Welcome to #TacoLiteracy the Queens edition. Or perhaps Taco Literacy 2.0–dos punto uno.

We did some introduction to one another, about our relationships to Mexican food, and also some of our favorite dishes. Some regional variations to Mexican food already happened, with folks identifying Tex-Mex, SoCal-Mex, and NorCal-Mex. I of course advocated for AZ-Mex too (hometown pride). Students shared favorite dishes ranging from fajitas, burritos, tacos al pastor, fish tacos, quesadillas, mole, and enchiladas.

We practiced thinking about algorithms and searches. First we looked up “corn” on Google images and found the following:

Then we searched “elote” and resulted in this:

The word “elote” has Nahuatl roots, “elotl”. But the search also turned up the preparation of corn, that also offers up a significant comparison to consider about how algorithms and bilingual searches produce different results.

We practiced doing similar searches on Google Maps for similar results. First we tried, “tacos” and found the following:

The searches resulted in Mexican food chains, heading out east from campus to Long Island.

Then we tried “taqueria” and found these results:

The results took us west of campus toward Corona, Jackson Heights, and Elmhurst. The above give us some insight into how options change depending on search criteria. The above search for “taqueria” is where we will be doing our taco tour in May.

Finally, we did a free-write in response to this short film, Los Cocineros, highlighting Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea.

For next time, students are to open a WordPress and an Instagram account. Also follow @tacoliteracy on Instagram.

Nos vemos!