Tacos of Texas: Recent Episodes
KUT & KUTX Studios, Mando Rayo
It’s 2022 and yes we’re still dealing with taco tropes, Latino stereotypes & pendejadas. But in between all that hot mess, we still have lots of tacos to enjoy. Today we’ll tackle some of the highlights and low lights of 2022 with Ultima Palabra with special guests from the Taconet, Lucy Flores from Luz Media and Junior Taco Correspondent, Samuel Franco.
Producer and host, Mando Rayo talks with story producer and filmmaker Sharon Arteaga on the steps they took to create the Tacos of Texas Podcast, Season Dos, from research to guest interviews and specialized segments to eating ojos, cabritos, all the tortillas, finding vendedoras along the borderlands, decolonizing our maíz, all while listening to taco […]
Move over Sunday brunch! Today we are vibing at a Tardeada in Seguin, Texas. Travel with us as we fill our panzitas with Tacos and our soul with good music y good afternoon vibes at Burnt Bean Co. The Pope of BBQ Ernest Servantes will guide us through a Sunday ritual of some sacred tacos […]
Let’s explore the original purveyors and growers of our foods and honor the hard work of Migrant Farmworkers. Thank you Jesus…De Nada says the migrant farmworker. Going beyond the internet meme, let’s not only explore where our food comes from but who cultivates it, picks it and gets it to local grocery stores and restaurants. […]
In Austin, East of IH-35 is considered the great divide, from the wealthy and the poor, the whites and Black and Latino communities. With Austin’s growth and gentrification comes even more displacement. You can literally experience it through the city’s tacos, where you can buy tacos for $2.00 at one location and $9.00 at another, […]
Many immigrants have leveraged the delicious cuisines of their países as a means of income and work when they first arrive in the United States. Even before setting up a taco truck or even a brick and mortar, we see vendedoras earning their income by selling tacos out of their hieleritas in grocery store parking […]
Corn is the most important crop of the Americas. It sustained the Western Hemisphere for centuries, and with the colonization of its lands, came the colonization of corn. In the past century, corn went from maíz production to mass production, with companies modifying it and depleting it of its natural riches. In this episode we […]
As some politicians take more notice of the voting power of the communidad Latina, we see our cultura make its way into campaign slogans, hear Spanish being spoken from debate podiums, and even Tacos being used as an effort to rally up support! While some taco tactics may just be lip service, others have made […]
Barbacoa, from Sunday traditions to everyday goodness, barbacoa continues to evolve and surprise us. In this episode, we talk barbacoa basics before chatting with Joel Garcia, owner and pitmaster at Teddy’s Barbecue in Weslaco, Texas. Joel shares his barbecue and barbacoa story and how smoking beef heads takes barbacoa to the next level.
The tradition of cooking cabrito goes back centuries. For Rebecca’s Mexican Restaurant, in McAllen, Texas, it goes back over 30 years, for a mother and her two daughters. In this episode we stop by this G.O.A.T. of a restaurant and talk cabrito traditions of the RGV with both hijas, Jessica Gutierrez and Laurie Johnson and […]
Don’t forget to take your Vitamin T! That’s T for Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales. In this episode, taco journalist Mando Rayo and bilingual educator Suzanne Garcia-Mateus sit down and browse through the spanglish children’s book that they co-wrote called Vitamina T for Tacos. They connect over their shared experiences of growing up bilingual and speaking […]
They say that Filipinos are the Mexicans of Asia. From the adobo and the chicharrones, to cultural traditions, we share an overlap in our identities. In this episode, we bond with our Filipino primos Isabel Protomartir (host of Identity Productions show Até) and Ralph Xavier Degala (Master Chef Season 9). We discuss how Filipino culture […]
Latino culture isn’t exactly known to be LGTBQia+ friendly. We’ve seen this through some of our biggest cultural icons, who remained closeted their entire lives. Much of the intolerance is driven by machismo in our culture, which can be prevalent in spaces like taquerias. We connect with Angel Cabrera, owner of Tacos Doña Lena in […]
What goes better with tacos than with a little Screwmbia? That's cumbia chopped and screwed. We'll talk with los mero meros de screwmbia, including Principe Q (Corpus Christi DJ, chef, and nephew of Selena, yes that Selena) and Gracie Chavez (co-founder of Houston's Bombón collective) to understand how the music genre took off.
