In Texas, the importance of the taco goes far beyond the food itself: the taco is packed with history and culture.
Taco journalist Mando Rayo has built an empire exploring the stories behind tacos and the people who make them.
Rayo, under the helm of his own production company, IDENTITY Productions, has written a number of taco-themed books and co-hosts the El Rey network television series “United Tacos of America.”
The fourth season of Rayo’s podcast, “Tacos of Texas,” produced at the KUT/KUTX studios in Austin, was released last month.
The season will explore everything from the history of the vaquero and its influence on breakfast tacos to Mexican culinary folklore.
It features conversations with a taco influencer who’s garnered a following as an internet mogul, a chef from the Rio Grande Valley who recently won a James Beard Award, and even a taco poet from San Antonio.
“It’s a mix of different elements,” Rayo says, “and I think the common thread is that everyone has an entrepreneurial spirit and they’re all doing it in their own way, in different ways.”
For Rayo, taco journalism has become much more than just eating tacos around the state and writing about them.
“Tacos represent your identity and your culture. You can’t separate the two,” he said. “We start with food, with tacos, and then we dig into different issues surrounding food, and we get into the culture of the people and the culture of the people who make the food.”
Rayo said the “Tacos of Texas” podcast will allow chefs and taquerias to share personal experiences about connecting with their roots.
“We need to pass the microphone around. We need to allow people to tell their own stories in their own way.”
Click here to listen to the podcast episode.
Listen below to hear how San Antonio native Rico Torres of Mixtli went from chef to historian.
