Josefina Howard was a Cuban-born Spanish chef and restaurateur who helped popularise regional Mexican cuisine in New York.
She founded a chain of restaurants called Rosa Mexicano, which was described in 1993 as "one of the few luxury Mexican restaurants in New York", and Howard was credited with bringing the "real elegance of Mexican food - its refined international flavour" to New York.
[9] The next year, Howard suffered a stroke,[10] but remained involved in opening new Rosa Mexicano franchises.
[11] Though Rosa Mexicano has often been described as serving authentic and regional Mexican food,[12][13] Howard stated in 1986 that the success of such dishes was "...never 100 percent, but it's as good as it can be outside Mexico.
[18] Later that year, her book ROSA MEXICANO: A Culinary Autobiography was published by Viking Press.