RGV's strong culinary tastes more than a blend of North and South
Note: This article originally appeared in the March 21, 2014 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.
Shimin Cen knows a thing or two about different cultures.
Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, the general studies major has eaten a lot during her travels, and has nothing but positive comments about Valley food.
“I’ve traveled around the U.S., and I can honestly say that the food down here is the richest I’ve ever had,” the 26-year-old said. “The cultural mix allows for so many different possibilities in flavor that is able to combine two unique cultures through food.”
Cen, who arrived to UTPA from Bordeaux, France, in 2010, said that among her favorite Valley foods are raspas, chicharones preparados, and tacos, which she said are different from the tacos she’s eaten during her travels.
Cen has traveled around Mexico (Monterrey, Zacatecas, Guadalajara), and described the tacos there as “plain corn tortillas the size of a person’s palm.”
In the Valley, she was delighted to see flour and different-size tortillas, and said she was “amazed” at the possibility of adding condiments such as lettuce, cheese, and tomato to the tacos.
CULTURES COMBINED
Valley food describes American food products influenced by Mexican cuisine. The food ranges from small snacks like raspas - or snow cones, to meals like barbacoa, a dish made out of the flesh of a cow’s face.
Among the most popular of these snacks is Hot Cheetos covered in nacho cheese, which even local drive-in restaurant Stars has begun to feature on the menu.
According to UTPA anthropology professor Margaret Graham, the affordability and strong flavors of the local fare appeals to the people of the RGV.
She notes that Valley food could be influenced by Tex-Mex cuisine. Tex-Mex is a term used to describe food made popular in central Texas as a way to make Mexican food appealing to a wide audience. Tex-Mex is known for adding cheese to several spicy Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, beans and rice as a way to dilute their spiciness.
“A lot of the Valley food is derived from Tex-Mex, it’s a reflection of the development in Tex-Mex in southern Texas,” she said. “We see their influence in how Valley food combine regular dishes with spicy condiments, like chamoy or chili powder.”
Norma Beardwood, a dietetics professor at UTPA, isn’t surprised at a phenomena like this. She said she has also noted that some of the Valley food is high in calories. For example, a 12 ounce serving of a chamoyada, a raspa with chamoy, contains 390 empty calories.
“There may be some idiosyncrasies between American and Mexican culture that allow for some room for both types of food to mix,” she explained, referring to how a lot of Valley snacks add spicy chamoy syrup or chile powder. “The culture down here is that people are used to spicy food. If it’s not spicy, then they’re going to find a way to make it spicy."
Eddie Villalobos, owner of La Hormiga: El Original, a raspa stand located at 1414 N. 23rd St. in McAllen, said he sees Valley foods as a way to make the people feel at home north of the border.
“It’s like a local connection for them. Plus, people don’t have to cross to Mexico for food like this,” he explained.
Villalobos opened his business 20 years ago as a raspa stand, then slowly expanded to include snacks or munchies, as he calls them. He sees his stand as a way to bring people together.
“College students from across the Valley make up 30 percent of the customers," he said. "The rest are either families or seniors, and they’re all cozy in this environment with food that they crave.”
Bearwood, a native of Rhode Island, Mich., said that every region has a unique spin on food.
She recalled how, at a recent potluck, she brought Boston Baked Beans, a local favorite in her hometown known for being sweet. It wasn’t exactly a hit at the party.
“People were disappointed that it wasn’t salty like it normally is here, it’s not something they’re used to,” she said. “But it’s funny because I wasn’t used to their food when I first came here in 1985.”
As for Valley foods, Beardwood doesn’t find the idea of Hot Cheetos covered in cheese “appealing” because, according to her, the idea of adding cheese on top of spicy cheese doesn't make sense. She also adds that a lot of the popular food choices can contain health risks.
UNHEALTHY CRAVINGS
In a Gallup poll released March 2012, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area was found to be the metropolitan area with the highest obesity rate in the country. The results show that nearly 39 percent of people in all of Hidalgo County are obese.
Bearwood thinks that that Valley foods contribute to that problem.
“This food is adding a bunch of unnecessary sugar and empty calories that we don’t need, ” she explained. “Raspas are essentially drinkable sugar, and foods like gummi bears with chamoy aren’t healthy. Gummi bears cause cavities, and chamoy is an acidic paste that can get in the cavities, it's not a good combination.”
Among the other effects she listed was sodium retention, leading to swollen hands and fingers as well as heart problems.
Graham, a native of Indianapolis, recommends alternatives. Some substitutions she suggests include switching a raspa out in favor of a trolebus, which is similar to a raspa, but is made from real fruit rather than mixed with syrup.
Even though she finds it unhealthy, Graham finds some merit in Valley food, citing it as a possible feel-good food.
“Food gives people a lot of comfort,” she explained. “We’re wired to look for comfort in food, not just in eating it, but in the preparation of it and the atmosphere in which we eat it.”
