Author Archives: jbtacos

“I am equally happy making holiday cookies and Mexican food” (Rick Martinez). I think this statement provides another important takeaway from Martinez’s visit today. Rick is a Mexican American who specializes in cooking the Mexican cuisine. With that said, he still holds a special place for another passion which is making holiday cookies. Just becauseContinue reading “Food Interests Outside Our Own Cultures”

“You don’t choose food, food chooses you” (Rick Martinez). This was a statement Rick made early on during his visit in class today. It was one of the most prominent ideas that I took away from his entire talk. The quote was his way of saying that cooking is not an easy profession and itContinue reading “Food as Destiny”

One prominent takeaway I have from American Taco is just how far-reaching the taco has become. A dish that originated and is so deep-rooted in Mexican culture has traversed so immensely beyond that boundary over the years. I didn’t even know there was such a thing like Korean or Jewish tacos! This then brings upContinue reading “‘Inauthentically Authentic’”

“Food is very important, it’s what we do in terms of gatherings, it’s always the most important thing. It’s important to us because that’s how we come together as a group; around the table” (Misty). This closing thought from the video we watched today on hominy and fry bread stood out to me. This isContinue reading “Food as a Symbol of Unity”

“Poverty becomes defined then as the inability to deal adequately with the anticipated and unanticipated turns of life, to overcome adverse events through strategic deployment of credit” (Galvez 139). The issue of poverty becomes even more magnified with this excerpt from the “Eating NAFTA” text. Poverty for these folks, like the day laborers, is wrongfullyContinue reading “Obesity and Poverty Being Unjustly Deemed ‘Choices’”

Class today was centered around the issue of poverty, particularly the hardships of day laborers in Mexico. The people in the video experienced deprivations in a disheartening fashion to witness. They essentially serve as slaves to these corporations, like Driscoll’s, who pay them next to nothing to toil under some of the harshest conditions imaginableContinue reading “Reaction to Day Laborers and the Issue of Poverty”

We were joined today in class by taco journalist Mando Rayo as he discussed his work and activism. Dr. Alvarez posed the question to him; how do you bring together both activism and food? Rayo replied with a two-part answer, stating that it’s about “learning about the struggle” of the culture as well as “gettingContinue reading “Relationship between Activism and Food”

“Organic is a marketing label” (Galvez). Today, we were joined by Alyshia Galvez, author of Eating NAFTA, and she discussed some of the components of the book. Anthony asked her the question regarding what it means for food to be considered organic and when that happens. She first responded with the above statement. This gotContinue reading “‘Organic’ and ‘Authentic’ as Taglines”

“When a food is elevated to cuisine, it is not about its power to fuel the human body, or even its capacity to bring people together around a table, but its function as a vehicle of value that enables some to profit wildly by it” (Galvez 44). Starting our reading of Eating NAFTA today, Dr.Continue reading “Food Versus Cuisine”

“Tacos entered the national cuisine in the late nineteenth century and were seen as a potential danger to both health and morality. Although appearing at a time of industrialization, when labor migrants filled the streets, they were perceived not as an expression of modernity but rather as part of an indigenous invasion of Mexico City”Continue reading “More Taco Hardships in ‘Planet Taco’”