In many cultures there are specific foods that seem to define an area or a people, but as far as a Mexican household, the food that catches our attention is the humble yet important taco.

The origins of the taco and how it became a staple of the Mexican diet is quite interesting.

The origins of the taco are really unknown. My theory is that it dates from the 18th century and the silver mines in Mexico, because in those mines the word “taco” referred to the little charges they would use to excavate the ore. These were pieces of paper that they would wrap around gunpowder and insert into the holes they carved in the rock face. When you think about it, a chicken taquito with a good hot sauce is really a lot like a stick of dynamite.

The first references [to the taco] in any sort of archive or dictionary come from the end of the 19th century. And one of the first types of tacos described is called tacos de minero—miner’s tacos. So the taco is not necessarily this age-old cultural expression; it’s not a food that goes back to time immemorial. I put so much effort in this story because i grew up in a mexican household. The taco is currently and will forever be the IT food in a mexican household.