Jeffrey Pilcher Mexican Culture Summary

“Taco USA: How Mexican Food Became More American Than Apple Pie” was written in 2012 by Gustavo Arellano, a prolific food author for the Orange County newspaper OC Weekly. This article originally appeared as an online publication in Reason Magazine. Arellano has written books about Mexican food and its role in the American experience. His writings explain how this genre of cuisine has evolved and transformed as it has spread geographically throughout the United States. Growing up in Orange County California with two Hispanic parents, Arellano experienced firsthand the transformation of traditional Mexican dishes into the tex-mex that most American families are familiar with today. The online news site, Reason Magazine, originally published this article to accommodate to an audience of readers who want to be informed but also entertained by the news. These readers care about what is happening in society but are not considered scholars on the topics presented. Although the readers of Reason Magazine might not have any formal knowledge about food and its role in culture, all of them have experienced the importance of a meal in their everyday lives. The author uses the experience and background of his audience to show them the importance and prevalence of Mexican food in the American culture. In “Taco USA” Arellano uses personal stories, ethnic language, and historical information to show his

All over the world there are many features that make up a culture. Culture can be defined as the characteristics, attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of a group of people, relating to language, cuisine, religion, interaction, lifestyle, and more which is learned through socialization. These aspects of cultures are what distinguishes it from others. It is interesting to explore and learn about new cultures. I will be focusing on the Mexican culture, their religion, death, family life, weddings and ….

This paper looks to define and explore three books which are a crux to various food histories which in the last decade has become a scholarly journey as food history is becoming increasingly studied as a scholarly endeavor by historians where previously it was not seen in such a scholarly light. The three texts which are going to be examined are: Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food by Jeffery M. Pilcher, The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture by Rebecca L. Spang, and lastly To Live and Dine in Dixie: The Evolution of Urban Food Culture in the Jim Crow South by Angela Jill Cooley. Each of these books seek to redefine how people see their perspective topics whether it be Mexican identity rooted in cuisine, the evolution of southern food in a racially divided south, or even the concept of the restaurant emerging from a revolutionary culture. These texts bring awareness to various topics which have both social, cultural, and economic stigmas associated with them.

Thinking about the importance and significance of food respective to our health, ethnic culture and society can cause cavernous, profound, and even questionable thoughts such as: “Is food taken for granted?”, “Is specialty foods just a fad or a change in lifestyle?”, and even “Is food becoming the enemy.” Mark Bittman, an established food journalist, wrote an article called “Why take food seriously?” In this article, Bittman enlightens the reader with a brief history lesson of America’s appreciation of food over the past decades. This history lesson leads to where the social standing of food is today and how it is affecting not only the people of America, but also the rest of the world.

Neither life nor culture can be sustained without food. On a very basic level, food is fundamentally essential for life, not simply to exist, but also to thrive. A means by which carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, nutrients, and calories are introduced into the body, food is a mechanism of survival. However, on a more abstract level, food is also fundamentally essential for culture by establishing its perimeters and dimensions and in shaping its authenticity and character. Food becomes the

In our society today, culture is not what it used to be hundreds of years ago. There is no more “pure” culture. Our culture today is enriched with many different traditions and customs that are being shared and adopted. Due to emigration and immigration, a variety of diverse customs, beliefs, and knowledge moved with every exiting and entering human being. Thus, changing and shaping the culture of many. Throughout the world, the beliefs and religious views of culture are dissimilar around the world. By taking the time to read, listen and learn about certain people’s culture, there will be knowledge and understanding that will be gained.

With the signing of NAFTA in 1994, Mexico’s economy destabilized and shattered which caused increased dependence on foreign powers, like the USA, to invest in the economy. This put an emphasis on the globalization of the exchange of goods, services, and ideas. During my trip to Pilsen, I went to a bakery called “Xurro” and found that the whole place was a collection of products from Mexico, the USA, and other countries. They had not only traditional Mexican deserts like churros and Fresas con Crema, but also banana splits and Flaming hot Cheetos (a known American product very popular in Mexico). I also noticed they had an item on the menu called “Mocha Mezcla” which was Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate with a shot of expresso in it. These products are the physical representation of globalization through food; the mix and match of cultures introduces new combinations of goods to be sold and consumed. I observed that the menu was both in English and Spanish; the merging of two languages is indicative of the globalization of language as well as products. Also in the gift shop of the Art Museum, many products were made in China or other nations, although they were meant to represent Mexican heritage; this satisfies customer’s desire to be more “cultured” without being aware of the history and journey that the product has made. However, globalization is anything but a seamless process. Throughout the Museum, I perceived there were many images of American culture mixed with Mexican culture in a negative light. For example, there was a 3D sculpture of the famous Sun Maid Raisins, an American company, logo but the friendly girl on the box was replaced with a skeleton smiling with the words underneath, “SUN MAD Raisins: unnaturally grown with Insecticides, Miticides, Herbicides,

