In reading the introduction to ‘Planet Taco’, we can already see some of various obstacles Mexican people had to overcome to raise exposure for their food. ‘Planet Taco examines this conflict between globalization and the nation as a battle of images between how foreigners think about Mexican food and how Mexicans understand their own national cuisine’ (Pilcher 5). Here we this contrast demonstrated of how non-Hispanics perceive Mexican food. This is a common struggle we’ve seen that’s sure to arise without adapting the food to the taste of the ‘foreigners’. How do you promote your type of food to different people without altering it in a way that removes its authenticity?
Another hurdle for Mexican food early on was the ‘epidemics of pellagra followed the spread of maize in the centuries after 1492’ (9). This associated the food with a negative connotation that it would cause disease, so people further turned away from it. It’s not easy to convince people to try your food if they think they’ll get sick from it.
‘Planet Taco shows how images of authenticity have been invented to promote culinary tourism and nationalist ideology’ (16). This is Pilcher’s way of saying that many people will attach certain ideas about a particular culture in the form of judging its food. Pilcher argues that the taco is represented by some tourists as a ‘potentially dangerous’ symbol, which does the culture no favors in trying to further popularize it.
Pilcher, Jeffrey M. Planet Taco. Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
Taco Literacy 
Great start to Planet Taco! Yes, this book gives a large history, from a wide lens. Yeah, that’s the “planet” in the title no doubt. We see similar things in Arellano’s book about notions of theft and appropriation, but Pilcher also dives into social class and race in Mexico, which is extremely complicated, but somewhat familiar to the varieties of racism in the USA. In fact, the varieties of racism both countries share is a legacy of their shared colonial pasts, as colonies of European empires.
The book gets even more interesting if you can imagine.
Also, a quick note: I have you down for all 6/6 posts this round in my gradebook. I don’t think I wrote that yet on your blog, as I’ve been tied down with some traveling, and, well, the wild times we live in at SJU for the moment.
My biggest hope is that this all will pass, and that I’ll be able to take y’all out for some tacos sometime soon!
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