1 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: It's a crisp, clear, early autumn night, and I'm with 2 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: a group of friends at City Field in Queens, New York. 3 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: We're watching the Mets play the San Diego Padres. I'm 4 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: not that into baseball, but it's a playoff game, so 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: I know it's a pretty big deal. The stadium lights 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: are all on, illuminating the bright green field. The crowd 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: is loud and fired up. There's a light breeze. My 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: friends and I chat between innings, sipping on giant plastic 9 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: cups of beer and eating overpriced concessions. 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 2: How many nachos with beef bass? 11 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: That's okay? All over City Field you can easily buy nachos, 12 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: you know, the round do chips that come with a 13 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: little tub of cheese sauce in a cardboard box that 14 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: opens up into a tray on your lap, and find 15 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: vegan nachos at a vegan food stand tucked away in 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: a lone little corner of the stadium, all the way 17 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: in the back. City Field is also equipped with these 18 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: big nachos only concession stands. There's eight of them. The 19 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: smell of warm cheese surrounding them is like a siren call. 20 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: And that's where my friends and I went where we 21 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: could get all the toppings we'd ever. 22 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 2: Want, sour cream, blacamole, beans, cheese on Jolopeno's, and a 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:28,559 Speaker 2: little pigoda gayo. 24 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 3: That's all. 25 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: Now, nachos are a big business. Waiting in line, I 26 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: spoke to some of the workers manning one of these 27 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: tricked out nacho stands. They sell two options. The difference 28 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: is the kind of plate you can get your nachos on. 29 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: Out of curiosity, how many of these do you sell? 30 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 4: Usually are a lot. 31 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll go through more than a hundred of these, 32 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 3: more than one hundred of the plates. 33 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: More than a hundred of them. Wow. And that's like 34 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: a busy right, like tonight. So well, that's like regular 35 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: as in maybe a regular season game that isn't sold out, 36 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 1: but on a busy night when City Field gets to capacity, 37 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: holding nearly forty two thousand people, maybe more than two 38 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: hundred of eight. On the field, the pros swinging bats 39 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: and stealing bases take center stage, but in the stands, well, 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,799 Speaker 1: nachos to do a pretty good job of stealing the spotlight. 41 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: That wasn't always the case, though, the very first nachos 42 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: weren't served in a crowded stadium in New York City. 43 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: They were made in a mostly empty restaurant in Mexico 44 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: along the border, and they weren't designed to be a 45 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: big hit, But nachos would end up bigger than anyone 46 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: could have ever imagined. 47 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 5: From Futromedia and PRX, It's Latino Usa, I Maria nor 48 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 5: Rosa and who's in the movie food for some nachos. 49 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 5: Today we're serving up the history and the legacy of 50 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 5: this iconic snack food, nachos. You can already taste them, 51 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 5: hm hot melted cheese on fried corn, dortilla chips, or 52 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 5: as we call them in Spanish, to torpos. All of 53 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 5: that topped off with a familiar kick of prickly calapagno. 54 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 5: We often consider nacho's part of a family of classic 55 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 5: quote unquote American fast casual foods, but something that many 56 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 5: of these dishes have in common is their foreign roots, like, 57 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 5: for example, pizza, which was brought to the East Coast 58 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 5: by Italian immigrants, or hot dogs, which is basically a 59 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 5: riff on German frankfurters. 60 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 2: Nachos are no different. 61 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 5: The dish itself originated in Piedras Negras, a small town 62 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 5: in the Mexican state of Gualuila, right next to the 63 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 5: southern border of Texas. 64 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 4: Time for detour back down the Rio grand to Piros Negress, 65 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 4: Mexico to explain the exact moment in history. 66 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 2: But a nacho was created? 67 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,119 Speaker 6: How and for who? 68 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 5: But even with some high profile figures like the late 69 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 5: Anthony Bourdain exploring the roots of nachos, the vast popularity 70 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 5: of the dish still overshadows its border town origins. People 71 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 5: tend to overlook that the classic natural flavor profile all 72 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 5: comes from Mexican food. Each time you bite into a 73 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 5: tortilla chip with that gouey cheese sauce, it's kind of 74 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 5: like gesso fundido, right, So you're actually eating an appropriation 75 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 5: of this cuisine, the result of someone else's pursuit of profit. 76 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 5: What's more, in our pursuit of a delicious snack, we 77 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 5: forget that someone had to actually create this dish. Nacho's 78 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 5: didn't just materialize one day at a concession stand, and 79 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 5: its birth is still largely unknown to the crowds of 80 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 5: people who fill their bellies and wallets thanks to natchos. 81 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 5: Today on Latino USA, we're bringing you a story that 82 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 5: we originally ran in twenty twenty three. It's all about 83 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 5: giving credit where credit is due, and I'm going to 84 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 5: give you just a hint. Nacho isn't just the name 85 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 5: of a popular snack. It was first the name of 86 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 5: a man, and his biggest impact isn't actually at the ballpark. 