The three authors of La Tacopedia, an encyclopedia which offers a the history, culture and recipes of that most universal Mexican comfort food, presented their book during the 2014 Worlds Fair of Cookbooks in Beijing, China Wednesday. Deborah Holtz, Juan Carlos Mena and Alejandro Escalante were awarded a Gourmand prize for gastronomic literature at the event.
The authors told the story of the books origins — a 5 a.m. binge at a taco stand — at a presentation at Mexico’s Beijing embassy. “The idea for the book came in a golden moment when we came from a party and stopped at a taco stand with it’s delicious aromas,” said Holtz.
The book, which has sold more than 20,000 copies in Mexico, is more than a recipe book. The authors included the vast culture that encompasses the taco including interviews with and anecdotes, and expressions of master taco vendors, and a list of the best taco joints — places where you can find such delicacies as maguey worm tacos or grasshopper tacos.
“The taco, more than being a favorite dish, is a reflection of a culture, which we try to show in this book,” said Holtz. The book includes typographies that mimic signs at taco stands, cartoons, a large photo display and the tacografia, which consists of a map that lists the types of tacos and their contents classified geographically in distinct regions of Mexico.The authors noted that although no one knows when, or in what part of Meso America nixtamal, the corn meal that makes tortillas, was invented, in Chiapas there is evidence that tortillas were being made 1,500 years before the birth of Christ.
Mexican Ambassador to China Julian Ventura quoted Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz at the presentation: “Food, more than mystical speculation, is a sure way to get close to a people and it’s culture.” Ventura said that the taco is an emblematic food in Mexico and reminded those present that the UN declared Mexico’s gastronomy an Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
The second edition of the book is now available from publisher Trilce Ediciones for 399 pesos. Go to www.trilce.com.mx for more information.