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 --> 00:00:39,239 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 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 2: How many nachos with beef bass? That's okay? 11 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: All over City Field you can easily buy nachos, you know, 12 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: the round chips that come with a little tub of 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: cheese sauce in a cardboard box that opens up into 14 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: a tray on your lap, and find vegan nachos at 15 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: a vegan food stand tucked away in a lone little 16 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: corner of the stadium, all the way in the back. 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: City Field is also equipped with these big nachos only 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: concession stands. There's eight of them. The smell of warm 19 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: cheese surrounding them is like a siren call. And that's 20 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: where my friends and I went where we could get 21 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: all the toppings we'd ever. 22 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 2: Want, sour cream, glacamole, beans, cheese on Jalopeno's, and a 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 2: little pigodagayo. That's all. 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: Now, nachos are a big business. Waiting in line, I 25 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: spoke to some of the workers manning one of these 26 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: tricked out nacho stands. They sell two options. The difference 27 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 1: is the kind of plate you can get your nachos on. 28 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: Out of curiosity, how many of these do you sell? 29 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 3: Usually are. 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 4: A lot. 31 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 5: Yeah, we'll go through more than a hundred of these, 32 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,559 Speaker 5: more than one hundreds of the plate, more than. 33 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 6: A hundred of them. 34 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: Wow, And that's like a busy right, like tonight. So well, 35 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: that's like as in maybe a regular season game that 36 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: isn't sold out, but on a busy night when City 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: Field gets to capacity, holding nearly forty two thousand. 38 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,119 Speaker 4: People, maybe more than two hundred of eight. 39 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: On the field, the pros swinging bats and stealing bases 40 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: take center stage, but in the stands, well, nachos to 41 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: do a pretty good job of stealing the spotlight. That 42 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: wasn't always the case, though, The very first nachos weren't 43 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: served in a crowded stadium in New York City. They 44 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: were made in a mostly empty restaurant in Mexico along 45 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: the border, and they weren't designed to be a big hit, 46 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: But nachos would end up bigger than anyone could have 47 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: ever imagined. 48 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 7: From Fudromedia and PRX, It's Latino Usa, I Maria nor 49 00:02:58,120 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 7: Rosa and who's in. 50 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 2: The movie food for some nachos. 51 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 7: Today we're serving up the history and the legacy of 52 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 7: this iconic snack food, nachos. You can already taste them, 53 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 7: hm hot melted cheese on fried corn, tortilla chips, or 54 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 7: as we call them in Spanish, to torpos. All of 55 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 7: that topped off with a familiar kick of prickly calapagno. 56 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 7: We often consider nacho's part of a family of classic 57 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 7: quote unquote American fast casual foods, but something that many 58 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 7: of these dishes have in common is their foreign roots, like, 59 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 7: for example, pizza, which was brought to the East Coast 60 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 7: by Italian immigrants, or hot dogs, which is basically a 61 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 7: riff on German frankfurters. 62 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 2: Nachos are no different. 63 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 7: The dish itself originated in Piedras Negras, a small town 64 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 7: in the Mexican state of Gualwila, right next. 65 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 2: To the southern border of Texas. 66 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 8: Time for detour back down the Rio grand to Piros Negres, 67 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 8: Mexico to explain the exact moment in history. 68 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 4: But a nacho was created? 69 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,119 Speaker 2: How and for who? 70 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 7: But even with some high profile figures like Anthony Bourdain 71 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 7: exploring the roots of nachos, the vast popularity of the 72 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 7: dish still overshadows its border town origins. People tend to 73 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 7: overlook that the classic nacho flavor profile all come from 74 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 7: Mexican food. Each time you bite into a tortilla chip 75 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 7: with that guey cheese sauce kind of like gesso fundido, right, 76 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 7: you're eating an appropriation of this cuisine, the result of 77 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 7: someone's pursuit of profit. What's more, in our pursuit for 78 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,919 Speaker 7: a delicious snack, we forget that someone had to actually 79 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 7: create this dish. Nachos didn't just materialize one day at 80 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 7: a concession stand, and its birth is still largely unknown 81 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 7: to the crowds of people who fill their bellies and 82 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 7: their wallets thanks to nachos Today on Latino USA, A 83 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 7: story to give credit where credit is due, and I'll 84 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 7: let you in on a hint. Nacho isn't just the 85 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 7: name of a popular snack. 86 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 2: It was the name of. 87 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 7: A man, first, their namesake, and his biggest impact. It 88 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 7: isn't actually at the ballpark. It's back home with the 89 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 7: family that he ended up providing for. His descendants are 90 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 7: living in Texas, preserving his legacy and our very own 91 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 7: Latin USA producer Alejandra Salasad actually grew up with them, 92 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 7: so she's going to take the story from here. 93 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: It's summertime in San Antonio, Texas. The late July heat 94 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: floats off the asphalt in front of my parents suburban home. 95 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 5: X chat and slow light. 96 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: Oh, that is a dead cicada. 97 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 4: And with my mom, her name is my Lina. 98 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: We just stepped over a shell of a cicada on 99 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 1: our way to our car. More cicadas hidden in the 100 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: trees sing their dog day music, breaking the sleepy afternoon silence. Hikae, 101 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 1: my microphone is on. I think this is the first 102 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: time my mom has ever seen me at work in 103 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: the field holding a long shotgun mic with a tangle 104 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,720 Speaker 1: of wires and big over ear headphones. MEI, the mic 105 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: has to be close to your face to get audio. No, 106 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: we're driving now on our way to my the e 107 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: Cristina's house. The Cristina is actually the reason I'm working 108 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: on this story. Gristina isn't technically a blood relative, but 109 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: she and her entire family might as well be. Gristina 110 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: and my mother have been best friends since they were 111 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: young teenagers. They're both from the same border town of 112 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: Eagle Pass, Texas or Igle Pass if you're a local. 