87 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 5: It's back home with the family he provided for. His 88 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 5: descendants are living in Texas preserving his legacy. Producer Alejandra 89 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 5: Salasad actually grew up with some of those family members, 90 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 5: so she's going to take this story from here. 91 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: It's summertime in San Antonio, Texas. The late July heat 92 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: floats off the asphalt in front of my parents suburban home. 93 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 3: Thanks to chat. 94 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: Oh, that is a dead cicada and with my mom, 95 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: her name is my Lina. We just stepped over a 96 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: shell of a cicada on our way to our car. 97 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,040 Speaker 1: More cicadas hidden in the trees sing their dog day music, 98 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: breaking the sleepy afternoon silence. Hika, my microphone is on. 99 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: I think this is the first time my mom has 100 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: ever seen me at work in the field holding a 101 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: long shotgun mic with a tangle of wires and big 102 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: over ear HEADPHONESMI the mic has to be close to 103 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: your face to get audio. No, we're driving now, on 104 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: our way to my the e Cristina's house. The Cristina 105 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: is actually the reason I'm working on this story. Gristina 106 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: isn't technically a blood relative, but she and her entire 107 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: family might as well be. Gristina and my mother have 108 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: been best friends since they were young teenagers. They're both 109 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: from the same border town of Eagle Pass, Texas or 110 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: Igle Pass if you're a local. My mom and pretty 111 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: much all of her friends grew up with their lives 112 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: split across the Rio Grande. Mommy started going to school 113 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: in Eagle Pass when she was in the third grade, 114 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: but her family home was still on the Mexican side, 115 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: in a town called Pierre's Negras Squaw. 116 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 3: Cross the border every day to go to school every day, 117 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 3: twice coming from and then going back. 118 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: And then. 119 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 3: I mean, it was just it was no big deal crossing, 120 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 3: you know. It was just like I and annoyance Cariacolla Cali. 121 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 3: But other than that, it was like, eh, not, like 122 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 3: now that makes such a big deal that go, Oh 123 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 3: my god. 124 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: Christina and my mom met when they were in high 125 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: school and the friendship took off from there. Both women 126 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: grew up falling in and out of touch until they 127 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: both settled down and reconnected in San Antonio. They had 128 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: children who they treated as each other's family. Dia Cristina 129 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: is actually my youngest sibling's godmother. I remember visiting Dia 130 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: Cristina and Dio Felix's house when I was little, hanging 131 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: out with their kids. Our dads watched Spurs basketball games 132 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: and our moms shared cheesemath at the kitchen table. Their 133 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: bond turned out to be a lifelong one. 134 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 3: And never got tired of her, and she never got 135 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:53,959 Speaker 3: tired of me. And she's pretty much the closest thing 136 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 3: I have to a sister. 137 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: I don't remember when my mom first told me about 138 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: Christina's paternal grandfather, Ignacio a Naya. He was more commonly 139 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: known as Natcho to his friends and family, Ignacio Nacho 140 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: a Naya, and his story has stuck in my head 141 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: ever since. How can you forget something like that? See, 142 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: Gristina's grandfather is Natcho be natural a culinary inventor behind 143 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: well nachos. Yeah, plot twist. It took me a second 144 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 1: to let it sink in too. To be totally clear, 145 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: the whole natural thing isn't central to Mythia's life. When 146 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: I asked her for her blessing to do a story 147 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: on it, well it didn't seem like that big of 148 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: a deal. Just another day at brunch, you know. After 149 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: a half hour drive through the San Antonio suburbs, Mammy 150 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: and I arrive at Christina's house greeted by a dog, 151 00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: as usual, Pristina and her family have always been animal lovers. 152 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 2: Hello. 153 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: Hello, Christina is smiling. I haven't seen her in a 154 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: few months since her daughter's wedding last March, and she 155 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: gives me a big hug. She's wearing a casual navy 156 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,079 Speaker 1: Maxi dress, her hair pinned back away from her face, 157 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: and half updo. She's always dressed nicely whenever I see her. 158 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: A couple of cats linger outside, and an older boxer, 159 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,959 Speaker 1: Roxy is in the living room. A novela plays on 160 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: the TV fun fact. Mammy and Christina were born on 161 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: the same day, exactly one year apart. Both women are 162 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: in their mid fifties now, and their dynamic is the 163 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: result of decades of messing with each other. They both 164 00:10:45,480 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: talk very fast, and they're both very funny. They're always laughing. Eventually, 165 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: we sit down at Christina's dining table, squeaky clean and 166 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: wrapped in a plastic cover. I set up a little 167 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: mic stand for my idea. Could you just tell us 168 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: just to your name, your age, and originia right now. 169 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 7: My name is Christina Losantos and I live in San Antonio. 170 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 7: I am one of the granddaughters of the inventor of 171 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 7: the Nacho Signacio Naya, my grandfather, daughter of Ignacioonaya Junior. 172 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 1: Res My Rest in Peace de los Santos is Christina's 173 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: married name. Her maiden name is Anaya. I want my 174 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: thea to feel comfortable in front of the mic. She 175 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: hasn't been interviewed about her grandfather before, and definitely not 176 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: in English. She says, her dad did some interviews years ago, 177 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 1: but it's not like a lot of people come calling 178 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: to asktianayas about Nacho. In fact, Christina had to reach 179 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: out to some relatives to make sure she remembered the 180 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: entire story correctly. The first thing she mentions is not work. 181 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,839 Speaker 1: By the time Christina was born, her grandfather already ran 182 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:08,200 Speaker 1: his own restaurant, Natcho's Restaurant in Pierre's Negres. He'd opened 183 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: it after decades of working all jobs in the industry. 184 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: He liked cooking and always gravitated towards the kitchen. But 185 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: first and foremost, he was a businessman. 186 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 7: He passed away when I was like eighteen seven or eight, 187 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 7: and what I remember of him, it was just being 188 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 7: in business all the time. I remember getting to the 189 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 7: every day there to the restaurant. 190 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: He was always busy. Natural Naya was a serious looking man, 191 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 1: with a light gray mustache and thick dark hair that 192 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: he liked to brush back. Christina always remembers him wearing 193 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: a suit jacket with a button up shirt and a tie. 194 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: Rarely did he wear short sleeves or t shirts out 195 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 1: of the house. 196 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 7: My grandfather was a really elegant man. I'm going to 197 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 7: show you a picture. 