Mexican American Food: Fajitas in the Global Village

Contradictory images of Mexico and of Mexican foods persist. Lower-class stereotypes have made it difficult for even highly rated Mexican restaurateurs to charge prices comparable to those of their French and Italian colleagues, although they use the same quality of ingredients. The supposed primitivism of Mexican cuisine has also encouraged large-scale culinary tourism to Native American regions of Mexico by aging hippies eager to re-create peasant foods on their Viking stoves. Cheap alcohol attracts hordes of college students to Cancún for spring break, even as top-shelf añejo tequilas compete with the finest Scotch whiskys and cognacs. Tex-Mex food has spread around the world, distorting global perceptions of Mexican culture, at the same time that increasing numbers of Mexicans migrants have been transforming American culture. The trends established since the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 thus seem likely to continue into the future.