Let’s talk tacos with Mando Rayo, Taco Journalist and the co-creator of United Tacos of America TV Show & Tacos of Texas book and PBS digital series. As an avid taco ambassador, food explorer and street ethnographer, Mando has traveled across the U.S. to uncover the tastiest tacos, from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas […]
Learn from two Chingonas making it in the taco world including Lis Mariscal, Veracruz All Natural and Victoria Elizondo, Chef/Owner of Cochinita & co. Moderated by Taco Journalist, Mando Rayo. Recorded live on the podcast stage at Austin City Limits Festival 2021.
Learn from Taco Journalist, Mando Rayo and Director Dennis Burnett on how they’re building platforms for people of color, from the tacos of Texas Podcast, United Tacos of America tv show and cooking shows, Tex-Mex Queen and ATE (ah-teh). Recorded live on the podcast stage at Austin City Limits Festival 2021.
In this episode, we spend 24-hours with Houston-based pitmaster Eduardo Ortiz (and his tortilla pressing mother!) to learn his process for creating some of Houston’s best-smoked carne. As we follow his masterful smoking process, we’ll learn how he learned his trade, how Eddie O’s first pop-ups were received, and what it takes to be Texas […]
Beneath the city’s trendy surface, Austin’s undersung “Taco Mile” (located up north on Rundberg Ln.) is serving up some of the most authentic tacos in the area. In this episode, we’ll examine how this hidden gem of a taco scene reflects Austin’s segregationist history, changing demographics, and the plight of immigrants in Texas’ capital city. […]
Located in the heart of San Antonio, UTSA’s academic library boasts one of the oldest, most comprehensive collections of historic Mexican cookbooks in the world (many of which are over a century old). In this episode, we’ll explore what these archaic texts teach us about Mexico’s rich culinary history and how its dishes are prepared […]
Some taco trucks are colorful, some hand-written and painted, and others are inspired by the food they make. In this episode, we’ll capture the most creative taco trucks, the inspiration, and stories behind the art, and eat along the way. Guests include muralist, Ernesto “Cheche” Hernandez (El Paso) and Reyna and Mariza Vasquez, Veracruz All […]
Tacos aren’t just delicious — they’re also big bucks! In this episode, we break down the numbers behind America’s favorite food. We’ll crunch the numbers to answer such burning questions as how much money does your average Texan spend on Tacos per year? How much does it cost to run a taco truck? And exactly […]
Since the turn of the century, the taco has become a staple of American cuisine, one on par with sushi and pizza. And yet misinformation about the dish (and Mexican food in general) still runs rampant in the United States. For example, did you know that the misconception that taco trucks are somehow dirtier or […]
2020 is the taco’s time to shine — and it’s the Chicanos, Latinx, Chingonas behind it all. In this episode, we’ll check in with the entrepreneurs who are behind some of Texas’s hottest food trends. We’ll also examine the ways in which these taqueros are working together to keep traditions alive and the culture as […]
Using the Disco, (a cooking apparatus whose origins are often attributed to the camaraderie between Mexican and Chinese rail workers in the early 20th century), we’ll trace how traditions and cultures intersect, and what effects that cultural fusion has on subsequent generations for years. We’ll explore the connections and history of the Chinese and Mexican […]
As our uncertain world turns, it seems like only one thing stays consistent — the generosity of Texas taqueros. Whether they’re feeding communities in need during natural disasters, or simply working to enforce their operation’s mask mandate during a global pandemic, it’s not often these brave culinary craftsmen and women get the recognition they deserve. […]
Birria de Res has arrived in Texas and it seems nobody can get enough of this red hot taco trend but don’t tell that to the goat birria die-hards. In this episode, we dissect the Birria trend, beef, and goat, from its century-old roots in central Mexico to its newfound popularity as Texas’s latest taco […]
It’s 2021 and we’re still pivoting through the pandemic. In this episode, we check in on Texas taquerias and chefs to see how they’ve adapted to an uncertain industry and what steps they’re taking to keep their operations above water. We’ll also take a look at how the pandemic affected both eaters’ dining habits and […]
If you asked any natural born Texan what food they most associate with their home state, chances are you’ll get one of two answers: BBQ and Tacos. In this episode we examine how these two disparate food traditions collided to to create the Lone Star sensation that is Tex-Mex BBQ. We’ll get a comprehensive look […]
Have you ever wondered why Birria tacos are so popular? Or how tacos are saving Texas, even during the pandemic? Or which Texas city has the tastiest tacos? If you find yourself dreaming of tacos, this is the podcast for you.