable Mexico City destination.

Starting Over After 60

Most people approaching retirement age consolidate. Doña Homa did the opposite. During a 2001 visit to see Alberto, who had settled in Mérida, she spotted land for sale near Paseo de Montejo and made an impulsive purchase. Her plan? Open a bakery and abandon decades of success in the capital.

Local advisors convinced her the location—at the intersection of Paseo de Montejo and Calle 49—warranted something more ambitious than a bakery. She agreed to develop a bed and breakfast instead. That concept grew into Hotel Casa San Ángel and Restaurante Tala, though she insisted on maintaining a small bakery operation on the premises, unable to fully let go of where her journey had begun.

Persian Touches in a Colonial Setting

The hotel Doña Homa created defied easy categorization. Guests walked through murals depicting lush jungle scenes into a courtyard where actual tropical plants blurred the line between art and nature. Parrots made the hotel their home, wandering the property but responding when she called them back.

Her Iranian heritage infused unexpected elements throughout the space—textiles, decorative choices, and eventually Persian menu items at Tala that introduced Meridanos to flavors rarely found in the Yucatán. The fusion of cultures created what visitors often described as stepping into another world entirely.

Well into her 90s, Doña Homa refused to become merely a figurehead. She maintained regular presence in Tala’s kitchen, sampling dishes and adjusting recipes. Her children, Alberto and Ruby Banuet Abhari, became integral to the operation, with Ruby overseeing the hotel’s boutique shops featuring Mexican artisans and designers.

A Century Nearly Complete

Doña Homa celebrated her 97th birthday this past July, having witnessed nearly a century of change across three countries. She once characterized herself as easily bored, someone who craved new challenges and transformations. That restless energy drove her to abandon security repeatedly in pursuit of something more interesting.

The boutique hotel she created stands as a testament to that philosophy—a space that refuses to conform to expectations, blending cultures and eras with the same fearless creativity she brought to every phase of her remarkable life. Mérida was fortunate she chose this city for her final reinvention.