International Taco Day

Created in 2007 by Televisa, a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company, International Taco Day—also known as Day of the Taco, Día del Taco, and Día Internacional del Taco—is celebrated today with tacos being enjoyed around the world! In honor of the day, some local and national restaurants offer deals on tacos.

There is some evidence that tacos with small fish were eaten in the Valley of Mexico before the Spaniards arrived on the continent. Women may have wrapped food in corn tortillas that were prepared on hot stones, to be taken by men who worked long hours. In the eighteenth century, Mexican silver miners used "plugs" or "wads"—paper wrappers with gunpowder fillings—to extract ore, and these were also called tacos. Tacos likely got their modern name because they resembled these explosives. Tacos usually consist of a protein such as beef, chicken, pork, or fish wrapped in a hard or soft shell made of corn or flour. Toppings may include tomatoes, onion, lettuce, cheese, refried beans, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Traditional Mexican tacos include the al pastor, carne asada, tacos de camarones (shrimp tacos), and tacos de pescado (fish tacos), among others. They are made with soft corn tortillas and often topped with cilantro and diced white onions. They are often served at taco stands and many times are accompanied by sliced red radishes, lime, salt, and chilis.

Whereas most traditional tacos have corn tortillas with a soft, pliable shell, in the United States the hard-shelled U-shaped taco has been the most popular, and was first described in a cookbook in 1949. Wheat flour soft-shell tacos are also popular in the United States. In 1962, Taco Bell opened in California and helped fuel the rise in popularity of tacos in the United States, and there are now about 5,800 locations. Other popular types of tacos are breakfast tacos—which are soft corn or flour tortilla tacos with meat, eggs, and cheese—and Indian tacos, also known as Navajo tacos, which use frybread instead of tortillas and are commonly eaten by indigenous people in the United States and Canada.

Since 2021, World Taco Day has been celebrated in the US, purposefully happening at the same time as its Mexican counterpart.

How to Observe International Taco Day

Celebrate International Taco Day by eating tacos. Buy some authentic street tacos or have some tacos at a Mexican restaurant. Many restaurants have deals today, so keep an eye out. You could also make tacos, building your own or trying some recipes. Some staple tacos you could make include:

• al pastor
• barbacoa
• birria
• carne asada
• carnitas
• fish
• shrimp

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