Author Archives: jbtacos

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 nationalContinue reading “Initial Thoughts on ‘Planet Taco’”

Food has carried my culture in a way that has shaped a weekly tradition I’ve lived by for as long as I can remember. Every Sunday, my family comes together for dinner and my mom makes pasta and tomato sauce with meatballs for us. She uses store-bought pasta and tomatoes, but she has her ownContinue reading “How Has Food Carried My Culture?”

“I want not only to make you desire Mexican food, but also to understand it, to appreciate it further.” (Arellano 265) Arellano certainly achieved this goal in ‘Taco USA’. He brought to light so many topics about the history of Mexican food I never truly considered. He writes, ‘every Mexican foodstuff has a story…’ andContinue reading “‘Taco USA’ Final Reaction”

‘Noboby hates tacos’- Roy Choi This was the perfect response to David Chang’s question in the ‘Ugly Delicious’ episode we watched. He asked why a taco is the best method to represent his voice as well as the voice of other immigrants. Choi also considers the taco ‘portable vessel of love’. That made me smile.Continue reading “‘Ugly Delicious’ Episode Reaction”

‘Doolin—a health fanatic who kept his family on a vegetarian diet—had hoped to see his product become more than a chip, but that never happened. Doritos joined Fritos in being relegated to junk food status—popular, of course, but still junk.’ (Arellano 209). When I posted on Instagram a picture of my bags of Doritos onContinue reading “Doritos in ‘Taco USA’”

When I had the ‘Mission Bay’ burrito at Ho’Brah in Brooklyn, I just thought the name was made up to fit the theme of the restaurant. Little did I know, mission burritos are actually their very own style of burritos. The first aspect I noticed was the sheer size of it; it resembled that ofContinue reading “Mission Burrito”

“Tacos originally migrated to California and Texas in the 1920s, and only made it into scattered Mexican cookbooks written by Americans in about the 1930s”. It amazes that it took this length of time for Mexican food to gain recognition in America. Looking back, Arellano believed that Mexican food made its American debut at theContinue reading “How Long Until Mexican Food Became Popular in the US?”

We learned from the Mexington video that Laura traveled from Mexico to America at the age of 16 and it was a difficult transition for her and her family. Not being surrounded by other folks who speak Spanish played a huge part in this hardship. She also particularly missed the authentic Mexican food back inContinue reading “‘Mexington’ Video Reaction”

“For here in the Second City, more than a century ago, legend has it that Mexican food made its national debut at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, better remembered as the Chicago World’s Fair” (Arellano 31). Arellano here is referring to a fair held in Chicago commemorating Christopher Columbus’ expedition to America in 1492. TheContinue reading “Mexican Food’s American Debut”

“Chili con carne, now plain ol’ chili, was a harbinger of things to come for Mexican food. It was a Mexican dish, made by Mexicans for Mexicans, but it was whites who made the dish a national sensation, who pushed it far beyond its ancestral lands, who adapted it to their tastes, who created companiesContinue reading “So, Chili isn’t Mexican”