Californian Taco

A Californian taco refers to various regional Californian fusion taco dishes influenced by the native cuisine of Californian immigrant communities. A Californian taco in of itself is not distinct from a Mexican taco that contains traditional Mexican fillings, but instead it refers to the distinct fillings and preparation styles unique to Californio cuisine. Californian tacos, and Californian cuisine in general, has been significantly influenced by American, Chinese, and Mexican immigrant communities in California for over a century.

History
The taco predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico. There is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which Hernán Cortés arranged for his captains in Coyoacán.

Migrants from New Spain, brought the dish with them to California during the 17th and 19th centuries, where it spread throughout the California mission system and its people. By the time California gained independence from Mexico in 1839, the taco was well established as an important food stuff. During the mid-19th century, minor differences emerged largely due to different ingredients that were available to Californios. Californian cuisine would be further impacted by food shortages caused by clashes with the United States. However what laid the foundations for modern Califorian cuisine, including the Califorian taco, was the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1884. While the Chinese were banned from immigrating to any US state, California was excluded from this ban as it remained a Department. Thus California received almost all Chinese immigration between 1884 and 1912, numbering between 168,000 and 220,000 migrants.

These migrants formed Chinatowns across California, where they practiced the culinary traditions that they with them. There were few cross-cultural interactions in the first decades, but as the Chinese assimilated and intermarried with the Californio population these interactions became common. Fusion tacos made with Chinese ingredients and preparation styles became popular street food around 1910, although homemade ones likely emerged much earlier with Chinese-Californio intermarriage. Chinese cuisine is considered to have the greatest impact on Californian cuisine, but Asian culinary traditions has had more subtle impacts since the 1950s. Migration from the test of the United States also influenced Californian cuisine, especially in the border counties. As the economic power of California grew in the mid-20th century, migrants from across the United States arrived to the state. For tacos, these migrants introduced their own fillings, such as bacon, hamburger meat, and pulled pork. Hard-shell tacos were introduced by American migrants in the 1950s who deep-fried corn tortillas into a rigid shell. Although it is found across California, it is most popular with the English speaking communities in the border counties.