Get one, two or three on National Taco Day. On October 4th, the day recognizes the savory tortilla stuffed with fillings. It doesn’t have to be Tuesday, so get out and enjoy your favorite.
- The history of tacos predates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico. Anthropological evidence shows the native people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish.
- At the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Diaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans. Hernán Cortés arranged this meal for his captains in Coyoacan in 1520
- The Word Taco Means “Light Lunch”
- In 1964, Roberto L. Gomez established The National Taco Council. The council sent a 55-pound taco to President Johnson in 1967.
- Taco Bell started as Bell’s Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in San Bernardino, CA back in 1950 by Glen W. Bell Jr. Then, taking advantage that his stand was located in a Hispanic neighborhood, Bell started selling crispy-hard-shell tacos at 19 cents each.
- Taco Bell has tried to enter the Mexican market twice, failing both times, even after branding their food “American” food.
- The word taco started in the 18th-century silver mines in Mexico. Back then, a taco was just some paper wrapped around gunpowder.
- Tacos started appearing in the United States in the early 1900s as well. In San Antonio, a group of women called the Chili Queens sold tacos out of carts.
- In 1914, the first recipes for tacos appeared in an English cookbook.
- Ensenada, Mexico is said to be the birthplace of the fish taco.
- Americans eat over 4.5 billion tacos a year!
- That’s 490,000 miles of tacos, which could take you to the moon and back.
- The first taco truck in the U.S. is believed to have been opened by Raul Martinez, a Mexican immigrant who converted an old ice cream truck into a mobile taco restaurant in 1974. He parked the truck outside an East Los Angeles bar and was so successful, he was able to open a restaurant (King Taco) just six months later. King Taco now has 22 locations in California.
- There are over 20,000 different taco recipes, according to the Mexican Department of Agriculture.
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