113 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: My mom and pretty much all of her friends grew 114 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: up with their lives split across the Rio Grande. Mommy 115 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: started going to school in Eagle Pass when she was 116 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: in the third grade, but her family home was still 117 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: on the Mexican side, in a town called Pierre's Negras Squaw. 118 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 5: Cross the border every day to go to school every 119 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 5: day twice coming from and then going back. 120 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 4: And then. 121 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 5: I mean, it was just it was no big deal crossing, 122 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 5: you know. It was just like I and Annoyance Cariacolla, Cali. 123 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 5: But other than that, it was like, eh, not like 124 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 5: now that makes such a big deal that go, oh 125 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 5: my god. 126 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 1: Christina and my mom met when they were in high school, 127 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: and the friendship took off from there. Both women grew 128 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: up falling in and out of touch until they both 129 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: settled down and reconnected in San Antonio. They had children 130 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 1: who they treated as each other's family. Dia Cristina is 131 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: actually my youngest sibling's godmother. 132 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 4: I remember visiting. 133 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: Dia Cristina and Dio Felix's house when I was little, 134 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: hanging out with their kids. Our dads watched Spurs basketball games, 135 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: and our moms shared cheesemath at the kitchen table. Their 136 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: bond turned out to be a lifelong one. 137 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 5: And never got tired of her, and she never got 138 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:53,959 Speaker 5: tired of me. And she's pretty much the closest thing 139 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 5: I have to a sister. 140 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: I don't remember when my mom first told me about 141 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: Christina's paternal grandfather, Ignacio a Naya. He was more commonly 142 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: known as Natcho to his friends and family, Ignacio Nacho 143 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: a Naya, and his story has stuck in my head 144 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: ever since. How can you forget something like that? See 145 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: Gristina's grandfather is Nacho be natural, a culinary inventor behind 146 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: well nachos. 147 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, plot twist. 148 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: It took me a second to let it sink in too, 149 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: To be totally clear, the whole natural thing isn't central 150 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: to Mythia's life. 151 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 4: When I asked her for her blessing. 152 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 1: To do a story on it, well, it didn't seem 153 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: like that big of a deal. Just another day at brunch, 154 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: you know. After a half hour drive through the San 155 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: Antonio suburbs, Mammy and I arrive at Christina's house, greeted 156 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: by a dog, as usual, Pristina and her family have 157 00:09:55,960 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: always been animal lovers. Hello, Hello, Christina, smiling. I haven't 158 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: seen her in a few months since her daughter's wedding 159 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: last March, and she gives me a big hug. She's 160 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: wearing a casual navy Maxi dress, her hair pinned back 161 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: away from her face, and half updo. She's always dressed 162 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: nicely whenever I see her. A couple of cats linger outside, 163 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: and an older boxer Roxy is in the living room. 164 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: A novela plays on the TV fun fact Mammy and 165 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: Christina were born on the same day, exactly one year apart. 166 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: Both women are in their mid fifties now, and their 167 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 1: dynamic is the result of decades of messing with each other. 168 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: They both talk very fast, and they're both very funny. 169 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 4: They're always laughing. 170 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: Eventually, we sit down at Christina's dining table squeaky clean 171 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,719 Speaker 1: and wrapped in a plastic cover. I set up a 172 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: little mic stand for mythea. Could you just tell us 173 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: just to your name, your age and originia right now. 174 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 3: My name is Christina Losantos and I live in San Antonio. 175 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 3: I am one of the granddaughters of the inventor of 176 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 3: the Nacho Signacio Naya, my grandfather, daughter of Ignacioonaya junior res. 177 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: My rest in peace de los Santos is Christina's married name. 178 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: Her maiden name is Anaya. I want my Thea to 179 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: feel comfortable in front of the mic. She hasn't been 180 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: interviewed about her grandfather before, and definitely not in English. 181 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: She says, her dad did some interviews years ago, but 182 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: it's not like a lot of people come calling to 183 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: ask the Aayas about Nacho. In fact, Christina had to 184 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,080 Speaker 1: reach out to some relatives to make sure she remembered 185 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: the entire story correctly. The first thing she mentions is 186 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: not work. By the time Christina was born, her grandfather 187 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: already ran his own restaurant, Natcho's Restaurant in Pierre's Negres. 188 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 1: He'd opened it after decades of working all jobs in 189 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:14,199 Speaker 1: the industry. He liked cooking and always gravitated towards the kitchen. 190 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 1: But first and foremost. 191 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 6: He was a businessman. 192 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 3: He passed away when I was like eighteen seven or eight, 193 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 3: and what I remember of him, it was just being 194 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 3: in business all the time. I remember getting to the 195 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 3: every day, there to the restaurant. 196 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 6: H he was always busy. 197 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,559 Speaker 1: Natural Naya was a serious looking man with a light 198 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: gray mustache and thick dark hair that he liked to 199 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: brush back. Christina always remembers him wearing a suit jacket 200 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,959 Speaker 1: with a button up shirt and a tie. Rarely did 201 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 1: he wear short sleeves or t shirts out of the house. 202 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 3: My grandfather was a really elegant man. I'm going to 203 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 3: show you a picture. 204 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,199 Speaker 1: In one picture, he said the bar of his own restaurant, 205 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: reclined on a stool, holding up a drink and a 206 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: toast with a group of other sharp dressed men, A 207 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: small smile lingers on the edge of his mouth. I 208 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: had never seen these photos of Natcho until Gustina shows 209 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: them to me at her dining table. 