Skip to Content
Featured

A Taco Poem That Answers the Meaning of Life

7:56 AM PDT on March 30, 2021

[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]empt me with tacos—
You can have your queso
birria-style if you must,
nothing can quench my lust
for slow-simmered meat—
Give me guisado, carne
stewed, extra sauce on top—
Pork pulled into strips
crispy as carnitas, or soft
and loose like suadero—
I’ll take mine adobado,
the pollo un poco picante—
Grill and fill my tortilla
with fish a la plancha or
pescado frito. Puff up
the tortilla or make mine
crunchy shell and let’s go
TexMex—it all makes me miss
familia, instead I can ask
for another taste to take me

to the calle where I can eat 

my fill as the trompo still turns
and we can make any excuse
for uno mas por favor,
Sigue! The plate of cabrito
passed at the table, a last
meal with Tío, his chiste ready.
First taste of cesos, last of lengua 

which really was Papi’s favorite
and what is a border 

between cielo and tierra
if not an invisible wall and
what is a taco if not the best
of life cooked down, eaten 

in three bites, a catalog of 

never-long-enough meals

that only need a little lime, 

cilantro, salsa, the bite of onion 

that can move us to happy tears.

Already a user?Log in

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Become a Member

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Spot Check: Colombian Desgranados In Echo Park, Mexican Wine Festival At Mírate, and Perverted Waffles in DTLA

Plus, a party highlighting pan-African cuisine, a new Taiwanese cookbook by an awarded local from the San Gabriel Valley, and a Little Saigon food festival that starts tonight! Welcome back to Spot Check!

September 22, 2023

This 24-Year-Old Latina Mortician Beautifies the Dead and Influences the Living

Growing up in Arleta with a first-generation family from El Salvador, Berrios admits that her family only embraced her career choice two years ago, after she started to win awards like “Young Funeral Director of the Year.” The 24-year-old works as the licenced funeral director and embalmer at Hollywood Forever cemetery. As a young person born in peak Generation Z, she's documented her deathcare journey on TikTok and has accrued more than 43K followers on the platform. 

September 21, 2023

Meet ‘Carnitas Rogelio,’ The Family-Run Stand With The Best Michoacán-Style Carnitas O.C. Has to Offer

Michoacán-raised Rogelio Gonzalez slices the cuerito (the pig skin) in a checkered pattern to ensure a light crunch in each bite and utilizes every part of the pig, from the feet to the liver and intestines, which he binds together in a braid. 

September 20, 2023

‘The Office’ Star Rainn Wilson Brought Jerk Chicken Tacos to the Picket Lines Outside of Paramount Studios

In three hours, D's Tipsy Tacos and her team passed out “roughly 100 plates” of tacos, burritos, rice, beans, nachos, and quesadillas to striking screenwriters and actors.

September 19, 2023

Five Common Plants to Avoid When Creating Your Green Spaces in L.A.

Almost every time I visit a property with landscaping issues, the problem starts with bad design: the wrong plants in the wrong place. Here's advice from a third-generation L.A. landscaper and noted taco expert.

September 19, 2023
See all posts