Taco Day: what is the book that details everything you need to know about this Mexican dish

In the world of literature, you can find all kinds of books. From the most eccentric to the most sober. One of the books that have attracted the most attention in Mexico, due to the subject it deals with, is Tacopedia, about Taco Day, which is commemorated this Thursday March 31st.

The book, written by journalist, writer and radio host Déborah Holtz, brings together the secrets and origins of the popular Mexican food. The writer came up with the book, as she has stated on several occasions, on an occasion when she was surprised how, at four in the morning, a taco salesman would take dozens of orders in a few minutes.

Seeing this, he thought that no one had paid tribute to the taqueros, and to everything around the taco. That's when he decided to create La Tacopedia, an encyclopedia of taco, where he describes the 16 main types of taco that exist in Mexico, the characteristics of each one, and the way in which they are prepared. This part of the book was named “Tacography”, since it is a map that is responsible for illustrating the origin of each specialty.

In the book, you can also find data on the evolution of the dish throughout history, as well as some recipes. The book was co-authored by Alejandro Escalante.

You can also find a typology of the taco, as well as its different ways of preparing it. There are, for example, stew tacos, which consist of tortillas accompanied by some preparation such as rice with egg, shredded meat, chicharrón with green sauce, and moronga. However, many others can be found.

The book also gives an exhaustive, but fun review of the origins of the tortilla, the recipes, the sauces that should accompany the taco, and the recommended establishments throughout the country. In addition, it includes interviews with “legendary” taqueros who make the objective of this book a reality.

The writer also stated that she was not looking to do something academic or intellectualized, nor did she want a chef to explain the correct way to prepare a taco, but rather a plain and direct book, explaining what taco is in its most widespread form.

In addition, the writer has also said that taco is one of the few things that unite Mexicans, regardless of their social class, skin color or ideology, because everyone, both rich and poor, eats tacos.

This March 31 commemorates Taco Day. Since 2007, this Mexican dish has its celebration. This began when Televisa launched a campaign that said: “Because everyone has their day: Taco Day, March 31.”

To commemorate this dish and invite the establishment of that date for the taco, a website was launched with interesting facts and the specialty of each state.

The celebration was also musical, as they did a commemorative song and a concert at the Azteca Stadium, located south of Mexico City, with a fair where all kinds of tacos were exhibited. Taco Day was also celebrated in Acapulco, in the Papagayo Park, where they did another great concert.

And since no one can resist some delicious tacos, whether they are from suadero, shepherd, golden tripe, sausage, campechanos, or whatever their ingredient, the date continued to be resumed annually, especially by various establishments that, to celebrate it, launched special promotions on the big day.

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