Taco Day in Mexico

“Everything goes better with tacos.”– Rachel Caine.

Mexico’s Taco Day (Día del taco) on March 31 is a celebration created in 2007 by a TV broadcast channel as a recognition of the effort and heritage that this classic Mexican dish represents. Its incomparable flavor and a mouth-watering aroma have conquered senses of millions and made tacos popular far beyond Mexico.

The history of the taco is not really known. Most likely tacos have been around for a long time. Some claim they predate the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico in the 16th century. There is indeed an anthropological evidence that the native people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. They didn’t call the food tacos, of course. Neither did people in the present-day states of Morelos, Guerrero, Puebla and Oaxaca, who replaced fish by small live insects, ants, locusts and snails. Taco expert Jeffrey M. Pilcher suggests that the word itself originates from the silver mines in Mexico in the 18th century, when taco referred to the little explosives workers used to extract the ore. These were pieces of paper wrapped around gunpowder and placed into holes carved in the rock. “When you think about it, a chicken taquito with a good hot sauce is really a lot like a stick of dynamite,” says Pilcher in an online article at Smithsonian.com. “The first references [to the taco] in any sort of archive or dictionary come from the end of the 19th century. And one of the first types of tacos described is called tacos de minero—miner’s tacos.”

No matter the origin, this delicious truly authentic Mexican food is now enjoyed in many countries of the world.

According to Alberto Peralta de Legarreta, Mexican gastronomy researcher and writer, a taco is a “packing made out of maize or wheat tortillas that is stuffed with meat, vegetables or a stew, seasoned with hot sauce, lime drops and a so-called garden, a mixture of chopped onion and cilantro.” Tacos come in all kinds of shells, fillings, sauces, and ingredients, the choices for captions are endless. There are so many variants for tacos that we could eat a different one each day without getting fed up and instead, finding ourselves flabbergasted by the infinite amount of flavor and texture combinations that fit perfectly well on top of a tortilla.

What’s the best way to celebrate Mexico’s Taco Day? Turn this day into a fiesta with your favorite tacos! Taste more tacos than the classic tacos al pastor, tacos de carnitas or tacos de canasta! Experiment with the flavor of the most delicious combinations of meat, vegetables and salsa on top of tortillas!

Wishing you a delicious Taco Day!