198 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,199 Speaker 1: In one picture, he said, bar of his own restaurant, 199 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: reclined on a stool, holding up a drink and a 200 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: toast with a group of other sharp dressed men, A 201 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: small smile lingers on the edge of his mouth. I 202 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: had never seen these photos of Natcho until Pustina shows 203 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: them to me at her dining table. Chances are that you, 204 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: dear listener, haven't either, because a lot of the photos 205 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: of Nacho that you can find online aren't of Natcho 206 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: at all. Thenia's joke about it, but still frustrating and 207 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: kind of sloppy, like the people who document and share 208 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: our history didn't really care about getting the details right. 209 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: A few years ago, Natcho was commemorated with a Google 210 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: doodle for his one hundred and twenty fourth birthday. For 211 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: a whole day, an animated drawing of a round faced 212 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: man assembling Nacho's popped up on the side's homepage. But 213 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: the image that came up when you looked up Ignacio Naye, 214 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: that wasn't him. Guisina was surprised that no one ever 215 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: reached out to the family to get a curate photos, 216 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,359 Speaker 1: not Google, and not any of the websites hosting images 217 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: of Ignacio, And like, what the heck is this? 218 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,439 Speaker 7: I asked my son to can you change the picture? 219 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:16,679 Speaker 7: Can you tell them that this is not your great grandfather? 220 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 7: And he tried, he tried, He sent them to Google 221 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 7: and he got it to change the picture. I think 222 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 7: it lasts a lot, even like fifteen twenty minutes. 223 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: I put it back. 224 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, I like that's a lot much. 225 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 7: Hya. 226 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, Wikipedia at least has an accurate photo up as 227 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: of this taping, and it seems like the Internet generally 228 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: gets the broad strokes of Natural's story right. He was 229 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: born in eighteen ninety five in Mexico in a small 230 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: town named Manuel Benavides in the state of Chihuaua. It's 231 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: pretty close to the border on the west side of Texas, 232 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: about fifty miles from Big Bend National Park. After losing 233 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: his parents at a young age, Natcho decided to move 234 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: to the US when he was just a teenager, around 235 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: fourteen or fifteen years old. He hopped around small towns 236 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: in Texas working odd jobs landscaping, bussing, waitering, until he 237 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: settled on the border in Pierre's Negres, opposite the Rio 238 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: Grande from Eco Past Texas. And that's where he made 239 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: history based off of how your family has like preserved 240 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: the story and how you tell the story or remember 241 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: it now, because you kind of walk me through the 242 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: story of how the natchal was invented. 243 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 7: Whenever someone tells the story, they always changed something on 244 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 7: the story. That's what I've been noticing. Even they publish things, 245 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 7: and they always change something in the story, but what 246 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 7: I know it was that my grandfather was working at 247 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 7: Club Victoria. 248 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: Glue Victoria, that used to be a swanky restaurant right 249 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: near the river at the border on the Pierre's Negra side. 250 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: Natchal was a waiter there at the time. He also 251 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: used to work at a nearby spot called Blue Moderno, 252 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,000 Speaker 1: and some write ups claim that it was that restaurant 253 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: where this all went down the Anayas though insist it 254 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: was Clue Victoria. The year is nineteen forty three. 255 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 7: The story was that he was working there and what 256 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 7: I knew that the restaurant was closing when the group 257 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 7: of ladies he was like around ten to twelve ladies 258 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 7: that were wives of military men and or generals at 259 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 7: the Air Force base over there in Ego Pass and 260 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 7: they went to visit to have dinner something in Pierrol Negas. 261 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 2: So they show up to. 262 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 7: The restaurant and my grandfather welcomed them in, but the 263 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 7: chef of the place at that time he was gone. 264 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: If that chef had still been in the kitchen, who 265 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: knows what would or would not have happened. 266 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 7: He was trying to, okay, what can I prefer since 267 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 7: the kitchen was close already. They just asked, no, just 268 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 7: not an appetizer. 269 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: That's it. 270 00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 7: We don't need anything else. 271 00:16:59,360 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: Oh. 272 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 7: He went out and start cutting the tortillas, fry them, 273 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 7: and get the cheese. 274 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: The original Natural recipe has been lightly disputed over the years. 275 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: Some records say Natural used Colby Longhorn cheese to create 276 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: his bass. Christina, though swears it was shredded Wisconsin. 277 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 7: And he put them in the oven and bring them 278 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 7: to them and they loved it. 279 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: That almost feels like an understatement. Naturals were a hit. 280 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: The textures of the cheese and the jalapenos were just right, 281 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: with an added crunch in each bite. Each to topo 282 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:36,479 Speaker 1: was compact, a self contained delivery system for flavor, and 283 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 1: it was so convenient to share in a group. 284 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 7: Mimi Finan, that's the lady that was with that group, 285 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 7: and I believe she used to live She was the 286 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 7: one that brought them over there, but I did she 287 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 7: used to live around in Piero Neros or Eagle Pass 288 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:57,199 Speaker 7: or something. So she was the one that asked him, 289 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 7: what is the name of these dishes up? Since we 290 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 7: like it, he said, Ah, I don't know, I just 291 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 7: I just did it. Right now, and I just created 292 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 7: right now, and I don't have a name for it. 293 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 7: So she was like, well, so what's your name. He 294 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 7: was like, my name is Signacio Nacho, and she was 295 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 7: the one that say we're gonna call him Nacho specials. 