AFTERwords

Have a good tejano day! Stay connected with TEJANOmike dot net ... Ramp Up!

Howdy y'all. I was having problems with the 'Life at A Glance' link, so bad that I had to delete it and add a new one, sorry about that. All done now. Also, moved a few links on top due to their importance and visitors' preferences - happens once/twice a year and/or as needed.

This link is another favorite one of mine because I can upload just about anything from my computer. Stories from the internet also, commentaries of my own, all kinds of pictures from A to Z, including astronomy, history, and other interesting things. There is no end here ... a freestyle link is my best answer to all of you. Thanks for visiting TMDN.

Tex-Mex is a cuisine as American as apple pie. It's long been dismissed as a distorted version of genuine Mexican food. But Tex-Mex was born in Texas, and all corners of the United States now boast incredible Tex-Mex restaurants. This list of America's most popular foods includes enchiladas, chili con carne, nachos and other Tex-Mex essentials!

The most popular story about chili's American debut came during the World's Columbian Exposition of 1983 in Chicago. Texas' delegation is rumored to have created a scene straight from the streets of San Antonio to delight fairgoers: a chili stands. By then, chili was already developing a national reputation thanks to the chili queens of San Antonio.

Second, to chili in early Tex-Mex exports? That would be tamales. At one point during the Gilded Age, tamales were a popular street food, akin to hot dogs. The tamalero, or tamale man, would shout "hot ta-ma-leeeees" to patrons in major metropolitan areas. The famous singsong mannerisms of the tamalero even appeared in film and music of the early 20th century.

Tex-Mex vs. Mexican Food

The most vocal critic against Tex-Mex may be Diana Kennedy, a British-born food writer who is considered one of the de facto authorities on Mexican cooking. In The Art of Mexican Cooking, Kennedy writes, "Far too many people outside Mexico still think of [Mexican foods] as an overly large platter of mixed messes, smothered with a shrill tomato sauce, sour cream and grated yellow cheese preceded by a dish of mouth-searing sauce and greasy deep-fried chips."

Popular Items:

Sour cream: Sour cream is another popular ingredient to add richness and texture to any dish. Jose Jaimes is the owner and operator of Mexigo and Don Pepe's Rancho in North Texas. For over 30 years, the restaurateur has delighted customers with his dishes and credits sour cream as one of his hallmark ingredients.

Cheese: Perhaps the most ubiquitous ingredient on a Tex-Mex menu is melty, yellow cheese. For better or for worse, cheese is the ingredient that fuses two once-opposing cultures to create a brand-new cuisine.

Popular Tex-Mex Dishes

Aside from common ingredients, what else makes Tex-Mex, well, Tex-Mex? It has to be from Texas.

Burritos, chimichangas and fish tacos are some examples of dishes that borrow the title "Tex-Mex" but originate from elsewhere in the U.S. As a result, they are omitted from this list of popular Tex-Mex recipes.

Chili con carne: Chili con Carne easily tops the list of Tex-Mex recipes. According to an oral history from Raul Molina Jr. of Molina's Restaurant in Houston, "Spaghetti and chili was the original Tex-Mex dish." For those who want to recreate this old-fashioned Southwestern staple, our Southwestern Spaghetti recipe might do the trick.
Tamales: This Tex-Mex Street food has remained popular for more than a hundred years. It's worth learning how to make tamales at home.
Enchiladas: Chef Fried of El Dorado Cafe in Austin makes it clear that cheese enchiladas are his quintessential Tex-Mex dish. To him, enchiladas represent the comfort that comes with eating Tex-Mex. For cooks that can't make the trip to Austin, this recipe for Easy Beef Enchiladas should satisfy cravings.
Fajitas: Fajitas are an iconic dish but a relatively late newcomer, entering the mainstream Tex-Mex scene in the late 1960s. Gustavo Arellano writes in Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America that fajita, or the outside skirt steak of the cow, was considered a lower-class food for many years. But Fajita’s revolutionary turn came in 1969 when a Laredo restaurant called Round-Up served the dish on a sizzling platter.
Tortilla soup: Jose Jaimes, the North Texas restaurateur, picks Chicken Tortilla Soup as his standout Tex-Mex dish. It's also one of his most popular menu items, and worth checking out if you're near North Texas.

Chiles/peppers make a world of difference in our food, I mean, I have made Chile Verde with only Comino, whole peppercorns, whole garlics, salsa verde can, water, and it comes out okay.

But if you add 2-3 different chiles/colors - [I do not know them by name, yellow, green, dark green; grill them first; then use a blender] - add them to the above five items and the Chile Verde comes out so much better. 'Mama mia'. Trust me.

Danny R / Cielito Lindo

As I was saying earlier ...

Demographics

Most Tejanos are concentrated in southern Texas, in historic areas of Spanish colonial settlement and closer to the border that developed. The city of San Antionio is the historic center of Tejano culture. During the Spanish colonial period of Texas, most colonial settlers of northern New Spain - including Texas, northern Mexico, and the American Southwest – were descendants of Spaniards.

Although the number of Tejanos whose families have lived in Texas since before 1836 is unknown, it was estimated that 5,000 Tejano descendants of San Antonio’s Canarian founders lived in the city in 2008. The community of Canarian descent still maintains the culture of their ancestors.

Tejanos may identify as being of ... 'Mexican, Chicano, Mexican American, Spanish, Hispano, American' ... and/or Indigenous ancestry. In urban areas, as well as some rural communities, Tejanos tend to be well integrated into both the Hispanic and mainstream American cultures. Especially among younger generations, a number identify more with the mainstream and may understand little or no Spanish.

Most of the people whose ancestors colonized Texas and the northern Mexican states during the Spanish colonial period identified with the Spaniards, Criollos, or Mestizos who were born in the colony. Many of the latter find their history and identity in the history of Spain, Mesoamerica, and the history of the United States. Spain’s colonial provinces – Spanish Texas – and Spanish Louisiana participated on the side of the rebels in the American Revolutionary War.

I think we need a new and more modern definition of ... 'Tejanos'.

How about this for starters:

"Tejanos and tejanas are Hispanic Americans that are from the state of Texas, a proud cultural driven people that love their music, love their artists, and dance to it with a lot of love, motivation, and tejano spirit. The music is a combination of modern sounds played by conjuntos, groups, and bands throughout major cities in Texas, and in other states as well."

[For now, I am taking out south Texas and Mexico out of the equation.]

Why? We must remember that our music industry - as a whole - will not advance, it will not survive or create its own progress unless our conventional music values are shared as one common denominator.

Today, only a handful of us understand the change among us; a few don't like it; some of us cannot even get along or agree cooperatively to clearly see what is present in front of us or see the new trends of 2024-25. We move ever so slowly.

We must accept, admit, and/or regard them - [other states/groups playing our tejano music] - yes, see them as part of our industry, not just local acceptance in San Antonio only. We need to find a commonality music path, a bridge and avenue for us to get along and ultimately prosper in the end - and for future tejano generations.

One more factoid:

Our music has many excellent tejano groups, conjuntos, and bands from Texas and from all over the country. There are many indie male/female singers yet untapped, and you would think 'La Onda Enterprises' would have millions of dollars in the bank! ... and with more money rolling in weekend after weekend. We don't.

The truth is our "music product" is not selling, it is not salable, it is not a marketable item on a grand and $$$$ scale. The answer is very simple ... "Nobody is controlling our music business ... how can we sell a super-sure-thing-music-product to the American and tejano Consumer without any organization whatsoever?"

Do not forget that our new tejano music is exploiting to some degree in our present modern day and with an unpredictable pace of its own. [TM 10/9/2024]