There is so much untold and uncovered history of the African diaspora, especially that within the lineages of slavery. Food can signal a variety of possibilities within history, and in this episode, we examine the melding and the migration of Black Seminoles across Texas and into Mexico. We join Windy Goodloe and Corina Torralba Harrington, both descendants of Black Seminoles and of Mexican heritage for a Juneteenth celebration in Brackettville before making a pilgrimage to Nacimiento de los Neg...
Oct 31, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 12
There is so much untold and uncovered history of the African diaspora, especially that within the lineages of slavery. Food can signal a variety of possibilities within history, and in this episode, we examine the melding and the migration of Black Seminoles across Texas and into Mexico. We join Windy Goodloe and Corina Torralba Harrington, both descendants of Black Seminoles and of Mexican heritage for a Juneteenth celebration in Brackettville before making a pilgrimage to Nacimiento de los Neg...
Oct 24, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Food recipes and histories have been passed down orally for centuries, but thanks to the accessibility of technology, we can now archive recipes and stories in other ways. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Meredith E. Abarca about putting together her online archive El Paso Food Voices . Author and blogger Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack shares how she has used her cookbooks as a way to archive her family’s recipes. The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX ...
Oct 17, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The complex cuisine of Texas goes back before the land was known as either Texas or Mexico. In this episode, we visit Houston’s two-day, anthropologic culinary event Encuentro . We learn about the Native American roots of Texas Mexican food from both scholars and chefs present at the event. The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps. The post Inside Houston...
Oct 10, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 9
A taco is only as good as the salsa that tops it off. Let’s do a breakdown of the salsas that complete our favorite tacos, from taqueria style, to hot sauces. We’ll talk about the science of peppers with “The Chileman” Paul Bosland and see how different chiles perform on the Scoville Pepper scale. Mr. Bosland is the former director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University and has published more than 150 scientific papers and co-authored five books, including the Official Cook...
Oct 03, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Join us for a one-on-one conversation with chef, food writer, and filmmaker Adán Medrano . Adán is on a mission to set the record straight on what Tex-Mex is and what it isn’t. He’ll walk us through the history, recipes, and research on how we define “Texas”, “Mexican”, and the Indigenous beginnings that started it all. The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast...
Sep 26, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 7
When you can’t make lamb, goat or beef head barbacoa in a pozo, you go to your favorite barbacoa taqueros y taqueras. From Sunday morning traditions to more modern takes on barbacoa, we’re taking a deep dive into barbacoa in Central Texas. We’ll first spend some time with La Santa Barbacha , where they put more of a modern take on barbacoa for those everyday eaters. Then we’ll drive out on a Sunday morning to La Pulga, or as some of you might know it, the 812 Outdoor Market and get it by the pou...
Sep 19, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Latinos are gaining more seats at the table at the James Beard Foundation Awards! Get to know some of the past and current winners, nominees, and semifinalists from across Texas: 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panadería , 2023 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant Emmanuel Chavez of Tatemó , and 2022 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo . Learn from their perseverance, their beginnings, and how they got the attention ...
Sep 12, 2023•46 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Plant-based tacos aren’t just one of today’s trends. Before the introduction of pork and cattle to this side of the hemisphere, plant-based foods were the norm. In this episode, we skip the meat and talk to vegan taqueros and taqueras in Texas to understand what goes into making vegan options for taco lovers. Guests include Edgar Delfin from Lick It Up (El Paso/Austin), Chris Rios from The Vegan Nom (Austin), and Belen Hernandez from Belenty’s Love (Dallas). The full transcript of this episode o...
Sep 05, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this episode, we discuss how we can honor the matriarchs of nuestras familias. The kind that with their bare hands can flip tortillas over a blazing comal, work and pound masa for tortillas and tamales, and make salsas with their Mexican Hands. Get to know the stories behind the dishes and recipes that are near and dear to our hearts. Guests include Diana Valera from Tamale House East in Austin and Ellen Riojas Clark, Ph.D., Professor Emerita at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The ful...
Aug 29, 2023•35 min•Season 3Ep. 3
You voted and we put the finalists to the challenge! In this episode, we taste the best bean and cheese tacos in San Antonio, Texas. Which bean and cheese combo will be crowned the winner of this Bean & Cheese Battle Royal? Why is this breakfast taco a staple and part of San Antonio’s food culture? Guests include Stephanie Guerra from Puro Pinche, Nydia Huizar and Richard Diaz from BarbacoApparel, and Jaime Macias from Jaime’s Place. The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is a...
Aug 22, 2023•36 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Grab a lunch tray and join us at the cafeteria as we explore Mexican food served in elementary schools. We talk to Austin Independent School District’s Executive Chef Diane Grodek about the food served in schools, cafeteria worker Ofelia Diaz and get honest feedback from kids eating tacos and tamales over lunch at McBee Elementary School in Austin. The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitle...
Aug 15, 2023•42 min•Season 3Ep. 1
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 to L.A. and New Orleans to New York City. And we’re keeping the conversation front and center through the Tacos of Texas Podcast Season Tres (3). Keeping it true to our Taco Jou...
Aug 01, 2023•2 min
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. The post Ultima Palabra con Mando Rayo appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts ....
Nov 29, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 14
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 beats and traveling over 2000 miles without leaving the state of Tejas. The post Taquiando y Hablando: The ingredients to making a taco podcast a...
Nov 22, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 13
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 of Texas. We talk tardeada traditions, memorias, and some of our favorite tardeada tunes y comida. The post Tardeadas appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts ....
Nov 01, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 12
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. The farm-to-market movement has exponentially grown in the U.S. but when it comes to taquerias and Latino farmers, are they included in the make-up and do they benefit fro...
Oct 25, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 11
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, all within 5 blocks of each other! In this episode, we’ll explore Taco Gentrification and how it impacts taqueros and the communities we live in. We will take a taco t...
Oct 18, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 10
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 lots or wherever they know they’ll find foot traffic. In this episode we explore what motivates these women to leave their kitchens and go out into these parking lots. We discuss these ...
Oct 11, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 9
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 rally with masa makers on a journey to reconnect our comunidades with the nutrients and flavors of the superfood in a more pure form than the mass-produced maseca, with ...
Oct 04, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 8
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 sincere connections with the communities they go into. In this episode we talk tacos and politics with Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes, AISD Trustee Ofelia Zapata and Jilma Palacio from Taque...
Sep 27, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 7
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 post Smoked Beef Barbacoa appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts ....
Sep 20, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 6
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 some fellow taco-loving customers at the restaurant. The post Cabrito y Familia: Rebecca’s Mexican Restaurant appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts ....
Sep 13, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 spanglish and how that motivated them to write a book that represented the complex culture that they didn’t see in children’s books when they were ...
Sep 06, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 4
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 is thriving in Texas and the tasty tacos that come with it. The post The Filipino Guey appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts ....
Aug 30, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 3
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 Houston, and Kristen Martinez, owner of MB Foodhouse in Minneapolis, about their experience in the taco community. They share with us how they have persevered and rise...
Aug 23, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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. We’ll also take a deep dive into creating taco beats with music producer Adrian Graniel who helped IDENTITY Productions create their own taco beats that go perfect with ...
Aug 16, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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 to L.A. and New Orleans to New York City. And we’re keeping the conversation front and center through the Tacos of Texas podcast Season Two. Keeping it true to our TacoJournalis...
Aug 11, 2022•2 min
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. The post How to Run a Modern Day Taqueria appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts .
Jan 17, 2022•31 min
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. The post Building a Taco Empire appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts ....
Jan 03, 2022•32 min