296 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: Ignacio Naya remained in the restaurant business for the rest 297 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: of his life, and he kept making nachos Clue. Victoria 298 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,679 Speaker 1: eventually added the dish to its menu, and in nineteen 299 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,479 Speaker 1: sixty one, almost twenty years after creating his namesake platter, 300 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: Ignacio opened up his own restaurant. It was on Avenida Caranza, 301 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: the main street of Pierre Negres, just a couple of 302 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: miles from the Border bridge. The Anaya family home was 303 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: right next to the restaurant, connected by a door in 304 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: the kitchen. When she was a little kid, Christina would 305 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,360 Speaker 1: go spend time at Nacho's restaurant after school. He used 306 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:55,639 Speaker 1: to have a chef. 307 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 7: His name was Margharrito, Don Margharrito, and all my and 308 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 7: that he was like super nice, super sweet man. 309 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: Nacho had mentored Margharito since the latter was a kid. 310 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: After he found the boys selling knickknacks on the street 311 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: to make cash, Margharito became family NATO's right hand man. 312 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: Thanks to him, Christina made her own contribution to the 313 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: restaurant menu. 314 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 7: I didn't like cheese back then, so the nachos had 315 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,440 Speaker 7: cheese in the round of kalapenno. And I will always 316 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 7: say no chice on the nachos and no jalapeno's now spicy. 317 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 7: Can you make me just the ta papos with beans? 318 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 7: And he was like, you are you always want to 319 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 7: change my recipes, but he will spoil me and make 320 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:38,720 Speaker 7: me my bean nachos. 321 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,680 Speaker 1: By the time Christina was experimenting in NATO's kitchen, Mexican 322 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: restaurants all across South Texas were already offering their own 323 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,959 Speaker 1: takes on the dish, directly competing with her grandfather. His 324 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: restaurant proudly declared itself home of the Nachos Special, but 325 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: this had become bigger than that. Early on, Christina made 326 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:04,120 Speaker 1: the decision to just roll with. 327 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 7: It, realize on that it became popular. He was, you know, yeah, 328 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 7: whenever started getting older, probably when I was in. 329 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,080 Speaker 1: Middle school, high school. 330 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,399 Speaker 7: But he never was like something like, oh my god, 331 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 7: this is my grandfather's invention. And I wasn't saying anything 332 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:28,119 Speaker 7: because people will say, yeah right, you know, don't believe it, 333 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 7: so what for? So instead of telling everybody feeling like 334 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,400 Speaker 7: oh yeah, yeah, yeah, no I was, I better don't 335 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 7: say anything, just enjoy it whatever. 336 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: Natcho was offered the chance to take Natcho's Special to 337 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: the big time by patenting the name or even starting 338 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: a chain of restaurants around it. Several sources, including the NIS, 339 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,199 Speaker 1: corroborate that he had a small window to patent his 340 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: invention and potentially profit from it in the late nineteen 341 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,640 Speaker 1: forties and fifties, but Nato opted not to go through 342 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 1: the trouble. In an interview with the San Antonio Express 343 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 1: News in nineteen sixty nine, when Nacho was already in 344 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: his seventies, he said that he had no idea just 345 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: how big this snack would become. For the longest time, 346 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,920 Speaker 1: he thought it just wasn't a bet worth making a 347 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,760 Speaker 1: tourdlla with cheese on it. You mean, like the kind 348 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 1: of foodie as a kid. 349 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 8: Really introducing Comble's new Nacho cheese souped in it turns 350 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 8: anything not soo zippy into Nacho zippy. 351 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: It's Christina's father Ignacio and Aya Junior did try to 352 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 1: revisit the question of patents in the nineteen eighties and nineties, 353 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 1: but it was too late. By then, Nacho's were already 354 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: in the public domain. 355 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,880 Speaker 2: Are you missing that Taco Bells knew nachos cheese? 356 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 9: Tried Nacho cheese doritos? Did they taste as good as 357 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 9: they crunch? 358 00:21:53,840 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: You couldn't patent it even if you tried. Nacho and 359 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: his family never did directly profit off of the Nacho's 360 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: widespread success. Nacho's restaurant isn't even there anymore. Nacho died 361 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy five, but his invention would live on, 362 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: and just a year after his passing, one savvy San 363 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: Antonio based entrepreneur would take Nachos to the big leagues. 364 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:30,199 Speaker 2: Coming up on Latino Usa. 365 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 5: Nachos take the world by storm, but their skyrocketing popularity obscures. 366 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,240 Speaker 2: The Nachos real origin story. 367 00:22:39,760 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 5: Stay with us, Yes, hey, We're back. In nineteen forty three, 368 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 5: Ignacio Nacho Anaya invented his namesake dish in the Mexican 369 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 5: border town of Piedras Negras, Guauila. When we left off, 370 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,440 Speaker 5: Nachos had already become a popular appetizer dish all over 371 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 5: South Texas. But nachos would become even bigger than their 372 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 5: inventor ever anticipated, thanks to an enterprising concession's food business 373 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 5: headquartered less than two hundred miles away in San Antonio. 374 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 5: So here's producer Alejandra Salasad with the rest of the story. 375 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: It's the turn of the twentieth century. An Italian boy 376 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:54,160 Speaker 1: from a small Sicilian province moves to the United States. 377 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: He's fourteen years old and alone, arriving in New Orleans 378 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety, decides to build a life in this 379 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: land of opportunity. He opens a grocery store. He gets 380 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,199 Speaker 1: married and starts a family. They moved to Texas in 381 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds, eventually permanently relocating to San Antonio. 382 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 1: The grocery business comes with them, now renamed after the family, 383 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 1: Liberto Market and Grocery One. Liberto son Enrico inherits the business, 384 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,400 Speaker 1: and in the decades that follow the store shifts its 385 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:32,679 Speaker 1: focus to selling concessions roasted peanuts and popcorn, candy and bulk, 386 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,359 Speaker 1: and Rico trains his son Frank to take over next. 387 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 6: My grand parents had my dad and they're like only child. 388 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:40,719 Speaker 6: That's it. 389 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 8: So my dad got to take the business over by himself. 390 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 8: He didn't have any brothers and sisters. 