Houston’s own Adán Medrano has a 90-minute documentary out this week that showcases Texas borderland cuisine — a type of cooking he says has been “misunderstood and erased.”
This isn’t Tex-Mex but the comida casera or the home cooking of many Texas Mexican American families, says executive producer Medrano, who occasionally writes about food for the Houston Press. Truly Texas Mexican begins with San Antonio’s “Chili Queens” who in the 1880s made the city a food destination for tourists.
According to a press release about the documentary:
Racism and discrimination closed down their businesses, and the film proceeds to show contemporary women chefs in kitchens and restaurants following in their footsteps, not just preserving but advancing the native culinary traditions.
Also, director Aníbal Capoano and cinematographer Gabriel Bendahan, both from Uruguay, filmed the practice of buying a cow’s head in the ground for overnight cooking. “Women took the lead in keeping traditions alive and it’s really about resistance to colonization,” said Virginia Diaz-Laughlin, the producer, who lives in Houston
Truly Texas Mexican can be seen on Amazon, Apple TV and Google TV.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2021.
