Gustavo Arellano, author of the “Ask A Mexican” column in the OC Weekly, visited Cal State Long Beach on Wednesday to discuss the origins of his new book, “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.”
Arellano said he had always wanted to write a book about how Americans came to love Mexican food because no one else had tackled the topic before.
“I wanted to talk about the history of Mexican food in the U.S. and how we came to love Del Taco, Taco Bell and Tapatio,” Arellano said.
In order to discover the true history of Mexican food in the United States, Arellano embarked on a cross-country trip, looking for insightful knowledge and good meals.
One of Arellano’s stops was in Denver, where he tried the famous Mexican hamburger. Arellano explained that, even though the dish is not widely popular, it is still Mexican food.
One of Arellano’s main points was to dispel the myth that Mexican food is only what some people define it as.
“Mexican food is in the eye of the beholder and the stomach of the eater,” Arellano said.
In addition to sharing photos of his favorite Mexican dishes, Arellano spoke about Mexican food’s origin.
He cites “chile con carne” of San Antonio as the first Mexican dish in the United States. Arellano also said that enchiladas and chile rellenos were introduced around the same time.
Arellano also talked about the widespread expansion of tacos, burritos, fajitas and margaritas into the American market.
Following his lecture, Arellano took questions from the audience of about 90 to 100 people.
Students and professors asked the author about his favorite food dishes when he traveled throughout the United States.
“I thought the event was definitely interesting,” said Priscilla Vega, a freshman journalism major. “It was eye-opening to see the history of Mexican food in the USA.”
Rachel Lambert, a freshman psychology major, expressed similar thoughts.
“I’ve already started reading this book and it is so interesting to read about the history of Mexican food,” Lambert said.
In addition to being the editor-in-chief of the OC Weekly,
Arellano travels to college campuses throughout the nation. He said he has been to universities in all states, with the exception of six.
Arellano said it feels “surreal” when he visits college campuses.
“I’m only 33 years old, I didn’t graduate from college that long ago,” he said.