391 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: This is Tony Liberto. He's the fourth generation to run 392 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: the family business. The company, though, isn't called Libertos anymore. 393 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: In this story about namesakes and nicknames, Frank eventually renamed 394 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: the company after his father, Rico Rico Rico's Products Company. 395 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 1: As the company's current president and CEO, Tony oversees a 396 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: business that has expanded to all fifty states in the 397 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: US and fifty seven countries worldwide. You've probably seen their 398 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,879 Speaker 1: products at movie theaters and stadiums. They're even selling their 399 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,440 Speaker 1: snacks in grocery stores now. 400 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 8: When it started from my great grandfather, and then you 401 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 8: know a few years ago, we have business in Dubai, 402 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,560 Speaker 8: we have a business in Korea. And when I fly 403 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 8: over there and I see those products on the shelf 404 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 8: in those countries, and then I sit back and think 405 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:36,880 Speaker 8: about my grandfather at fourteen came over here. 406 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 6: Just gives you chills. 407 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: Rico's growth really took off under Tony's dad, Frank Liberto. 408 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: The way Tony tells it, Frank was a concession's visionary. 409 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,879 Speaker 1: He expanded the business across Texas to movie theaters and 410 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:55,439 Speaker 1: select stadiums in Dallas. In Houston big gets, but his 411 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: biggest move came to fruition in his hometown. 412 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,400 Speaker 8: He to a restaurant here in San Antonio called Metta. 413 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 8: This is in the early I guess seventy three, seventy four, 414 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 8: and he ordered nachos and he's like, man, this is 415 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 8: a good thing. If I could figure out a way 416 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 8: to sell nachos in a concession stand, we could probably 417 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 8: make some money. 418 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 1: Nacho's original formula and the elegant simplicity of it to topos, 419 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: melted cheese and jalapago convinced Frank to make his own 420 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:28,439 Speaker 1: version of the dish, one that could be sold on 421 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: a mass scale. He made deals with the riet chip 422 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 1: producers and jalapeno growers in Mexico. He found a company 423 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:40,159 Speaker 1: that made cheese sauce, and in nineteen seventy six, Frank 424 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 1: called up Arlington Stadium, where the Texas Rangers used to play. 425 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: He convinced them to let him debut his new concoction 426 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 1: at a baseball game. Frank and his family made little 427 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: carts to sell the nachos tables with red and white 428 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: stripes running down the sides. 429 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 8: We built nine carts, and I was in high school 430 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 8: and I was making these carts with him, and we 431 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 8: put him up there and it went off like wildfire. 432 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,159 Speaker 8: People were standing in line, ten people deep in the 433 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 8: concessions this little cart, and you'd hear the crack of 434 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,160 Speaker 8: the bat, you hear the stadium roar, and nobody would 435 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 8: leave the line. 436 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:13,360 Speaker 6: They wanted to get some nachos. 437 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: Nachos spread fast. Within a year, Rico's set up shop 438 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,320 Speaker 1: in Texas Stadium, then home to the Dallas Cowboys football team. 439 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,360 Speaker 1: On September fourth, nineteen seventy eight, Hot Shot Monday night 440 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: football commentator Howard Cosell gave nachos his approval on a 441 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,880 Speaker 1: live broadcast, which boosted interest and sales. 442 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 8: Then the movies came calling, and Dad said, no, no, no, no, 443 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 8: this is a stadium item. 444 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 6: You have velvet seats, you have carpeting. 445 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,919 Speaker 8: You're going to be calling me and telling me I 446 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,040 Speaker 8: got to clean your theaters because you've got stains all 447 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 8: over your seats. 448 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,160 Speaker 1: But Frank's concerns were drowned out by the wide demand 449 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: for nachos across the country. People could not get enough. 450 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,640 Speaker 1: By nineteen eighty, just four years after making their stadium, 451 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,679 Speaker 1: dabut You, nachos had already become a popular theater concession, 452 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 1: along with heavy hitters like popcorn, hot dogs, and soda. 453 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 8: So then we put it in you not a artists 454 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 8: theaters who now is regal theaters and then other theaters 455 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 8: General Cinema AMC. At one point we had about nine 456 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 8: eighty five percent of the theater chains across the United 457 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 8: States using our product. 458 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: What Ricos did with nachos isn't just a matter of 459 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: market dominance. The concession nacho is a cultural force. There's 460 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: a sizable chance that you, the person listening to this, 461 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 1: know what nachos are because of Ricos. 462 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,399 Speaker 2: Hi, folks, I'm Rico. 463 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 9: Oh he's peppy. 464 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 2: See. You can find us at the concession stand, in. 465 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: All the fig round dortilla chips, the unsettlingly artificial yellow 466 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: cheese sauce, the concept of nacho cheese existing separate from cheese. 467 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: That's all things to Ricos. Remember, folks, we are the 468 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:02,800 Speaker 1: new star at the snackbar KOs nachos. Would I tell people, O, yeah, 469 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,080 Speaker 1: I'm doing sure with the nachos they have like a 470 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: vivid idea of the nacho in their mind, which is 471 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: the repos right. 472 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 8: Yeah, Well, because if you think about it, they're experiencing 473 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 8: our product. And Dad always said, you know, as a 474 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,240 Speaker 8: concessionaire is someone who sells product, food and beverage to 475 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 8: people who didn't come to his place to buy food 476 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 8: and beverage. They went there to watch a ballgame or 477 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 8: movie or you know, basketball game, but the food and 478 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,000 Speaker 8: beverage experience was part of it. 479 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 6: So it's kind of a nostalgia thing. 480 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 1: How did nachos end up at so many formative movie 481 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: or sports events of our youth? The most obvious answer 482 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: is that they're tasty. No one is going to say 483 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 1: no to cheese flavor and salty corn chips. But nachos 484 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 1: were an extraordinary business opportunity for Ricos. Frank didn't invent 485 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: the foundational flavor combination or even the concept of nachos. 