210 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 4: Chances are that. 211 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: You, dear listener, haven't either, because a lot of the 212 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: photos of Natcho that you can find online aren't of 213 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: Natcho at all. Bnia's joke about it, but still frustrating 214 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: and kind of sloppy, like the people who document and 215 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: share our history didn't really care about getting the details right. 216 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: A few years ago, Natcho was commemorated with a Google 217 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: doodle for his one hundred and twenty fourth birthday. For 218 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: a whole day, an animated drawing of a round faced 219 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: man assembling Nacho's popped up on the side's homepage. But 220 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: the image that came up when you looked up Ignacio Naye, 221 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: that wasn't him. Guisina was surprised that no one ever 222 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: reached out to the family to get a curate photos, 223 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,359 Speaker 1: not Google, and not any of the websites hosting images 224 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:06,119 Speaker 1: of Ignacio. 225 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 3: I like, what the heck is this? I asked my 226 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 3: son to can you change the picture? Can you tell 227 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 3: them that this is not your great grandfather? And he tried, 228 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 3: he tried, He sent them to Google and he got 229 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 3: it to change the picture. I think it lasts a lot, even, 230 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 3: like fifteen twenty minutes. 231 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 6: I put it back. Yeah, I like that's a lot 232 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 6: much Hya. 233 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, Wikipedia at least has an accurate photo up as 234 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: of this taping, and it seems like the Internet generally 235 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: gets the broad strokes of NATO's story right. He was 236 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: born in eighteen ninety five in Mexico in a small 237 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: town named Manuel Benavides in the state of Chihuaua. It's 238 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: pretty close to the border on the west side of Texas, 239 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: about fifty miles from Big Bend National Park. After losing 240 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: his parents at a young age, Natcho decided to move 241 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: to the US when he was just a teenager, around 242 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: fourteen or fifteen years old. He hopped around small towns 243 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: in Texas working odd jobs landscaping, bussing, waitering, until he 244 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: settled on the border in Pierre's Negres, opposite the Rio 245 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: Grande from Eco past Texas. And that's where he made 246 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: history based off of how your family has like preserved 247 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: the story and how you tell the story or remember 248 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: it now, because you kind of walk me through the 249 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: story of how the natchal was invented. 250 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 3: Whenever someone tells the story, they always change something on 251 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 3: the story. That's what I've been noticing. Even they publish 252 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 3: things and they always change something in the story. But 253 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 3: what I know it was that my grandfather was working 254 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 3: at Clube Victoria. 255 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: Glue Victoria, that used to be a swanky restaurant right 256 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: near the river at the border on the Pierre's Negra side. 257 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: Natural was a waiter there at the time. 258 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 4: He also used to. 259 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: Work at a nearby spot called Blue Moderno, and some 260 00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: write ups claim that it was that restaurant where this 261 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: went down. Nay As, though insist it was Clue Victoria. 262 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: The year is nineteen forty three. 263 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 3: The story was that he was working there and what 264 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 3: I knew that the restaurant was closing when this group 265 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 3: of ladies, he was like around ten to twelve ladies 266 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 3: that were wives of military men and or generals at 267 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 3: the Air Force base over there in it go pass 268 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 3: and they went to visit to have dinner something in 269 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 3: Pierrol Neggas. 270 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 6: So they show up to the. 271 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 3: Restaurant and my grandfather welcomed them in, but the chef 272 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 3: of the place at that time he was gone. 273 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: If fat chef had still been in the kitchen, who 274 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: knows what would or would not have happened. 275 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 3: He was trying to, okay, what can I prefer since 276 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 3: the kitchen was close already. They just asked no, just 277 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 3: like an appetizer. 278 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 6: That's it. We don't need anything. 279 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 3: Also, he went in start cutting the tortillas, fry them, 280 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 3: and get the cheese. 281 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: The original Natural recipe has been lightly disputed over the years. 282 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: Some records say Natural used Colby Longhorn cheese to create 283 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 1: his base. Christina, though, swears it was shredded Wisconsin. 284 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,440 Speaker 3: And he put them in the oven and bring him 285 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 3: to them and they loved it. 286 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 1: That almost feels like an understatement. Nachos were a hit. 287 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: The textures of the cheese and the jalapenos were just right, 288 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,639 Speaker 1: with an added crunch in each bite. Each to topo 289 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: was compact, a self contained delivery system for flavor, and 290 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 1: it was so convenient to share in a group. 291 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 3: Mimi Finan, that's the lady that was with that group, 292 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 3: and I believe she used to live She was the 293 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 3: one that brought them over there, but I did she 294 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 3: used to live around in Piero Neros or Eagle Pass 295 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 3: or something. So she was the one that asked him, 296 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,679 Speaker 3: what is the name of these dishes this sappetizer since 297 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 3: we like it, He said, Ah, I don't know. I 298 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 3: just I just did it right now, and I just 299 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 3: created right now, and I don't have a name for it, 300 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 3: so she was like, well, so what's your name. He 301 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:15,199 Speaker 3: was like, my name is Signacio Nacho, and she was 302 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 3: the one that say we're gonna call him Nacho Specials. 303 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: Ignacio Naya remained in the restaurant business for the rest 304 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:26,160 Speaker 1: of his life, and he kept making nachos Clue. Victoria 305 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 1: eventually added the dish to its menu, and in nineteen 306 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,959 Speaker 1: sixty one, almost twenty years after creating his namesake platter, 307 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: Ignacio opened. 308 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:35,880 Speaker 4: Up his own restaurant. 309 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 1: It was on Avenida Carranza, the main street of Pierre Negres, just. 310 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 4: A couple of miles from the border bridge. 311 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: The Anaya family home was right next to the restaurant, 312 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 1: connected by a. 313 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:48,880 Speaker 4: Door in the kitchen. 