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Photo of cafe\/restaurant – curtesy of Sanly Bel, Pexels Photo of Tacos – curtesy of Chitokan C. – Pexels Photo of Man in Grey Hoodie – curtesy of Hunter Curtis – Pexels<\/p>\n
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I have fond memories of tacos growing up. My family and I never went out to local restaurants to eat tacos or even Mexican food in general.<\/p>\n
Instead, every so often we would have taco nights where we would create our own depictions of the tastiest taco. Creating the craziest combinations and creating new family recipes was the best part.<\/p>\n
Each person would create three of same tacos and we would have one of each kind. Whichever taco won would get its recipe written down in the family cookbook under the \u201cTACO\u201d section. After a few years we have a large variety of tacos to choose from that we know we will love! My favourite was the one I made once with breaded fish, pickled onions, homemade cilantro lime sauce and Pico de Gallo.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-betsai-ekmeiro-15434309-1-999x1024.jpg\")
Photo of Fish Tacos – curtesy of Betsai Ekmeiro, Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n
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While the taco is a popular food item today, it also has an interesting past.<\/em><\/p>\n The word \u201cTACO\u201d had quite a number of meanings back in its early days. The first reference of the word \u201cTaco\u201d was in 1607 in French and referred to a cloth plug that held the ball in the chamber of an early firearm. In the eighteenth century, Spanish dictionaries stated that the word \u201ctaco\u201d referred to a carpenter\u2019s hammer, a ramrod, or a shot of liquor. 1 <\/sup>In the mid-nineteenth century, the word expanded the meaning to include a small bite of food, and only in the twentieth century was the Mexican version accepted. 2<\/sup><\/p>\n Mexican food plays a big part in history, historians have noted that Mexican food has been globalized since 1492 with Columbus and ocean navigation. 3 <\/sup>Then again globalized during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire which brought on culinary changes to livestock and crops. 4 <\/sup>Another instance of globalization of Mexican food (and tacos) happened in 1822 when Mexicans began to establish their national cuisine after their fight for independence. 5<\/sup><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image from “Mexico through the centuries” Volume III: “The war of independence” (digital image) – curtesy of Julian Artigas, Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n Photo of Texas Border Patrol with Mexican Immigrants – curtesy of Harry Pennington, Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The fight for independence in the 1810s, economic struggles, and civil wars forced many struggling people to migrate to look for work. 6 <\/sup>According to Jeffrey M. Pilcher – \u201cunemployed miners brought their tacos with them to Mexico City, where urban workers found them a portable and convenient lunch, just as the miners did.\u201d 7 <\/sup>Bringing this dish over was a way for food to bring together family, strengthen cultural roots, a reminder of their home and the lives they left behind, and even hope for their new lives in new places that they immigrated to. <\/sup><\/p>\n While in the states, the popular dish began to gain widespread recognition and Mexican family restaurants began to pop up and eventually spread throughout the country (before getting run out and taken over by big corporations such as Taco Bell) Bringing dishes that are culturally significant to them provided them with a connection to their authentic roots. Often connected to Mexican restaurants is the appearance of the taco truck 8<\/sup><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The taco truck has become place to explore Mexican food and other fusion foods. 9 <\/sup>They have become a popular affordable option often favourited by the working class on the go. This also means that these trucks can travel to places where there are no Mexican restaurants or where people can access them easier in their day to day lives.<\/p>\n I personally love food trucks (especially taco trucks), I often try to go once a year to the local food festivals or food truck events. At the beginning of this April (2023) KPU Langley hosted the Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival!<\/p>\n The Taco Tiger was by far my favourite!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo of Taco Truck – curtesy of Ashleigh Elstone Photo of stuffed tortillas – curtesy of Roman Odintsov – Pexels Photo of Menu – curtesy of Ashleigh Elstone<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n End Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 20th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to explain where the first reference to the word \u201ctacos\u201d came from as well as some of the definitions at earlier points in history.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 20th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to explain when the word \u201ctaco\u201d became the term we know and understand to say, and when the Mexican version was accepted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 24th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to state that Mexican food has been globalized since 1492.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 24th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to help support the idea of the globalization of Mexican food by using the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire and some changes that it brought.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 24th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to support the points I made about globalization of Mexican food and how Mexicans began to establish their national cuisine after they fought for their independence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 24th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to state three reasons why some Mexican people (who were struggling) began to migrate which also helped the spread of the taco.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pilcher, Jeffery M. \u201cPlanet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food.\u201d Oxford University Press,<\/p>\n Incorporated, (2012): 1-292. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/LD96rKn6<\/a>, [accessed on March 24th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation:<\/u><\/p>\n I used this source as a direct quote to help support the previously stated reasons why Tacos came to the USA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Soldatenko, Michael. \u201cTacos and Coloniality: A Review Essay.\u201d Di\u00e1logo<\/em> (Chicago, Ill.) 18, no. 1 (2015):<\/p>\n 135-142. https:\/\/go.exlibris.link\/dYj8JtXn<\/a>, [accessed March 26th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to state that taco trucks are often connected to Mexican restaurants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Soldatenko, Michael. \u201cTacos and Coloniality: A Review Essay.\u201d Di\u00e1logo<\/em> (Chicago, Ill.) 18, no. 1 (2015): 135-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annotation: <\/u><\/p>\n I used this source to state that taco trucks are a good place to explore not only Mexican foods but also other fusion foods.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image List<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bel, Sanly. \u201cFree stock photos of adult, bar, cdmx, city, commerce, group, indoors, market,<\/p>\n people, pub, restaurant, road, shopping, stock, street, table, taco stand, tourist, travel photos, urban, woman\u201d. March 17th<\/sup>, 2023. Digital Photograph. Pexels. https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/city-road-restaurant-people-15979205\/<\/a>, [accessed March 28th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chitokan C. \u201cClose-Up Photograph of a Plate with Tacos\u201d. November 21st<\/sup>, 2019. Digital<\/p>\n Photograph. Pexels. https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/close-up-photograph-of-a-plate-with-tacos-3264572\/<\/a>, [accessed March 27th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Curtis, Hunter. \u201cMan in Grey Hoodie Sitting Beside Man in Grey Hoodie\u201d. February 7th<\/sup>, 2022.<\/p>\n Digital Photograph. Pexels. https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/man-people-woman-street-11117985\/<\/a>, [accessed March 27th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ekmeiro, Betsai. \u201cTacos de M\u00e9xico\u201d. February 4th<\/sup>, 2023. Digital Photograph. Pexels.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/tacos-15434309\/<\/a>, [accessed March 28th<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n Annotation:<\/p>\n This photo has been cropped to better suit the layout of my blog page.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Artigas, Julian. \u201cTercera epoca independencia.JPG<\/em>\u201d. 1890. Digital Image. Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Tercera_epoca_independencia.JPG<\/a>, [accessed April 1st<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pennington, Harry. \u201cMembers of the Texas Border Patrol guard Mexican immigrants <\/em><\/p>\n apprehended near the border in June 1948.jpg<\/em>\u201d. June 1948. Digital Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Members_of_the_Texas_Border_Patrol_guard_Mexican_immigrants_apprehended_near_the_border_in_June_1948.jpg<\/a>, [accessed April 1st<\/sup>,2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elstone, Ashleigh. \u201cTaco Food Truck 1<\/em>\u201d. Saturday April 1st<\/sup>,2023. Digital Photograph.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/files\/2023\/04\/Tercera_epoca_independencia.jpg\")
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![https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Tercera_epoca_independencia.JPG<\/a>, [accessed April 1st<\/sup>, 2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\nPennington, Harry. \u201cMembers of the Texas Border Patrol guard Mexican immigrants <\/em><\/p>\napprehended near the border in June 1948.jpg<\/em>\u201d. June 1948. Digital Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Members_of_the_Texas_Border_Patrol_guard_Mexican_immigrants_apprehended_near_the_border_in_June_1948.jpg<\/a>, [accessed April 1st<\/sup>,2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\nElstone, Ashleigh. \u201cTaco Food Truck 1<\/em>\u201d. Saturday April 1st<\/sup>,2023. Digital Photograph.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nOdintsov, Roman. \u201cClose Up of Hands Holding Stuffed Tortillas<\/em>\u201d. November 9th<\/sup>, 2020. Digital Photograph. Pexels. https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/close-up-of-hands-holding-stuffed-tortillas-5837188\/<\/a>, [accessed March 18th<\/sup>,2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\nElstone, Ashleigh. \u201cTaco Food Truck Menu<\/em>\u201d. Saturday April 1st<\/sup>,2023. Digital Photograph.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo of cafe\/restaurant – curtesy of Sanly Bel, Pexels Photo of Tacos – curtesy of Chitokan C. – Pexels Photo of Man in Grey Hoodie – curtesy of Hunter Curtis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-published","tag-tacos"],"splot_meta":{"author":"Ashleigh Elstone","license":"by","footer":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Tercera_epoca_independencia.JPG\"){kind=link}
![https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Members_of_the_Texas_Border_Patrol_guard_Mexican_immigrants_apprehended_near_the_border_in_June_1948.jpg<\/a>, [accessed April 1st<\/sup>,2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\nElstone, Ashleigh. \u201cTaco Food Truck 1<\/em>\u201d. Saturday April 1st<\/sup>,2023. Digital Photograph.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nOdintsov, Roman. \u201cClose Up of Hands Holding Stuffed Tortillas<\/em>\u201d. November 9th<\/sup>, 2020. Digital Photograph. Pexels. https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/close-up-of-hands-holding-stuffed-tortillas-5837188\/<\/a>, [accessed March 18th<\/sup>,2023].<\/p>\n <\/p>\nElstone, Ashleigh. \u201cTaco Food Truck Menu<\/em>\u201d. Saturday April 1st<\/sup>,2023. Digital Photograph.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo of cafe\/restaurant – curtesy of Sanly Bel, Pexels Photo of Tacos – curtesy of Chitokan C. – Pexels Photo of Man in Grey Hoodie – curtesy of Hunter Curtis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-published","tag-tacos"],"splot_meta":{"author":"Ashleigh Elstone","license":"by","footer":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Members_of_the_Texas_Border_Patrol_guard_Mexican_immigrants_apprehended_near_the_border_in_June_1948.jpg\"){kind=link}