486 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: What he invented was essentially a hyper efficient delivery system 487 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: mind for an environment where people are naturally very short 488 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:03,480 Speaker 1: on time. 489 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 8: Dad knew that concession sells is about transaction time. Grab 490 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 8: the chips, hand to the next person, ladle the cheese 491 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 8: over it, bill the peppers, on and collect the cash 492 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 8: so you could serve somebody in about fifteen seconds. 493 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 1: Nachos became a dream for vendors bottom lines, a way 494 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: to make the most bang for your buck. Start with 495 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: the cheese sauce. At the time, real cheese would go 496 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: bad too quickly behind a concession stand, and it was 497 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: too tricky to measure and melt fast. The trick was 498 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: to emulsify US cheese, concentrate and mix that with water 499 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: and juice left over from cannedarrabagos. That was part of 500 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: the brilliance of frank small park nachos. Every bit of 501 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: the ingredients went to use. Rico's still uses a similar 502 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: formula for their package Nacho Cheese today. Today nachos are 503 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,240 Speaker 1: Rico's top selling item. On average, the company sells nearly 504 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:04,239 Speaker 1: one hundred million pounds of cheese sauce per year. Early on, 505 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: in reporting this story, I noticed some similarities between Nacho's 506 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 1: Nachos and Rico's nachos. They share immigrant roots, and they've 507 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: both become smash hits in the US. Yet ever since 508 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 1: the beginning, they've served distinct purposes. One was a strike 509 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: of lightning, the other a shrewd business call. So it 510 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: makes sense that everyone I spoke to for this story, 511 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: including and especially Ricos, emphasized that what Ricos sells are 512 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: not the original nachos. This is not what Natchoa and 513 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 1: Naya invented. 514 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:37,959 Speaker 8: Dad never claimed that he started nachos. He always claimed 515 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,640 Speaker 8: he originated the concession nacho, which he did the ballpark nacho. 516 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,800 Speaker 1: And Toni says that Ricos has always deferred to Ignacio 517 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,440 Speaker 1: and Naya as the creator of this dish. Still, they've 518 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,960 Speaker 1: gotten some blowback about it before, and they probably will 519 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: after this story airs too. 520 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 6: People have kind of. 521 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 8: Called us out on our website, So, you guys didn't 522 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,360 Speaker 8: originate the nacho. It was originated by the Ania family, 523 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 8: and we politely say, we know, you know, we're not 524 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 8: claiming that we originated this actual dish. 525 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 1: While nachos are now mass produced concession items, they also 526 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 1: continue to be served as Nacho created them, freshly made 527 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: straight from the kitchen. Many Mexican restaurants in the US 528 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,720 Speaker 1: offer nachos as a staple appetizer that you sit down 529 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:26,800 Speaker 1: to enjoy. For example, remember Mitierre, that San Antonio restaurant 530 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,880 Speaker 1: or Frank Roberto first tried nachos the restaurant still sells 531 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 1: them today too, piping hot with cheese melted over a 532 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: layer of brief fried beans. Yet the fact remains that 533 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: Ricos and the Libertos built an empire off of nachos, 534 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 1: and the man who conceptualized the Nacho and his family didn't. 535 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: Nacho's restaurant struggled to stay afloat after his death, eventually 536 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,920 Speaker 1: shuddering for good in the nineties. Unlike Rico's, there's no 537 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 1: beautiful office in prime downtown San Antonio. For the anis 538 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 1: no millions of dollars in natural sales. Ricos couldn't patent 539 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,719 Speaker 1: their product either, but they do hold valuable registered trademarks 540 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,720 Speaker 1: on their cheese, sauce and other items. So how does 541 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:13,400 Speaker 1: that square. 542 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,479 Speaker 8: If they could have patented, they would have all been 543 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 8: very very happy with that for sure, And people can 544 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 8: take that concept. You know, other restaurants here can take 545 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 8: that concept and do the same thing. So it's the 546 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:29,920 Speaker 8: fact that they couldn't patent it, I think is where 547 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 8: way they could benefit as a serve it to as 548 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 8: many notch of restaurants as they could. But we as 549 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,880 Speaker 8: a company are serving too, you know, large national chains 550 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 8: and there's a lot more volume. I guess you're obviously 551 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 8: going to see more sales in that environment. But since 552 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,360 Speaker 8: you know Ignacio couldn't patent it, I mean, I don't 553 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:51,520 Speaker 8: know how else they could have benefited. 554 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 6: You know, it's a food product. 555 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: Have there been any efforts to kind of retouch them 556 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:58,000 Speaker 1: or to work with. 557 00:33:57,960 --> 00:33:58,840 Speaker 6: Them or no? 558 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 8: But you just thought, just give me goosebumps, babe. We should, 559 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 8: you know, try to get back together and you know, 560 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 8: have recognition together for what our families and our forefathers 561 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 8: have done for us. 562 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 6: Yeah, that would be neat. 563 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,799 Speaker 1: From what both Tony and the Anayas can remember. The 564 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,440 Speaker 1: last time their families interacted was back in the seventies, 565 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:30,440 Speaker 1: right when Frank Liberto was poised to debut the concession Nacho. 566 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,280 Speaker 1: He went down to Eagle Pass to speak with Ignascio 567 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: and Aya Junior, Gisina's father. Both men have passed away 568 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:40,839 Speaker 1: since nobody I could speak to knows what was said 569 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:42,880 Speaker 1: or agreed to in that meeting. 570 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:49,759 Speaker 9: The story of the Nacho is really a story of 571 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 9: the loss of an apostrophe. It's Nachos Special and that's 572 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 9: the original name, and it continued to be called Nacho 573 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:03,960 Speaker 9: Special there, but over time the agency of NATCHO was erased. 574 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: Adan Midrano is a chef and food writer. A born 575 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: in Reisdejano from San Antonio's West Side, Adan is dedicated 576 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 1: to preserving and elevating the cuisines of Texas Mexican communities, 577 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,320 Speaker 1: the food of South Texas and Northern Mexican regions, which 578 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,760 Speaker 1: have a shared culinary history that reaches back centuries before 579 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:26,920 Speaker 1: the US Mexico border was ever established. Just to be clear, 580 00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:30,800 Speaker 1: Texas Mexican food isn't an extended term for tex mechs, 581 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,640 Speaker 1: which is a wholly separate thing, an adaptation of Mexican 582 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 1: food by white settlers in Texas in the early nineteen hundreds. 