314 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: When she was a little kid, Christina would go spend 315 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: time at Nacho's restaurant after school. 316 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 6: He used to have a chef. 317 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 3: His name was Margharrito. Don Margharrito, an old man that 318 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 3: he was like, super nice, super sweet man. 319 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: Nacho had mentored Margharito since the latter was a kid. 320 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: After he found the boys selling nickknacks on the street 321 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: to make cash. Margharito became family NATO's right hand man. 322 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: Thanks to him, Christina made her own contribution to the 323 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: restaurant menu. 324 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 3: I didn't like cheese back then, so the nachos had 325 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 3: cheese in the round of kalapenno. And I will always 326 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 3: say no cheese on the nachos and no jalapeno's now spicy. 327 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 3: Can you make me do the patapos with beans? And 328 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 3: he was like you why you always want to change 329 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 3: my recipes, but he will spoil me and make me 330 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 3: my bean nachos. 331 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: By the time Christina was experimenting in NATO's kitchen, Mexican 332 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 1: restaurants all across South Texas were already offering their own 333 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,439 Speaker 1: takes on the dish, directly competing with her grandfather. His 334 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: restaurant proudly declared itself home of the Nachos Special, but 335 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: this had become bigger than that. Early on, Christina made 336 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: the decision to just roll with. 337 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 6: It, realize on that it became popular. 338 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 3: He was, you know, yeah, whenever started getting older, probably 339 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 3: when I was in. 340 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 6: Middle school, high school. 341 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 3: But he never was like something like, oh my god, 342 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 3: this is my grandfather's invention. And I wasn't saying anything 343 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 3: because people will say yeah, right, you know, don't believe it, 344 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,919 Speaker 3: so what for? So instead of telling everybody feeling like 345 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 3: oh yeah, yeah, yeah, no. 346 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 6: I was, I better don't say anything, just enjoy it 347 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 6: and whatever. 348 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: Natchal was offered the chance to take Natcho's Special to 349 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: the big time by patenting the name or even starting 350 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 1: a chain of restaurants around it. Several sources, including the 351 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: NIS corroborate that he had a small window to patent 352 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: his invention and potentially profit from it in the late 353 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: nineteen forties and fifties, but Nato opted not to go 354 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,120 Speaker 1: through the trouble. In an interview with the San Antonio 355 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: Express News in nineteen sixty nine, when Nacho was already 356 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,479 Speaker 1: in his seventies, he said that he had no idea 357 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: just how big this snack would become. For the longest time, 358 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 1: he thought it just wasn't a bet worth making a 359 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: turdlla with cheese on it. You mean, like the kind 360 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: of footiet as a kid, really. 361 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,399 Speaker 9: Introducing Combell's new Nacho Cheese souped it. 362 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:33,160 Speaker 1: It turns anything Naso Zippy into Nacho Zippy. It's Christina's father, 363 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: Ignacio and Aya Junior did try to revisit the question 364 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: of patents in the nineteen eighties and nineties. 365 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:40,400 Speaker 4: But it was too late. 366 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: By then, Nacho's were already in the public domain. 367 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:49,159 Speaker 10: Are you missing that Taco Bells knew nachos cheese? Tried 368 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,439 Speaker 10: nacho cheese doritos? Did they taste as good as they. 369 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: Crunch, so you couldn't patent it even if you tried. 370 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: Nacho and his family never did directly profit off of 371 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: the Nacho's widespread success. Nacho's restaurant isn't even there anymore. 372 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: Nacho died in nineteen seventy five, but his invention would 373 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: live on, and just a year after his passing, one 374 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:25,679 Speaker 1: savvy San Antonio based entrepreneur would take Nachos to the 375 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 1: big leagues. 376 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:30,679 Speaker 2: Coming up on Lettino Usa. 377 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 7: Nachos take the world by storm, but their skyrocketing popularity 378 00:22:35,840 --> 00:23:33,359 Speaker 7: obscures the nachos real origin story. Stay with us, Yes, hey, 379 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 7: we're back. So in nineteen forty three, Nacio Nacho a 380 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 7: Naya invented his namesake dish in the Mexican border town 381 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 7: of Piedras Negaras, Guateuila. When we left off, Nachos had 382 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 7: already become a popular appetizer dish all over South Texas, 383 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 7: but nachos would become bigger than their inventor ever anticipated, 384 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 7: thanks to an end surprising concession foods business headquartered less 385 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 7: than two hundred miles away in San Antonio. Here's our 386 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 7: producer Alejandra Sarassat with the rest of the story. 387 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: It's the turn of the twentieth century. An Italian boy 388 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: from a small Sicilian province moves to the United States. 389 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: He's fourteen years old and alone, arriving in New Orleans 390 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety, he decides to build a life in 391 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,719 Speaker 1: this land of opportunity. He opens a grocery store. He 392 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: gets married and starts a family. They moved to Texas 393 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:48,440 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen hundreds, eventually permanently relocating to San Antonio. 394 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,400 Speaker 1: The grocery business comes with them, now renamed after the family, 395 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: Liberto Market and Grocery One. Liberto son Enrico inherits the business, 396 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: and in the decades that follow the store shifts its 397 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:07,159 Speaker 1: focus to selling concessions roasted peanuts and popcorn, candy and bulk, 398 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,879 Speaker 1: and Rico trains his son Frank to take over next. 399 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 9: My grandparents had my dad and they're like only child. 400 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 9: That's it. So my dad got to take the business 401 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 9: over by himself. He didn't have any brothers and sisters. 402 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: This is Tony Liberto. He's the fourth generation to run 403 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 1: the family business. The company, though, isn't called Libertos anymore. 404 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 1: In this story about namesakes and nicknames, Frank eventually renamed 405 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: the company after his father, and Rico Rico Rico's Products Company. 