Dylan Watts
Dr. Todd
FSTY 1311.11
04 November 2012
A Border in a Blender Throughout the many times the United States and Mexico shared cultures, soccer and cuisine are the two that stand out to me. I grew up in Lubbock, Texas where generally there isn’t much soccer played or Mexicans in general. We had one Tex-Mex restaurant, and it wasn’t even good. It wasn’t until the Taco N Madre food truck, that I truly experienced the fusion between Mexico and the United States through food. I believe this topic of cultural fusion relates to me academically because of my Borderlands class and how interested I am in both cultures. I play baseball, so I am immediately attracted to the soccer aspect of both cultures. On the other hand, I do not have a lot of experience with Mexican food, so this topic is kind of new to me. In this paper I will discuss key factors of cultural fusion through the uses of sports and cuisine. Mexican cuisine and soccer fuse the cultures of the United States and Mexico in ways that have made both countries into what they are today. In Patricia Sharpe’s article “Let’s Have Mex-Tex,” she attempts to communicate to the readers the change over the years from Tex-Mex to “Mex-Tex”. On the official “Texas Monthly” website she states that Mexican food from its original origin is the start of “the new culinary era.” Sharpe believes this phenomenon is the better route for Mexican food and brings back the original culture. The article outlines the top five real Mexican restaurants including Fonda San Miguel, Cuquita’s, Salsa Fuego, Hugo’s, and Soluna. All of these food chains have the basis of all Mexican food and culture. They stick with what Mexican food is all about and bring it here for people to enjoy. Sharpe offers a question that supports a valid point in her article asking, “How many restaurants have endured 35 years with not only the same chef and owner at the helm but with their defining goal intact?”(Sharpe) This quote expresses how important it is to her that a business like “Fonda San Miguel” is expressing the Mexican culture of food to the people(Sharpe). According to Sharpe the Mexican dishes from the “heartland apply for permanent residency in Texas at an ever-increasing rate.” I believe this is a credible source because it is published on the official “Texas Monthly” website, and has a very credible author(Sharpe). This article focuses on how the “Mex-Tex” food is increasing in Texas and allows the reader to be informed of good restaurants with such origins. The way “Mex-Tex” is increasing in the US shows how fast cultural fusion can spread. Just the name “Mex-Tex” shows the United States and Mexican fusion. Ordering at the “Taco N Madre” food trailer made me think I was sitting in a Mexico town eating a taco. The trailer was an average size trailer with three employees working; a cashier, cook, and a food runner. I found them selling tacos and American hamburgers quite interesting. Overall this was an eye opener for me and was one of my first encounters with the United States and Mexican culture fusion. This is a first-hand source showing the fusion between Mexico and the US through cuisine. In “The Devils Highway,” Urrea talks about how important food and water is when crossing the border. When first assigned this topic, I knew right away this could be something I used because of the importance of food while crossing from one country to another. When dehydrated and out of food, most Mexicans would die for a taco or some type of food. This shows the importance of Mexican Cuisine when crossing the border as well as the United States cuisine when finally crossed the border. Melissa Segura’s article “Friday Night Futbol” depicts the similarities and differences of Mexico and Texas “football”. Segura tells a story of Prepa Tec, a high school team from Monterrey starting off pretty slow but then coming together as a team and succeeding. This team wants to attempt to play Texas football teams and see