583 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:41,560 Speaker 1: Though tex mechs does represent what happens to a lot 584 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,480 Speaker 1: of Mexican cuisine in the US. 585 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,760 Speaker 9: They simply took it upon themselves to call tex mechs 586 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,320 Speaker 9: the real thing, even though it's an appropriation of our food. 587 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: And that's kind of what happened with nachos two. In 588 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:57,799 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, Adan published his cookbook Don't Count the Tortillas, 589 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking. It is his latest 590 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,440 Speaker 1: effort to reclaim the region's culinary history from misinformed authors, 591 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 1: many of whom are often white or possess little understanding 592 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: of the region. 593 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:13,840 Speaker 9: In my book, I make reference to the Huffington Post 594 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:18,440 Speaker 9: story that says that the nacho was born because there 595 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:22,320 Speaker 9: was no chef and a waiter just threw things together. 596 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,239 Speaker 9: This is how food writers have erased the voice of 597 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,400 Speaker 9: our culinarians and the agency. By agency, I mean the 598 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 9: creative power that we have to create beautiful food. 599 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: Over time, nachos have become part of a pantheon of 600 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:42,080 Speaker 1: quote unquote American foods. In many ways, its origin story 601 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:46,320 Speaker 1: has been eclipsed, flattened down, and swallowed whole by American 602 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:51,719 Speaker 1: myth making. To create his dish, Natcho had to draw 603 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,239 Speaker 1: from the culinary history of the US Mexico borderlands. He 604 00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:00,160 Speaker 1: worked on the fly, Yes, but it wasn't at random, 605 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:03,960 Speaker 1: pairing corn, tortillas and cheese with some chile for heat. 606 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,000 Speaker 1: That was a deliberate choice, inspired by the gesadillas and 607 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,759 Speaker 1: salsas of his youth. It's an instinct that comes from 608 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,880 Speaker 1: inherited culinary knowledge and a lifetime of eating the specific 609 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 1: foods and flavors of your people. In the case of Texas, 610 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:24,160 Speaker 1: Mexican cuisine, which isn't typically taught in formal classroom settings. 611 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:27,320 Speaker 1: A lot of this food is archived by home cooks, 612 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:32,040 Speaker 1: often women, and passed down between generations at the dinner table. 613 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,520 Speaker 1: These are the kinds of details that avan worries will 614 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: get lost if local histories are not properly documented. 615 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:46,879 Speaker 9: Food narrates our history and also narrates our identity. When 616 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:50,239 Speaker 9: my mom hands me and I'm four or five years old, 617 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:55,600 Speaker 9: the tortilla beautifully done in the traditional way, that's the 618 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 9: memory of our history and of our ancestry. That's how 619 00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:04,279 Speaker 9: food it works. For example, in Ninchilada, everything about in 620 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:08,880 Speaker 9: Ninchilada speaks to our ancestry, our ancestry as indigenous people, 621 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:13,279 Speaker 9: the corn being indigenous, the salt being indigenous, and the 622 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,839 Speaker 9: chilis this is the original esthetic. So every time that 623 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:20,040 Speaker 9: I eat and make this in Chilada, I'm reaching back 624 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:22,520 Speaker 9: into history to our indigenous character. 625 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:26,240 Speaker 1: A dish like the modern day in Chilava also nods 626 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:30,400 Speaker 1: to the introduction of European colonists in Mexico, cheese being 627 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:33,040 Speaker 1: a quote unquote old World food brought over in the 628 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:36,520 Speaker 1: years following the violent conquest of Latin America, but in 629 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:40,240 Speaker 1: taking a foreign ingredient like cheese, producing it with regional 630 00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:44,279 Speaker 1: materials and resources, and combining it with indigenous staples to 631 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:48,600 Speaker 1: make now classic recipes. Mexican cooks created a new culinary 632 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:52,920 Speaker 1: language unique to them in creating natural special That's a 633 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,680 Speaker 1: legacy that Ignacio and Naya contributed to as well. It's 634 00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:00,000 Speaker 1: a big reason why Avan is especially fascinated by naturale. 635 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,759 Speaker 1: The dish provides an avenue to excavate the histories of 636 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 1: the region, from the lasting impact of colonialism up to 637 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 1: today's fraught immigration politics. After all, as the borderland creation, 638 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:18,040 Speaker 1: nachos are a glaring reminder that political divides our artifice. 639 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,400 Speaker 1: In this way, An argues, food is a more honest 640 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,520 Speaker 1: guide than any map could ever be. 641 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,320 Speaker 9: It's the power of food and our gathering in family 642 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:32,200 Speaker 9: and in community that have maintained our cohesiveness and the 643 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:35,919 Speaker 9: coherence of who we are, and that our ancestry goes 644 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:39,680 Speaker 9: back ten thousand years on this land, this Texas land. 645 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:44,359 Speaker 9: When you say nachos cannot be explained by because they 646 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:47,480 Speaker 9: came over from Mexico, nor can they be explained that 647 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 9: they were born in the United States. They can only 648 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 9: be explained by understanding that region as a landscape. Food 649 00:39:55,160 --> 00:40:00,640 Speaker 9: does not have nationality. Food has roots, and so worldview 650 00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:03,839 Speaker 9: that people have that Mexicans came over and they're all 651 00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:07,279 Speaker 9: immigrants is simply put into crisis when you go into 652 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:15,880 Speaker 9: the origins and the beauty of the Nacho's special dish. 653 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:19,279 Speaker 1: I'm back with my mother at the Cristina's house. This 654 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:23,680 Speaker 1: time Christina invited her sister Marcella over. Marcella's daughter and 655 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:28,680 Speaker 1: grandchildren are here. Calisi and the dogs are back as well. 656 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:39,759 Speaker 1: We sit down again and early on I mentioned that 657 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:43,520 Speaker 1: I've spoken with folks from Ricos. Both women looked surprised 658 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:45,960 Speaker 1: that I went to them for a story about nachos, 659 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,200 Speaker 1: and Marcella loves. 660 00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:53,839 Speaker 7: No those are fake, it's another kind of. 661 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:59,960 Speaker 1: Those are snacks. This is an appetizer. Marcella came out 662 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:03,680 Speaker 1: to talk about Nacho's nachos. She actually brought a large 663 00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:08,360 Speaker 1: children's picture book with her called Well Nachos Nachos. It 664 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,880 Speaker 1: was published in twenty twenty by an author named Sandra Nicol. 