Mexican culture dates far back as the 13th century. This is when the Aztecs were prevalent in northern mexico. Aztecs were a people who were all about war and honor. They made many enemies going to war with smaller tribes and brutally killed their enemies. In the 16th century the Aztecs Empire crumbled due to the invasion led by Hernan Cortez. Disease, superior weapons, and aid of the Aztec’s enemies were all contributing factors to the Aztecs downfall. Fast forward September 16th 1810 when Mexico gained its independence from Spain Mexico's identity started to develop. Mexican culture is defined by many things, its food, its language, its clothing, its art. However, There is one aspect that defines Mexican culture and that is family life. Mexicans have a very rich family life that defines the culture. The way that family is organized and the way each member acts can be traced back to the very beginning. It's a mixture of the indigenous peoples culture as well as the Spaniards culture. The indigenous peoples pass on their ideas of honor and machismo and the Spaniards pass on their ideas of catholicism, and family value and structure. I fit into this because I grew up on these ideas and my family still practices some of these ideas today.

A cultural analysis is a combination of many elements. Cultures have traditions, customs, habits, beliefs, practices, and values. Each culture can have different traditions in their own essence. These traditions can come from their ancestors ' and passed down the generations. However, some people don’t like to continue their ancestors traditions and adapt others customs from another culture. The culture change depending on the time and place. The enrichment of cultures consists of adaptation and acceptance of another culture 's beliefs. Not all of the people can tolerate other cultures, traditions, languages or stereotypes. Cultures attack or support other cultural values The Mexican culture is hard-working and are strict in their values and traditions. The power and oppression of the cultures are current; social and economic conditions in the people in cultures. The Mexican culture has social and economic conditions oppressed by the power of its Government. In the play “Los Vendidos” Luis Valdez, talks about the multiple accent and background of Mexican people.

Within the first few paragraphs of this section Arellano not only describes the setting of his work he also jumps right into the main topic that he will be discussing, Mexican food. Arellano coming from Hispanic heritage himself grew up eating and loving Mexican food. So when he traveled to South Dakota in the middle of the United States, he was greatly surprised to find out that google maps found four Mexican restaurants in one city. But he was even more surprised to find how many locals enjoyed these restaurants and how Americanized the food was. He described his astonishment when he tried his first Potato Oles from fast food giant Taco Johns. They were “Stuffed into a breakfast burrito, nacho cheese sauce slowing oozing out from the bottom of the flour tortilla. There is nothing remotely Mexican about Potato Oles-not even the quasi-Spanish name.” And it's with this creative and insightful description that we learn that the author really knows his stuff when it comes to true Mexican cuisine.

Here in California, there are several Mexican supermarkets that offer almost all of the basic and essential products in making or preparing the dishes common for this culture. This is an advantage for Mexicans that reside here in California. The interviewees also mentioned that in other states, Mexican food products are scarce making it difficult for some of them to prepare the meals that they are used to eating.

In Marie Sarita Gaytan’s “From Sombreros to Sincronizadas,” she argues that the authenticity of Mexican restaurants has become a social construct. Different types of Mexican restaurants are considered more authentic because of a stereotype we created in the early 1970’s. After its creation, people refused to accept anything but the “ideal” Mexican restaurant and would raise their noses to anything different from their ideas of authentic Mexican food. She states that to have any type of real Mexican food, you must have true Mexican spirit, which cannot be copied. All in all, Gaytan’s argument is that the idea of authentic Mexican food is our own and not everyone else’s. Real Mexican food comes from years and years of cultural development and

Cooking and Coping Among the Cacti is an ethnography from 1998 that recounts Roberta D. Baer’s nutritional anthropological study on malnutrition in four groups of Mexican people. Nutritional anthropology is a subset of anthropology that studies the socio-cultural aspects of food consumption and nutritional status. Baer conducted the study in order to determine key aspects of the people’s lives that affect their daily diets and to analyze diet compositions. Through data analysis that combines both qualitative and quantitative methods, she asserts that social factors influence available income and available income further influences. To me, Baer’s proposition and proposition are easy to understand, innovative, and convincing. However, it also

Lastly, Mexican cuisine in America was not well known to many chefs because they did not know real authentic Mexican cuisine. In fact, “Few, if any, famous chefs had worked in Mexico” thus, “even fewer had studied there” (McEvoy). In this situation, to be respected as a chef one must witness first-hand real Mexican cuisine and to do that it requires visiting Mexico and getting the real experience of Mexican cuisine. Indeed, witnessing the real thing can help bring out the best in a chef because they will know the ingredients and taste needed to satisfy customers seeking authentic Mexican cuisine. Moreover, chefs today are exploring the option of expanding Mexican cuisine in other areas of well know American food. For instance, chefs have rolled

One of the first and most famous groups that influenced our cuisine is the Native American Indians. The earliest settlers in Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts relied on the American Indians with their way of preparing and cooking food. The three main crops that the American Indians used were corn, beans, and squash. The Native American Indians generously shared and taught their way of life and how they made their food to the settlers. Throughout the forming of the colonies there were many different cultures and eating habits. There were hunters, farmers, and both. Things started to change once the 13 colonies were beginning to be formed.