Due to the fact that Texas was originally a part of Mexico and was settled by Spanish colonists, Texas has always had a large association with the Mexican people. It wasn’t until 1835-1836 in the Texas Revolutionary war that Texas became independent.

After the conclusion of the war, Texas decided to become a part of the United States and in 1845 it became the 28th state in the US. The choice to become a part of American limited some of the rights of Mexicans, but what remained was the in depth mingling of Texas and Mexican culture.

The current demographics in Texas are 47.3% Hispanic, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% American Indian, 5.2% Asian, 12.2% Black, and 33.7% Non-Hispanic White. These numbers have been changing over time, but there has always remained a significant portion of Latinos.

This graphic details the population densities of the Hispanic population in Texas. From this it becomes very apparent that as you get further South, closer to Mexico, there is a much larger population of Hispanics.

It is this large density and relation of Mexicans that has influenced Texan culture and cuisine into how we see it today.