Two years ago, Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena created the most comprehensive guide on the taco, aka a taco encyclopedia without all the stuffiness. Through hundreds of interviews, illustrations, and recipes, their book, Tacopedia, shows that the taco is more than just a defining feature of Mexican cuisine; the taco is a part of Mexico’s history and culture as well. The book went on to become a best-seller in Mexico (which duh), but because it was only in Spanish, there were many who couldn’t read about the 19 variations of tacos and taco-like foods. Now, the book is available in English, according to LA Weekly.
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Detailed illustrations show how corn becomes a tortilla, what different cuts of meat to use for different taco types, and what tacos are popular where, so the reader will be able to suck up a lot of the knowledge the authors learned in their four years of research. The ultra colorful book also doesn’t miss the opportunity to use emoji-like characters as periods and to show the diversity of tacos through taco lotería.
The book may just blow your mind or even incite some healthy debates. The excerpt below – a quote by Guillermo “El Mayor” González from Taquero De El Huequito – didn’t go over well with some on the Remezcla estaff who are very pro-pineapples on their tacos al pastor.
The book is divided into chapters for the different taco types, and each section includes a history on the food, as well as the best places to eat them.