Mexico Has Never Heard of Your Favorite Mexican Food

The hard shell taco, nachos, and the chimichanga — none of these dishes exist in Mexico. In this video, we trace how America invented, renamed, and sold back an entire cuisine to the culture it came from. We cover the 1951 California origin of the hard shell taco, the 1943 border transaction that created nachos from Wisconsin cheddar and a Swiss cheese product, and the 1922 Tucson kitchen accident that became America's most consumed Mexican dish. From Glen Bell to Frank Liberto to Diana Kennedy's ignored warning in 1972 — this is what American Mexican food actually is, and what got erased in the process. Topics covered: Mexican food history, real origin of Mexican food, Tex-Mex vs Mexican food, where did tacos come from, history of nachos, chimichanga origin, Mexican American food culture documentary.