In his book Ethnicity in the Sunbelt: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston, published in 1990 by UH's Mexican American Studies Program when he was a visiting scholar, author Arnoldo De León explains that there is a love-hate relationship between Houston Mexican-Americans and the newcomers from Mexico. Many Mexican-Americans in the modern era came to dislike the immigrants because they thought they gave the whole community a bad image. But the constant stream of fresh arrivals is crucial to perpetuating Houston's Mexican culture, De León says in his book. "They inject cultural ingredients that prevent the dilution of the colonia's ethnicity," he writes. The new arrivals have kept Mexican-Americans in Houston in touch with the mother country. "Certain foods are more popular among the immigrants than among the indigenous group. Restaurants and barrio food stores offer these and forestall the loss of the dish," writes De Leon. You might say that the immigrant flow is what keeps the "Mex" in Tex-Mex.
I order a carnitas taco and watch while the woman behind the counter chops it up, blending the tender pork with its crunchy edges. It is an extraordinary amount of meat for a dollar and a half. I wonder if I should buy another pound to go. It's hard to find good carnitas in the middle of the week, and the crunchy pork, which is boiled in its own fat, is one of my favorite Mexican meats.
An Anglo construction worker steps up beside me and asks for a fajita combo plate. The woman taking his order is straight from Mexico and doesn't understand. The young woman making my taco translates for her. "Fajita combo plato," she says. "Tortillas de harina," she adds without even asking. Some things are simply understood. After all, who eats fajitas with corn tortillas?
The Mexican woman ladles rice, refried beans and fajita meat into the to-go carton. She adds a plastic cup with hot sauce, and some flour tortillas, and hands the Styrofoam lunch bucket to the tall blond Texan and smiles. "Gracias," he says.
She's learning Tex-Mex on the job.