406 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: As the company's current president and CEO, Tony oversees a 407 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,199 Speaker 1: business that has expanded to all fifty states in the 408 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: US and fifty seven countries worldwide. You've probably seen their 409 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:54,359 Speaker 1: products at movie theaters and stadiums. They're even selling their 410 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:55,880 Speaker 1: snacks in grocery stores now. 411 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 9: When it started from my great grandfather, and then you know, 412 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:01,919 Speaker 9: years ago, we have business in Dubai, we have a 413 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 9: business in Korea. And when I fly over there and 414 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 9: I see those products on the shelf in those countries, 415 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,120 Speaker 9: and then I sit back and think about my grandfather 416 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 9: at fourteen came over here. Just gives you chills. 417 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: Rico's growth really took off under Tony's dad, Frank Liberto. 418 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,639 Speaker 1: The way Tony tells it, Frank was a concession's visionary. 419 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:25,400 Speaker 1: He expanded the business across Texas, to movie theaters and 420 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:29,919 Speaker 1: select stadiums in Dallas. In Houston, big gets, but his 421 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: biggest move came to fruition in his hometown. 422 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 9: He went to a restaurant here in San Antonio called Metta. 423 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 9: This is in the early I guess seventy three, seventy four, 424 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 9: and he ordered nachos and he's like, man, this is 425 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,400 Speaker 9: a good thing. If I could figure out a way 426 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 9: to sell nachos in a concession stand, we could probably 427 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 9: make some money. 428 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:56,679 Speaker 1: Nacho's original formula and the elegant simplicity of it to topos, 429 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,919 Speaker 1: melt the cheese and jalapagno convinced Frank to make his 430 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: own version of the dish, one that could be sold 431 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: on a masked scale. He made deals with the Fiat 432 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,160 Speaker 1: chip producers and jelapeno growers in Mexico. 433 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 4: He found a. 434 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: Company that made cheese sauce, and in nineteen seventy six, 435 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: Frank called up Arlington Stadium, where the Texas Rangers used 436 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,479 Speaker 1: to play. He convinced them to let him debut his 437 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,959 Speaker 1: new concoction at a baseball game. Frank and his family 438 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,440 Speaker 1: made little carts to sell the nachos. Tables with red 439 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,679 Speaker 1: and white stripes running down the sides. 440 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 9: We built nine carts, and I was in high school 441 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 9: and I was making these carts with him, and we 442 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 9: put them up there and it went off like wildfire. 443 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,639 Speaker 9: People were standing in line, ten people deep in the 444 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 9: concessions this little cart, and you'd hear the crack of 445 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,640 Speaker 9: the bat, you hear the stadium roar, and nobody would 446 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 9: leave the line. They wanted to get some nachos. 447 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 4: Nachos spread fast. 448 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,160 Speaker 1: Within a year, Rico's set up shop in Texas Stadium, 449 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: then home to the Dallas Cowboys football team. On September fourth, 450 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: nineteen seven, Hot Shot Monday night football commentator Howard Cosell 451 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 1: gave nachos his approval on a live broadcast, which boosted 452 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:09,360 Speaker 1: interest and sales. 453 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 4: Then the movies came calling, and. 454 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,679 Speaker 9: Dad said, no, no, no, no, this is a stadium item. 455 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 9: You have velvet seats, you have carpeting. You're going to 456 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 9: be calling me and telling me I got to clean 457 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 9: your theaters because you've got stains all over your seats. 458 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,640 Speaker 1: But Frank's concerns were drowned out by the wide demand 459 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: for nachos. 460 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 4: Across the country. 461 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: People could not get enough. By nineteen eighty just four 462 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: years after making their stadium debut, nachos had already become 463 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: a popular theater concession, along with heavy hitters like popcorn, 464 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: hot dogs, and soda. 465 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 9: So then we put it in you not a artists 466 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 9: theaters who now is regal theaters and then other theaters 467 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 9: General Cinema AMC. At one point we had about ninety 468 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,720 Speaker 9: eighty five percent of the theater chains across the United 469 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 9: States using our product. 470 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: What Ricos did with nachos isn't just a matter of 471 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: market dominance. The concession nacho is a cultural force. There's 472 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: a sizeable chance that you, the person listening to this, 473 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: know what nachos. 474 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 4: Are because of Ricos. 475 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 2: Hi, folks, I'm Rico. 476 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 4: Oh he's peppy. See. 477 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,479 Speaker 2: You can find us at the concession stand. 478 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: In all the fig round chips, the unsettlingly artificial yellow 479 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: cheese sauce, the concept of nacho cheese existing separate from cheese. 480 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: That's all things to Ricos. 481 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 8: Remember, folks, we're the no star at the snackbark Rico's nachos. 482 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: When I tell people, O, yeah, I'm doing streight with 483 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: the nachos, they have like a vivid idea of the 484 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: nacho in their mind, which is the right. 485 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 9: Yeah, well, because if you think about it, they're experiencing 486 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:48,760 Speaker 9: our product. And Dad always said, you know, as a 487 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,720 Speaker 9: concessionaire is someone who sells product, food and beverage to 488 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 9: people who didn't come to his place to buy food 489 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:56,640 Speaker 9: and beverage. They went there to watch a ballgame or 490 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 9: movie or you know, basketball game, but the food and 491 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 9: beverag's experience was part of it. So it's kind of 492 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 9: a nostalgia thing. 493 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,800 Speaker 1: How did nachos end up at so many formative movie 494 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: or sports events of our youth? The most obvious answer 495 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: is that they're tasty. No one is going to say 496 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: no to cheese flavor and salty corn chips. But nachos 497 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: were an extraordinary business opportunity for Ricos. Frank didn't invent 498 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: the foundational flavor combination or even the concept of nachos. 499 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 1: What he invented was essentially a hyper efficient delivery system 500 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 1: designed for an environment where people are naturally very short 501 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: on time. 502 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 9: Dad knew that concession sells is about transaction time. Grab 503 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 9: the chips, hand to the next person, ladle the cheese 504 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 9: over it, bill the peppers on and collect the cash. 505 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 9: So you could serve somebody in about fifteen seconds. 