More About José

Hello! I'm José, a two-time James Beard Award-winner and the Texas Monthly taco editor. I'm fortunate to be one of the leading voices on tacos and taco culture and their impact on American culture and foodways. That includes Mexican American culture and gastronomy, its regional expressions, and ancillary subjects.

I'm the author of American Tacos: A History and Guide, now in it's second revision and expanded. My book has been featured in various mediums and used as part of curriculum in several schools. American Tacos is the first national survey of regional tacos in the U.S., and won an International Latino Book Award in 2021.

It's wild to realize that I've been a writer for nearly three decades, writing for various publications, including Eater, Cuisine Noir, Imbibe, D Magazine, Thrillist, and Vice Munchies. But here I am chugging away honored to tell stories.

I've has been featured in numerous publications, magazines, and TV shows, the New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, D Magazine, Eater, the Los Angeles Times, the Arizona Republic, Culinary Backstreets, the Taco Chair, and Netflix's the Taco Chronicles, Latino USA, the Sporkful, Texas Public Radio, the Tennessean, the Houston Chronicle, PBS, CNN, and more. 

I'm also an in-demand speaker and panelists at conferences, symposiums, educational centers at all levels, and festivals, having appeared at such events as Cocina Sabrosa, Sister Cities International All Americas Summit, the Texas Book Festival, the Asian American Journalists Association national conference.

Thank you for stopping by! Let’s create captivating stories together that leave a lasting impression.