When you are having a hard workday, it is comforting to remember that tacos fall apart and people still love them.

This metaphor is particularly timely on National Taco Day, which just so happens to be today (Tuesday, October 6, 2026). Regardless of your emotional state, tacos are always a good idea.

Let’s talk about tacos. The stuffed hand-held tortilla dish we know today evolved from Native and Mexican culinary traditions, though the exact details are unknown.

Many, such as historian Jeffrey M. Pilcher, believe the moniker itself can be traced to 18th-century silver mines in Mexico. Miners would wrap gunpowder in paper and place it in the rocks as part of the excavation process, and call them tacos.

They also consumed street food versions that became known as “tacos de minero.”

As industrialization continued to bring workers and their families to Mexico City, culinary fusion took place.

One of the first times tacos are mentioned in the United States is in a 1905 newspaper. Mexican immigrants were working in America on the railroads and mines and brought their favorite dishes from home with them.

In Los Angeles, tamales were sold on pushcarts. In San Antonio, Texas, women known as the Chili Queens sold Mexican food such as tacos around the Alamo.

As the children of Mexican immigrants grew up in the United States, they continued to eat foods from their parents’ homeland, including tacos.

Families began incorporating ingredients that were readily available in America, such as cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, and hamburger meat.

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