506 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 1: Nachos became a dream for vendors bottom lines. 507 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 4: A way to make the most bang for your buck. 508 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 1: Start with the cheese sauce. At the time, real cheese 509 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 1: would go bad too quickly behind a concession stand, and 510 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: it was too tricky to measure and melt fast. The 511 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 1: trick was to emulsify US cheese, concentrate and mix that 512 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 1: with water and juice left over from canned harabagos. That 513 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: was part of the brilliance of Frank small Park nachos. 514 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,960 Speaker 1: Every bit of the ingredients went to use. Ricos still 515 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 1: uses a similar formula for their package nacho cheese today. 516 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:31,560 Speaker 1: Today nachos are Rico's top selling item. On average, the 517 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 1: company sells nearly one hundred million pounds of cheese sauce 518 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: per year. Early on in reporting this story, I noticed 519 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,680 Speaker 1: some similarities between Nacho's Nachos and Rico's nachos. They share 520 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 1: immigrant roots, and they've both become smash hits in the US. 521 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:53,040 Speaker 1: Yet ever since the beginning, they've served distinct purposes. One 522 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 1: was a strike of lightning, the other a shrewd business call. 523 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: So it makes sense that everyone I spoke to for 524 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 1: this including and especially Ricos, emphasize that what Ricos sells 525 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,400 Speaker 1: are not the original nachos. This is not what Nacho 526 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 1: and Naya invented. 527 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,440 Speaker 9: Dad never claimed that he started nachos. He always claimed 528 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 9: he originated the concession nacho, which he did the ballpark 529 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 9: Nacho and. 530 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: Toni says that Ricos has always deferred to Ignacio and 531 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 1: Naya as the. 532 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 4: Creator of this dish. 533 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 1: Still, they've gotten some blowback about it before, and they 534 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: probably will after this story airs too. 535 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 9: People have kind of called us out on our website 536 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,000 Speaker 9: that you guys didn't originate the nacho. It was originated 537 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 9: by the Ania family, and we politely say, we know, 538 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 9: you know, we're not claiming that we originated this actual dish. 539 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 1: While nachos are now mass produced concession items, they also 540 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: continue to be served as Nacho created them, freshly made 541 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: straight from the kitchen. Many Mexican restaurants in the US 542 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: offer nachos as a staple appetizer that you sit down 543 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: to enjoy. For example, remember Mitierre San Antonio restaurant where 544 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:05,560 Speaker 1: Frank Roberto first tried nachos. The restaurant still sells them 545 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: today too. Piping hot with cheese melted over a layer of. 546 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:10,760 Speaker 4: Brief fried beans. 547 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: Yet the fact remains that Ricos and the Libertos built 548 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: an empire off of nachos, and the man who conceptualized 549 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:26,520 Speaker 1: the nacho and his family didn't. Nacho's restaurant struggled to 550 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: stay afloat after his death, eventually shuddering for good in 551 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 1: the nineties. Unlike Rico's, there's no beautiful office in prime 552 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,640 Speaker 1: downtown San Antonio for the Anias, no millions of dollars 553 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: in nacho sales. Ricos couldn't patent their product either, but 554 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,200 Speaker 1: they do hold valuable registered trademarks on their cheese, sauce 555 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: and other items. 556 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:47,880 Speaker 4: So how does that square. 557 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 9: If they could have patent it, they would have all 558 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 9: been very very happy with that for sure. And people 559 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 9: can take that concept. You know, other restaurants here can 560 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 9: take that concept and do the same thing. So it's 561 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 9: the fact that they couldn't patent it, I think is 562 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 9: where the way they could benefit as a serve it 563 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:09,120 Speaker 9: to as many not A restaurants as they could. But 564 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,320 Speaker 9: we as a company are serving too, you know, large 565 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 9: national chains, and there's a lot more volume. I guess 566 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 9: you're obviously going to see more sales in that environment. 567 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 9: But since you know, Ignacio couldn't patent it, I mean, 568 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:26,279 Speaker 9: I don't know how else they could have benefited. You know, 569 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 9: it's a food product. 570 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 1: Have there been any efforts to kind of retouch them 571 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:32,480 Speaker 1: or to work with. 572 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 9: Them or no? But you just thought, just give me goosebumps, babe. 573 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,840 Speaker 9: We should, you know, try to get back together and 574 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 9: you know, have recognition together for what our families and 575 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:49,000 Speaker 9: our forefathers have done for us. Yeah, that would be neat. 576 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,279 Speaker 1: From what both Tony and the Anayas can remember. The 577 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,920 Speaker 1: last time their families interacted was back in the seventies, 578 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,920 Speaker 1: right when Frank Liberto was poised to debut the concession Nacho. 579 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,800 Speaker 1: He went down to Eagle Pass to speak with Ignacio 580 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:09,759 Speaker 1: and Aya Junior, Cristina's father. 581 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:12,600 Speaker 4: Both men have passed away, since. 582 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,839 Speaker 1: Nobody I could speak to knows what was said or 583 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:17,400 Speaker 1: agreed to in that meeting. 584 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,239 Speaker 10: The story of the Nacho is really a story of 585 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:29,759 Speaker 10: the loss of an apostrophe. It's Nacho's Special and that's 586 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,360 Speaker 10: the original name, and it continued to be called Nacho 587 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 10: Special there, but over time the agency of Nacho was erased. 588 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:41,840 Speaker 1: Avan Midrano is a chef and food writer born in 589 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 1: raised Djano from San Antonio's West Side, Adan is dedicated 590 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: to preserving and elevating the cuisines of Texas Mexican communities, 591 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,800 Speaker 1: the food of South Texas and Northern Mexican regions, which 592 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:57,240 Speaker 1: have a shared culinary history that reaches back centuries before 593 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: the US Mexico border was ever established. Just to be clear, 594 00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:05,280 Speaker 1: Texas Mexican food isn't an extended term for tex mechs, 595 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,120 Speaker 1: which is a wholly separate thing, an adaptation of Mexican 596 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,640 Speaker 1: food by white settlers in Texas in the early nineteen hundreds. 