Where Did Tex-Mex Cuisine Come From
                     WHERE DID TEX-
MEX CUISINE COME 
FROM?
Tex-Mex food is rightfully one of Texas’ biggest 
sources of pride. Learn about the origins of Tex-
Mex and how it became uniquely Texas. 
Texas is an excellent location to live (and to buy 
a home)! One important cause for this is our 
Tex-Mex cuisine. It is a source of pride for 
Texas, but also of contention for some. If you 
ask several Texans where to locate the best 
Tex-Mex food, you will get a variety of answers. 
However, if you are in Hong Kong and then you 
must visit to the La Vista to have the best 
Mexican Cuisine. 
UNDERSTANDING 
TEX-MEX 
It is difficult to pin down Tex-Mex food. It 
might be easiest to describe it as Mexican 
food that you would not encounter in most 
parts of Mexico. Consider tacos, enchiladas, 
fajitas, chalupas, flautas, burritos, nachos, and 
so on. 
In any case, Mexican cuisine does not exist. 
Mexico is a large, diverse country with many 
unique culinary traditions from places like 
Oaxaca, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Jalisco. 
Different areas combine foods and cooking 
techniques from the Aztecs and other Indian 
nations with those of the Spanish and their 
descendants. 
 
WHERE DID TEX-MEX 
CUISINE ORIGINATE? 
In the nineteenth century, San Antonio 
and the Rio Grande Valley saw the 
birth of Tex-Mex. Northern Mexican 
Norteo cooking customs were mixed 
with foods from Texan rancher culture. 
While some Tex-Mex cultural elements, 
such as mariachis and tequila, 
originate in Jalisco, the food itself has 
origins in both Mexico and Texas. 
WHERE DID THE 
TERM “TEX-MEX” 
ORIGINATE FROM
The first use of the word “TexMex,” without the 
hyphen, referred to the Texas and Mexican 
Railroad, which was chartered in 1875. By 
making transportation simpler, the railroad aided 
in the creation and spread of Tex-Mex food. 
Despite the efforts of numerous abuelas, chilli 
queens, and chefs on both sides of the border, it 
was an English cookbook author who gave Tex-
Mex food its name. Diana Kennedy’s 1972 book 
The Cuisines of Mexico distinguished between 
Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines. 
CONTACT US
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-mex-cuisine-come-from
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