665 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:14,080 Speaker 1: She was the first person to reach out to the 666 00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:17,360 Speaker 1: Anayas in years, even traveling to Texas to meet some 667 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:21,160 Speaker 1: of the family. He lives in Switzerland, oh Switzerland. 668 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:30,520 Speaker 4: Yeahno, yes, I was texting with her in Nasala comported. 669 00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:37,400 Speaker 1: Marcella is fifty nine, a couple of years Christina Senior. 670 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:41,759 Speaker 1: As Ignacio Andaya Junior's second oldest child. Marcella has a 671 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,600 Speaker 1: few more memories of her grandfather than Christina does. 672 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:50,839 Speaker 4: That's the only game my grandfather played with us, Lotteria 673 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:54,640 Speaker 4: this because we used to play Guyina and Coyote, and 674 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:56,960 Speaker 4: I can remember how that game goes. 675 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:58,960 Speaker 2: But he just liked to. 676 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:07,760 Speaker 4: Sitting beside him watching us play. One time, he paints 677 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:13,560 Speaker 4: he's here, and he comes out red. He's here, He's here, 678 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:19,520 Speaker 4: And instead of getting mad, he went out and looked 679 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:26,120 Speaker 4: for friends and he started making faces and just showing 680 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:33,400 Speaker 4: his hair, his red hair. See, he was so funny. 681 00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:37,239 Speaker 1: Nachos des Sentences have made peace with the way things 682 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:41,040 Speaker 1: went down, with the natos global success and with their 683 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:43,959 Speaker 1: grandfather's decision to not capitalize on his. 684 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:48,640 Speaker 7: Invention, because if the inventor of the nachos, they didn't 685 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:53,279 Speaker 7: do anything about it, like why will you? 686 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:59,120 Speaker 1: Even if sometimes it still stinks. At one point, De 687 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,720 Speaker 1: Christina and mars Last start discussing it with my mom. 688 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:09,240 Speaker 10: Better Better. 689 00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:16,279 Speaker 1: For the most part, though, they don't dwell on it, 690 00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:19,520 Speaker 1: and they don't want to dwell on it wasting time 691 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:22,920 Speaker 1: and energy on this. And even if there had been 692 00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:26,600 Speaker 1: any sort of natural related windfall, they think it would 693 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:31,040 Speaker 1: be kind of a logistical nightmare. Today, Natcho had nine kids, 694 00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:35,080 Speaker 1: plenty more grandkids, and now great and great great grandchildren 695 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:38,400 Speaker 1: are in the picture too. Christina and Marcella do not 696 00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:41,239 Speaker 1: like thinking about the chaos that would have ensued within 697 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,960 Speaker 1: the family if their grandfather had decided to patent his dish, 698 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,720 Speaker 1: or if he decided to create some sort of national 699 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:52,080 Speaker 1: fast food chain like a Mexican Colonel Sanders KFC, but 700 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:57,839 Speaker 1: for nachos. Instead, his family got to build their own 701 00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:01,480 Speaker 1: lives outside of the shadow of Nata, so special, instead 702 00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:04,520 Speaker 1: of getting wrapped up in their patriarch's legacy, they were 703 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:07,920 Speaker 1: free to create their own. A lot of that freedom, too, 704 00:44:08,239 --> 00:44:11,160 Speaker 1: was a direct result of the work Nato himself put 705 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:14,640 Speaker 1: in to support his family, to provide them the kind 706 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:19,960 Speaker 1: of stability that precludes opportunity. So what can the an 707 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:24,960 Speaker 1: Ayas do now, really except make sure NATO's story isn't lost, 708 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:30,040 Speaker 1: Except make sure that people know the truth. And it 709 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:43,600 Speaker 1: really is a tremendous storymentar sisupiras, if only you knew? 710 00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:47,600 Speaker 6: And that was. 711 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:57,399 Speaker 1: Every year since nineteen ninety five, typically in October there's 712 00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:01,120 Speaker 1: been a festival in Pierre's Negres in honor of nachos. 713 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:05,600 Speaker 1: And yet Ignacio and Aya wasn't out to make history. 714 00:45:06,239 --> 00:45:09,000 Speaker 1: He enjoyed his job well enough, but all said and done, 715 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,000 Speaker 1: it was a means to an end. He always liked. 716 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:17,120 Speaker 7: To cook since little and probably that's why he always 717 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,440 Speaker 7: had in his mind like opening in one day his 718 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:25,239 Speaker 7: own place. But I mean to support his family maybe too. 719 00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:27,399 Speaker 7: I mean nine kids, it's a lot. 720 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:33,040 Speaker 1: Some of those kids went on to have their own families. 721 00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:36,720 Speaker 1: They came to the United States and created stable lives 722 00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:41,040 Speaker 1: on this side of the border. Today, the Anayas, both 723 00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:44,560 Speaker 1: in the US and in Mexico, remain close. Christina still 724 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:46,520 Speaker 1: goes down to the border twice a month to visit 725 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:51,640 Speaker 1: relatives there. The family is growing and happy. And what 726 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:55,480 Speaker 1: greater legacy can one have than this? How does the 727 00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:58,080 Speaker 1: story make you feel so proud of my grandpa? 728 00:45:58,800 --> 00:45:59,880 Speaker 2: So proud of him? 729 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:05,279 Speaker 7: I feel proud, Yeah for him. I really thank everybody 730 00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:10,160 Speaker 7: for recognizing him. Yeah, it's just a nice feeling, A 731 00:46:10,239 --> 00:46:11,120 Speaker 7: nice feeling. 732 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,719 Speaker 5: This episode was produced by Alejandra Salasad and edited by 733 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:37,200 Speaker 5: Andrea Lopez Cruzado. 734 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:39,800 Speaker 2: It was mixed by j J. Carubin. 735 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:44,280 Speaker 5: Fact checking for this episode by Elizabeth Loezo Torres special 736 00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:48,760 Speaker 5: thanks to Malena Salasad and Ricardo Miguel Salasa. The Latino 737 00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:53,840 Speaker 5: USA team includes Julia Caruso, Jessica Elis, Victoria Strada, Dominique 738 00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:58,920 Speaker 5: In Estrosa Rinaldo Leans Junior, Stephanie LAbau, Louis Luna Rodiman, Martuez, 739 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:03,520 Speaker 5: Martin Martinez, Nor Saudi and Nancy Drujillo. Beni Lei Amidez 740 00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:07,000 Speaker 5: is our co executive producer, along with myself and I'm 741 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:09,560 Speaker 5: your host Mardiano Rosa. Join us on our next episode 742 00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:12,080 Speaker 5: and remember to see us and look for us on 743 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:13,280 Speaker 5: all of your social media. 744 00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:15,919 Speaker 2: I'll see you there. Yes, that approximate. 745 00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:22,480 Speaker 10: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Ford Foundation, 746 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:27,040 Speaker 10: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, 747 00:47:27,640 --> 00:47:28,239 Speaker 10: the John D. 748 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:29,160 Speaker 1: And Catherine T. 749 00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:36,279 Speaker 10: MacArthur Foundation, and the Heising Simons Foundation unlocking knowledge, opportunity 750 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:40,600 Speaker 10: and possibilities more at hsfoundation dot org. 751 00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:47,880 Speaker 1: How often have you guys been interviewed about NATCHO like