597 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: Though tex mechs does represent what happens to a lot 598 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,799 Speaker 1: of Mexican cuisine in the US. 599 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:21,240 Speaker 10: They simply took it upon themselves to call text mechs 600 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 10: the real thing, even though it's an appropriation of our food. 601 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 1: And that's kind of what happened with Nachos two. In 602 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:32,279 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen and unpublished his cookbook Don't Count the Dortrilles 603 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,920 Speaker 1: The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking. It is his latest 604 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,960 Speaker 1: effort to reclaim the region's culinary history from misinformed authors, 605 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,680 Speaker 1: many of whom are often white or possess little understanding 606 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:44,480 Speaker 1: of the region. 607 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:48,320 Speaker 10: In my book, I make reference to the Huffington Post 608 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:52,920 Speaker 10: story that says that the nacho was born because there 609 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,800 Speaker 10: was no chef and a waiter just threw things together. 610 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,759 Speaker 10: This is how food writers have erased the voice of 611 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,920 Speaker 10: our culinarians and the agency. By agency, I mean the 612 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 10: creative power that we have to create beautiful food. 613 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,520 Speaker 1: Over time, natchos have become part of a pantheon of 614 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,560 Speaker 1: quote unquote American foods. In many ways, its origin story 615 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,800 Speaker 1: has been eclipsed, flattened down, and swallowed whole by American 616 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:26,200 Speaker 1: myth making. To create his dish, Natural had to draw 617 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:30,719 Speaker 1: from the culinary history of the US Mexico borderlands. He 618 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 1: worked on the fly, Yes, but it wasn't at random. 619 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,440 Speaker 4: Pairing corn tortillas and cheese with some chile for heat. 620 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:42,480 Speaker 1: That was a deliberate choice, inspired by the cesadigas and 621 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:46,239 Speaker 1: salsas of his youth. It's an instinct that comes from 622 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:50,360 Speaker 1: inherited culinary knowledge and a lifetime of eating the specific 623 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 1: foods and flavors of your people. In the case of 624 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:58,640 Speaker 1: Texas Mexican cuisine, which isn't typically taught in formal classroom settings, 625 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:01,800 Speaker 1: a lot of this food. It is archived by home cooks, 626 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: often women, and passed down between generations at the dinner table. 627 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: These are the kinds of details that Avan worries will 628 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:14,920 Speaker 1: get lost if local histories are not properly documented. 629 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:21,319 Speaker 10: Food narrates our history and also narrates our identity. When 630 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:24,760 Speaker 10: my mom hands me and I'm four or five years old, 631 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:30,040 Speaker 10: the tortilla beautifully done in the traditional way, that's the 632 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:34,319 Speaker 10: memory of our history and of our ancestry. That's how 633 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:39,680 Speaker 10: food works. For example, in Ninchilada, everything about in Ninchilada 634 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:44,399 Speaker 10: speaks to our ancestry, our ancestry as indigenous people, the 635 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 10: corn being indigenous, the salt being indigenous, and the chilis 636 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,480 Speaker 10: this is the original esthetic. So every time that I 637 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:54,759 Speaker 10: eat and make this in Chilada, I'm reaching back into 638 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 10: history to our indigenous character. 639 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,720 Speaker 1: A dish like the modern day in Chilava also nods 640 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 1: to the introduction of European colonists in Mexico, cheese being 641 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 1: a quote unquote old world food brought over in the 642 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:11,000 Speaker 1: years following the violent conquest of Latin America. But in 643 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,720 Speaker 1: taking a foreign ingredient like cheese, producing it with regional 644 00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:18,759 Speaker 1: materials and resources and combining it with indigenous staples to 645 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:23,120 Speaker 1: make now classic recipes. Mexican cooks created a new culinary 646 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:27,400 Speaker 1: language unique to them in creating nacho special. That's a 647 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: legacy that Ignacio and Nayak contributed to as well. It's 648 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,880 Speaker 1: a big reason why Avan is especially fascinated by nachos. 649 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:38,239 Speaker 1: The dish provides an avenue to excavate the histories of 650 00:39:38,239 --> 00:39:41,640 Speaker 1: the region, from the lasting impact of colonialism up to 651 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:46,640 Speaker 1: today's fraught immigration politics. After all, as a borderland creation, 652 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:52,520 Speaker 1: nachos are a glaring reminder that political divides our artifice. 653 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:55,920 Speaker 1: In this way, Avan argues, food is a more honest 654 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,000 Speaker 1: guide than any map could ever be. 655 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,800 Speaker 10: It's the power of food and are gathering in family 656 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:06,719 Speaker 10: and in community that have maintained our cohesiveness and the 657 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,399 Speaker 10: coherence of who we are, and that our ancestry goes 658 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:14,160 Speaker 10: back ten thousand years on this land, this Texas land. 659 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:18,839 Speaker 10: When you say nachos cannot be explained by because they 660 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:21,960 Speaker 10: came over from Mexico, nor can they be explained that 661 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 10: they were born in the United States. They can only 662 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:29,440 Speaker 10: be explained by understanding that region as a landscape. Food 663 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:34,480 Speaker 10: does not have nationality. Food has roots, and so this 664 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:38,000 Speaker 10: world view that people have that Mexicans came over in 665 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:41,200 Speaker 10: their own immigrants is simply put into crisis when you 666 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:44,680 Speaker 10: go into the origins and the beauty of the nachos 667 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:49,479 Speaker 10: special dish. 668 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:53,719 Speaker 1: I'm back with my mother at the Cristina's house. This 669 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:58,160 Speaker 1: time Christina invited her sister Marcella over. Marcella's daughter and 670 00:40:58,239 --> 00:41:03,160 Speaker 1: grandchildren are here, and the dogs are back as well. 671 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,239 Speaker 1: We sit down again and early on I mentioned that 672 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 1: I've spoken with folks from Ricos. Both women looked surprised 673 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,880 Speaker 1: that I went to them for a story about nachos, 674 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:22,760 Speaker 1: and Marcella laughs. 675 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 6: No, those are fake. 676 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:28,319 Speaker 3: It's another kind of. 677 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,919 Speaker 6: Those are snacks. This is an appetizer. 678 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:37,240 Speaker 1: Marcella came ready to talk about nachos nachos. She actually 679 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:40,920 Speaker 1: brought a large children's picture book with her called Well 680 00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:44,839 Speaker 1: Nachos Nachos. It was published in twenty twenty by an 681 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,000 Speaker 1: author named Sandra Nicol. She was the first person to 682 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,920 Speaker 1: reach out to the Anayas in years, even traveling to 683 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:52,440 Speaker 1: Texas to meet some of the family. 684 00:41:52,560 --> 00:42:02,520 Speaker 11: She lives in Switzerland, Switzerland. Yes, I was texting with 685 00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:05,000 Speaker 11: her in Nasala comported. 686 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:11,840 Speaker 1: Marcella is fifty nine a couple of years Christina Senior 687 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:14,960 Speaker 1: as Ignacio and I A Junior's second oldest child. 