A second helping of ‘Tacos of Texas’ podcast explores Texas taco culture

AUSTIN, TEXAS – From what it takes to decolonize maíz to the overlap of Mexican and Filipino food in Texas to LGBTQ+ identity in taco culture, season dos of the Tacos of Texas podcast takes listeners even deeper into Texas’s taco culture.

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Taco journalist, food explorer, and podcast host Mando Rayo has traveled across the U.S. to uncover the tastiest tacos. In season dos of Tacos of Texas, the James Beard Award nominee talks to Texas taqueros, tortilleras and makers, explores food cultures and people while exploring taco beats, taco identity, taco gentrification y más.

“You can’t separate the food from culture,” said Rayo. “It’s part of people’s identities and in Season Dos, we’re going deep into these issues to explore the role food plays in our lives, whether it’s food traditions, politics, honoring migrant farm workers, growing up in the borderlands, or women’s immigrant experiences.”

Season dos of the 12-episode podcast launches today with new episodes dropping every Taco Tuesday.

“Taco Beats,” dives into the intersection of tacos and music and how the music genre “screwmbia” – cumbia chopped and screwed – took off. (Aug. 16)
“Taco Identity,” connects with members of the LGBTQ+ community for whom tacos are opening doors to their dreams. (Aug. 23)
“The Filipino Guey,” explores the overlap of Filipino and Mexican culture in Texas – and the tasty tacos that come with it. (Aug. 30)
“Vitamina T,” explores the ABCs of tacos and bilingualism through a children’s book written in Spanglish.

Later episodes include the latest process of making smoked beef barbacoa; understanding women-led informal economies and how they’re using comida to sustain immigrant households; taco gentrification; Cabrito y Familia; a taco tour through Dove Springs with Austin City Council member Vanessa Fuentes; Thank you Jesús, honoring migrant farmworkers; and more. Listeners also will hear cameos from across Texas in the “Sound of Tacos” and “Where Taqueros and Taqueras Eat” segments.

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In partnership with KUT and KUTX Studios, “Tacos of Texas” is produced by IDENTITY Productions, which brings to life shows that reflect BIPOC stories and experiences, and represent an inclusive, accurate portrait of America. The podcast was created and developed by host and producer, Mando Rayo, the story producer is Sharon Arteaga, the audio is mixed by Nicholas Worthen, and the creative producer is Dennis Burnett.

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