Reflection

This course on Taco Literacy has allowed me to not only learn about Mexican culture and cuisine, but also to expound on my writing skills. And looking back on where I started, I am proud of how far I have come in the field of food writing. The inclusion of the WordPress posts has allowed me to continually search for topics to write about. Especially, my post on the connection between food and the ofrenda. I was really excited to write on that because I have always been curious about how it figures as one of the various practices of Catholicism. In addition, I enjoyed learning about the various states of Mexico and how certain groups of people have made their homes in the United States. This allowed me to reflect on my own personal connections to Mexico, especially since my family is from the Yucatán, namely Belize. Lastly, this course has allowed me to tackle the hard questions of authenticity and what is considered true Mexican food. This question has been best answered in José R. Ralat’s, American Tacos, in which he affirms that authenticity cannot be based on the grandma principal. And that is a preconception that I have maintained to most of my life. But I agree, no matter what I put in my taco (corn or flour), it will always be considered a taco. This class has also promoted me to fuse Belizean and Mexican (Bel-Mex) cuisine to make a new kind of taco– liver tacos (taco de hígado). This may sound weird, but I can picture it– stewed liver with onions, a flour tortilla, culantro, and sour cream blended with any choice of pepper(s) as a garnish. I think if I did not take course, I would not have had this idea! But all in all, this class was amazing!