688 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:16,720 Speaker 4: Marcella has a few. 689 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,080 Speaker 1: More memories of her grandfather than Christina does. 690 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:25,319 Speaker 8: That's the only game my grandfather played with us, Lotteria 691 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:29,120 Speaker 8: this because we used to play Guyina and Coyote, and 692 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:32,719 Speaker 8: I can't remember how that game goes, but he just 693 00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:33,440 Speaker 8: liked to. 694 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,279 Speaker 6: Sitting besides and watching us play. 695 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:45,640 Speaker 8: One time he paints he's here and it comes out red. 696 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:52,080 Speaker 8: He's here, he's here, And instead of getting mad, he 697 00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:57,480 Speaker 8: went out and looked for friends and he started making 698 00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:03,839 Speaker 8: faces and just showing he's here, he's red hair. See, 699 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:08,000 Speaker 8: he was so funny. 700 00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:12,160 Speaker 1: NATO's descendants have made peace with the way things went down, 701 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:16,680 Speaker 1: with the NATO's global success and with their grandfather's decision 702 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:18,359 Speaker 1: to not capitalize on his. 703 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:23,160 Speaker 3: Invention, because if the inventor of the nachos, they didn't 704 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:27,879 Speaker 3: do anything about it, like why will you? 705 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:33,600 Speaker 1: Even if sometimes it still stings. At one point, de 706 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:35,719 Speaker 1: Christina and Marcella start discussing it with. 707 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:47,640 Speaker 11: My mom better better. 708 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:50,759 Speaker 1: For the most part, though, they don't dwell on it, 709 00:43:51,360 --> 00:43:52,560 Speaker 1: and they don't want. 710 00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:53,160 Speaker 4: To dwell on it. 711 00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:56,839 Speaker 1: Wasting time and energy on this, and even if there 712 00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:00,759 Speaker 1: had been any sort of natural related windfall, they think 713 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:04,280 Speaker 1: it would be kind of a logistical nightmare. Today, Nacho 714 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:08,239 Speaker 1: had nine kids, plenty more grandkids, and now great and 715 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:11,920 Speaker 1: great great grandchildren are in the picture too. Christina and 716 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:15,080 Speaker 1: Marcella do not like thinking about the chaos that would 717 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:18,040 Speaker 1: have ensued within the family if their grandfather had decided 718 00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:20,920 Speaker 1: to patent his dish, or if he decided to create 719 00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:24,640 Speaker 1: some sort of national fast food chain like a Mexican 720 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:31,480 Speaker 1: Colonel Sanders KFC, but for Nachos. Instead, his family got 721 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:34,239 Speaker 1: to build their own lives outside of the shadow of 722 00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:38,200 Speaker 1: Nacho Special, instead of getting wrapped up in their patriarch's legacy. 723 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:40,239 Speaker 4: They were free to create their own. 724 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:43,880 Speaker 1: A lot of that freedom, too, was a direct result 725 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,320 Speaker 1: of the work Nacho himself put in to support his family, 726 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:52,920 Speaker 1: to provide them the kind of stability that precludes opportunity. 727 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:57,319 Speaker 1: So what can the Anayas do now, really except make 728 00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:01,320 Speaker 1: sure Nacho's story isn't lost, Except make sure that people 729 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:02,120 Speaker 1: know the truth. 730 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,360 Speaker 4: And it really is a tremendous story. 731 00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:12,399 Speaker 6: Commentari, it was. 732 00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:17,839 Speaker 1: Sisu pires if only. 733 00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:30,600 Speaker 2: You knew, and that was young. 734 00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,879 Speaker 1: Every year since nineteen ninety five, typically in October there's 735 00:45:31,920 --> 00:45:35,719 Speaker 1: been a festival in Pierre's Negres in honor of Nacho's 736 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:40,080 Speaker 1: And yet Ignacio and Aya wasn't out to make history. 737 00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:42,719 Speaker 1: He enjoyed his job well enough, but all of a 738 00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:44,960 Speaker 1: sudden done. It was a means to an end. 739 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:50,080 Speaker 3: He always liked to to cook since little and probably 740 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:53,800 Speaker 3: that's why he always had in his mind like opening 741 00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:57,200 Speaker 3: in one day his own place. But I mean to 742 00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:01,480 Speaker 3: support his family maybe too. I mean, nine kids, it's 743 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:01,879 Speaker 3: a lot. 744 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,480 Speaker 1: Some of those kids went on to have their own families. 745 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:11,200 Speaker 1: They came to the United States and created stable lives 746 00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 1: on this side of the border. Today, the Anayas, both 747 00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:19,040 Speaker 1: in the US and in Mexico, remain close. Cristina still 748 00:46:19,040 --> 00:46:21,000 Speaker 1: goes down to the border twice a month to visit 749 00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:26,120 Speaker 1: relatives there. The family is growing and happy. And what 750 00:46:26,239 --> 00:46:28,759 Speaker 1: greater legacy can one have than this? 751 00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:31,279 Speaker 4: How does the story make you feel. 752 00:46:31,239 --> 00:46:34,680 Speaker 6: So proud of my grandpa? So proud of him? I 753 00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:36,879 Speaker 6: feel proud, Yeah for him. 754 00:46:37,239 --> 00:46:41,719 Speaker 3: I really thank everybody for recognizing him. 755 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:45,280 Speaker 6: Yeah, it's just a nice feeling, a nice feeling. 756 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,239 Speaker 7: This episode was produced by Alejandra Salasad and edited by 757 00:47:10,239 --> 00:47:11,800 Speaker 7: Andrea Lopez Rusado. 758 00:47:12,239 --> 00:47:14,480 Speaker 2: It was mixed by j. J. Carubin. 759 00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 7: Fact checking for this episode by Elizabeth Lowenthal Torres Special 760 00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:24,640 Speaker 7: thanks to Malena Salasar and Ricardo Miguel Salasa. The Latino 761 00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:29,840 Speaker 7: USA team includes Marta Martinez, Deisy Contreres, Mike Sargent, Victoria Strada, 762 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:34,239 Speaker 7: Rinaldo Leanos Junior, Patricia Sulbrand and Julia Rocha, with help 763 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:35,440 Speaker 7: from Raoul Prees. 764 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:39,399 Speaker 2: Our editorial director is Fernandes Santos. Our director of. 765 00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:43,520 Speaker 7: Engineering is Stefanie lebou Our senior engineer is Julia Caruso. 766 00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:47,880 Speaker 7: Our associate engineer is Gabrielle Biez. Our marketing manager is 767 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,759 Speaker 7: Luis Luna. Our theme music was composed by Sane Rubinos. 768 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:54,560 Speaker 7: I'm your host and executive producer Mariano Posa joined us 769 00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:57,040 Speaker 7: again on our next episode and in the meantime look 770 00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:00,840 Speaker 7: for us on social media and remember loteva yes a 771 00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:01,799 Speaker 7: stell Approxima. 772 00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:10,720 Speaker 12: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Ford Foundation, 773 00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:15,879 Speaker 12: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, 774 00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 12: the John D. 775 00:48:16,719 --> 00:48:17,400 Speaker 4: And Catherine T. 776 00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:24,520 Speaker 12: MacArthur Foundation, and the Heising Simons Foundation, unlocking knowledge, opportunity 777 00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:28,839 Speaker 12: and possibilities more at hsfoundation dot org. 778 00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:36,120 Speaker 1: How often have you guys been interviewed about NATCHO like