It's not Tex-Mex: New Documentary Digs Deep into Texas Mexican Food, History

Nopales, venison and mesquite are as much a part of the foodways of Texas as tacos, tamales and tortillas. 

Food is where Adán Medrano's new documentary starts, but the film, "Truly Texas Mexican," which launched on Amazon Prime this week, weaves through history, archaeology, feminism and spirituality, leaving viewers with a deeper understanding of Texas-Mexico history, which typically skips over the first 10,000 years of the region. 

Food history in Texas often leaves out the voices of women and immigrants, too, says Medrano, a San Antonio native who grew up in Houston, went to graduate school in Austin and lived all over South America and Europe for a former job in philanthropy. 

Medrano has a radio, television and film degree from the University of Texas and in 1976 founded the San Antonio CineFestival, the first and now longest-running Latinx film festival in the U.S. 

He studied the various foodways of wherever he lived, and he eventually attended and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio. He now writes food articles and cookbooks about Texas Mexican cooking. His most recent book, “Don’t Count the Tortillas: The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking,” came out in 2019. 

In his first cookbook, “Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage in Recipes,” which came out in 2014, Medrano explored the indigenous cuisine of South Texas and North Mexico, a distinct ecological and cultural region centered on the Rio Grande.