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Workshop: History of the Taco

Workshop: History of the Taco

€50,00 EUR
€50,00 EUR
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So what's it going to be about? 

This workshop explores the many faces of the Mexican taco through key turning points in Mexican history, from pre-Hispanic cultures to the present day, reimagined within the Irish context. The taco will be our guide to understanding how food reflects cultural exchange, social change, and collective memory.

It is designed as a theoretical–practical workshop. On the theoretical side, participants will learn about the history of the taco, its cultural context, and its visual and artistic representations across codices, colonial paintings, murals, photography, and contemporary art. On the practical side, each session includes a tasting of a different taco or related dish, offering a direct sensory connection to history.

Together, we will trace how the taco has evolved over centuries: from maize, centered ritual foods in pre-Hispanic times, to colonial mestizaje and revolutionary street food, to modern urban taquerías and the global diaspora, including new interpretations of the taco in Ireland today.



Session 1 – Maize (Corn) Before the Tortilla

Theme:

  • Maize as the center of Mesoamerican cosmology.

  • Myths of creation (Popol Vuh, Mexica worldview: “humans made of maize”).

  • Proto-tortillas and taco predecessors: tlacoyos as everyday nourishment.

  • Rituals and traditions: agricultural festivals, maize offerings, blessings.

  • References in pre-Hispanic codices (Borgia, Florentine, Mendoza).

Tasting: Tlacoyos (filled with refried beans).

Session 2 – The Colonial Taco: Mestizaje and Adaptation

Theme:

  • The arrival of European ingredients: wheat, beef, pork, chicken, dairy, spices.

  • The transformation of the Indigenous diet through mestizaje.

  • Adaptation of recipes within the colonial context.

  • Visual culture: still-life paintings (bodegones), colonial depictions of kitchens and tables.

Tasting: Taco de rajas poblanas with cheese (example of syncretism between chiles, dairy, and Indigenous cooking).

Session 3 – The Popular Taco and the Mexican Revolution

Theme:

  • The taco as a democratic food, accessible to everyone.

  • The Mexican Revolution and rural migration into the cities.

  • The rise of street tacos, markets, fairs, and food as urban nourishment.

  • Social context: tacos as the food of workers, peasants, and students.

Visual references: Costumbrista photography, early 20th-century images of markets and taquerías.

Tasting: Tacos de canasta (portable, affordable, democratic tacos).

Session 4 – Modernity, Urbanization & Industry: The Taco al Pastor

Theme:

  • Industrialization of maize: from traditional nixtamal to industrialized flour (Maseca, 1940s–50s).

  • Urbanization: massive migration into Mexico City and the rise of late-night taquerías.

  • Arab–Mexican fusion: Lebanese migration and the influence of shawarma/kebab → creation of the taco al pastor in the 1960s.

  • The taco as a modern icon: fast, popular, nocturnal food for everyone in the urban setting.

  • Global expansion: how al pastor became one of the most recognized ambassadors of Mexican cuisine worldwide.

Art & visual culture:

  • Urban murals and posters from mid-20th century Mexico.

  • Street photography of taquerías as social gathering spaces.

  • Contemporary art and installations that use tacos as cultural symbols.

Tasting: Taco al pastor (with pineapple, onion, and cilantro). Optional: small comparison with shawarma/kebab.

Session 5 – Tacos in the Diaspora: Mexico in Ireland

Theme:

  • A brief history of tacos outside Mexico: migrant communities in the U.S. and Europe.

  • The taco as cultural emblem abroad.

  • The first tacos in Ireland: adaptation of techniques and local ingredients.

  • The taco as a bridge between cultures and as a symbol of migrant identity.

Tasting: Tacos made with Irish ingredients 

 

Duration:

Starts October 1

🗓 Dates:
5 Wednesdays — October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22, and October 29

🕕 Time:
6:30 PM – 8:15 PM

📍 Location:
14 Exchequer Street, 2nd Floor, Dublin 2

💶 Price:
€50 (includes all 5 sessions and food)

📌 Format:
In-person workshop

🎥 Can’t make it to a session?
We can provide a recording upon request.

Taught by: Erick Gustavo Carrillo Ortiz

 

Erick studied a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Centro Eleia in Mexico. For six years, he dedicated himself to clinical psychotherapy and teaching. He also co-founded the magazine Inverosímil, where he collaborated with emerging artists to create hybrid articles focused on everyday experiences. Additionally, he coordinated art and literature workshops at Invernadëro, where he also led workshops on topics such as "art and psychoanalysis," "walking to get lost," "art and aesthetics," among others.

He currently resides in Ireland, where he completed a Master's in Visual and Critical Studies at TU Dublin, writing a dissertation on the representation of the microbus and its relationship with New Spanish Baroque churches. He is also a co-founder of the cultural project Fondita Mestiza, which merges art, gastronomic experiences, and critical thinking.

 

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