9781422277461

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C onn ect i ng C u ltu r es T hrough F am i ly and F ood

Introduction

A sk an average American to describe Mexican food, and you’re likely to hear about ham- burger meat stuffed in hard-shell tacos or tortilla chips toppedwith a bright yellow, cheese-like substance. But what passes forMexican at fast- foodrestaurants in theUnitedStates bears no resemblance to the true cuisine of Mexico. Anglo America has always had a complicated relationship with its southern neighbor. Perhaps that’s because, as recentlyas 200years ago, much of what we now call Amer- ica was in fact Mexico: The states of Alta California, Nuevo Mexico, and Coahuila y Texas were part of Mexico until the mid-18th century. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1846 not only brought an end to

theMexican-AmericanWar, but also completely reshaped the political geographyof NorthAmerica. Thou- sandsof peoplewent tobedonenight as Mexicans and woke up the next morning as Americans. This matters because when we talk about contemporary Mexicans emigrating to the United States, it’s important to remember how much of their heritage is already here. You can see it not only in the state names of California, New Mexico, and Texas, but also in the names of streets, towns, churches, andschools all over the Southwest. You can also see it intheethnicheritage, customs, andfoodsof thepeoplewholivethere. As Mexican Americans sometimes pointout, “Wedidn’tcrosstheborder; the border crossed us.”