Tacos al pastor were invented in 1966 by Doña Conchita at El Tizoncito in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.
1966, the year England hosted the FIFA World Cup, the same team that won by facing Germany at Wembley Stadium, while in Mexico the Azteca Stadium was inaugurated and national economic censuses began, but it was also the year when a visionary woman from Mexico City created one of the dishes that became an emblem of Mexican cuisine: the taco al pastor.
Concepción Cervantes y Eguiluz, better known as “Doña Conchita,” was a widow who frequented a place where they sold grilled beef tacos and often bought them for her children.
Doña Conchita visited the place so often that she soon started her own taco business, partnering with a taquero friend, and created a marinade with axiote, pepper, chiles, and other ingredients to give a new flavor to the preparation, with familiar touches that appealed to Mexicans; she used pork loin for its necessary fat content and smaller-than-usual tortillas to offer a delicious and affordable taco for the diners of that time.
Together with the cook at the place, they used a vertical cooking method similar to that used in Shawarma, which was done with a heater, but they decided to use charcoal to give it the perfect cooking and that characteristic smoky flavor. They also shaped the meat like a trompo (spinning top), inspired by the wooden toy that children of the time used, to give it a Mexican identity.
She accompanied the tacos with onion, cilantro, pineapple, and sauces to create the perfect balance of flavor. The preparation was so successful that in 1966, tacos al pastor were born at that legendary place called El Tizoncito in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, which is credited with being the creators of the taco al pastor as we know it today.
Without knowing it, Doña Conchita created one of the most beloved and recognized dishes by nationals and foreigners that has endured over the years and was born to stay.
Today, each branch of El Tizoncito offers the original recipe for tacos al pastor, and it is estimated that each restaurant prepares 2 trompos (spinning tops) of between 30 and 45 kilos per day to satisfy the cravings of diners.
El Tizoncito is undoubtedly one of the taquerias with the most history for its contribution to national cuisine and has 15 branches distributed in Mexico City, the State of Mexico, and Cuernavaca, with the collaboration of approximately 380 people, including taqueros, waiters, cooks, warehouse staff, operations, maintenance, and office staff.
In May 2017, El Tizoncito broke the Guinness World Record for the most tacos served, achieving it with more than 10,000 orders of tacos al pastor in Mexico City, for which they cooked 1350 kilos of marinated pork and used 40,000 tortillas. It was also necessary to assemble more than 30 trompos of al pastor meat and involve 60 taqueros.
El Tizoncito is a taqueria that continues to innovate with dishes and preparations while preserving the flavor created by Doña Conchita in 1966.
Source: Entorno Turistico
