Head and Heart tacos
By Silvia Alvarez - August 2007 |
A piece of tortilla with small chunks of meat, coriander, onion and salsa can contain great history, among them Mexico’s history with the most traditional of our national dishes; but in addition there are stories, the stories of each one of our taco vendors. While serving those simple snacks they serve their native country wherever they install their business.
 The story of Maria Candelaria Garcia Caballero is that of a brave woman who decided to turn a taco stand into a family business not only to prosper but also in order to teach lessons and provide memories, all of which has attracted more than one of her clients. Armed with her little mobile vendor’s cart Maria Candelaria opened her taco stand without having any previous experience, "my daughter’s godmother taught how to do it and since I enjoyed cooking I started with the business". Even though of course there were people who tried to discourage her, she followed through.
Candelaria was not alone and 4 small hands constituted her best motivation and help: since they were little, her daughters Rosalina and Maria Isabel were at her side, shoulder to shoulder, "my daughters are a very important part of this business, I even registered them for different shifts in school so that they could help me, one of them in the morning and the another one in the afternoon. Without them I would not have been able to do it."
 Now after 23 years of service, attending clients who return day after day for tongue, brain, cheek and even vegetarian tacos, Candelaria comprehends that the effort was well worth it and she was rewarded in full. "I taught my daughters the value of work, and the most important thing for us today is to be together always and to have a smile on our lips. The taco stand offers us several experiences such as chatting with clients and meeting many people, but above all it gives us the opportunity to be together as a family."
At present the taco stand “Cande” is easily recognized, it is not even necessary to know that it is located at the corner of the streets Infonavit and Luis Rodriguez in the Infonavit district, if you see a place full of people in that district, that’s where it is.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Candelaria resigned herself to having a simple stand of head tacos. She offers her clients more than the simple taste of a common taco and includes in the price cucumbers, radishes, hot chili peppers, small pickled potatoes, mulata salsa and hot or regular green tomato salsa that the customer can choose from. In addition she offers home-made water-based fruit drinks which are the favorite ones of the area because they are made from fresh natural fruit such as orange, tamarind, pineapple, coconut, plum and hibiscus.
 "People often told me not to offer so many products with my tacos, since this would reduce my costs as well as my work load of preparing everything in the morning, but I like my client to be completely satisfied when they leave. Now I have clients whom I have known since they were children and at present they continue to come but now they come with their children. Othersgo to the United States and when they return they tell me how they remembered my tacos. No money can pay for that", says this woman who has a generous character and receives her clients tirelessly at her taco stand every evening with a sincere welcoming smile
The love for her family and her work is evident in the taste of her tacos that on top of being head tacos are pure from the heart.
Silvia Álvarez
E-mail: silvialvarezb@yahoo.com.mx
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