9781422277461

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Introduction

Mexicanculturehasbeenwoven into the American fabric from the beginning. And in many western states these days, the population of peoplewithHispanicheritagematch- es or even outpaces the population of people without. Too often, we use thepronoun“they”tomarkpeopleas outsiders. But Mexican Americans are not “they” at all. They are us. As for the cuisine of Mexico, it’s the result of hundreds of years of cultural mixing—from ancient cul- tures like the Maya and the Aztec to the Spanish conquistadors of the 16thcentury, andfromtheCaribbean

influence in the south to the arrival of French and Italian cuisine from Europe. The complex flavors and preparations of authentic Mexican food are popular with American “foodies”; in fact, trend-spotters regularly announce that “upscale” Mexican food is about to become the next big thing in fine dining. But whilewe await the coming “authen- tic Mexican” food revolution, these days hard-shell tacos and chipswith salsa reign supreme in American supermarkets. The fact is, tacos and nachos areasAmericanas applepie.