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In this Tacos of Texas – En Vivo live taping, we explore how Black, Indigenous, and Mexican histories connect through identity, food, migration, and what it takes to build power together through shared stories. Joining us are Barbara Reaves, a descendant of the Black Seminole community in Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila, Mexico; Miles Bloxson, a seventh-generation Central Texan and award-winning storyteller; and Irasema Reza Bailey, a traditional healer and cultural keeper.
The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Mando Rayo [00:00:00] Alright, so I want to welcome everybody for a Tacos of Texas podcast and Vivo. That’s right. So we’re doing a whole episode here on black indigenous Mexicans and our roots. Before we get that, because we’re honoring a lot of our cultural roots, some things that we’re just learning or some things are deep inside of us, we’re going to have Irasema Reza Bailey do a blessing for us. So I’m gonna have her. Come on to the front and do that for us before we get started.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:00:32] I just want to acknowledge the ancestors of this land, the stewards of this man, the Tangkawa people, the Kwawiltec, the Tipanapache, the Somisec, and all of the stewards of this Land since then asking for permission, asking also for blessings to be able to uplift and bring life and breath. To our ancestors, to our cultura and also bringing protection to all of us as things are shifting in our society at the moment. And just with intention and asking for permission of all of the directions and the cosmos as well as the earth to uplift our prayers here today. Thank you, Mando for allowing me to be here and to speak life and breath to what we’re bringing here today. So, well, Mateo. Mateo?
Mando Rayo [00:01:42] What’s up taco world? I’m taco journalist, Mando Rayo, and welcome to the Tacos of Texas podcast, El Seis. Produced by Denny Productions in partnership with KUT and KUTX Studios. And we’re back exploring taco culture in Texas through the eyes of the people in the Lone Star State. So grab a nopal and a tortilla de maíz and get ready for some muy tasty taco conversations. Let’s go! What’s uuuup? Okay, bienvenidos to Black Indigenous Mexicans, a coming together on food, untold history and rich identities at the Texas table. Let’s follow the food trail left by Black Seminoles who cross borders seeking freedom and the Indigenous roots of the people in Texas and Mexico. In this Tacos of Texas live taping, we explore how Black Indigenous and Mexican histories connect through food, migration, and survival, and what it takes to build power together. Joining us today are Barbara Reeves, a descendant of the black Seminole community in Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila, Mexico. We also have Miles Bloxson, a seventh-generation Central Texan, an award-winning storyteller, and Iracema Mazacoat Reza Bailey, a traditional healer and cultural keeper. All right, we’re grateful to Dawa and its team hosting us today and to our volunteers for making this happen. And as well as Bird Bird Biscuit, El Dorado Cafe for bringing the food. Anybody enjoyed that food? So good, right? This project is supported in part by an elevate grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. Okay, now let’s get into some history. After slavery was outlawed in 1829, as many as 5,000 enslaved African Americans escaped to Mexico. While most traveled on their own or in small groups, some were helped by an informal network of free African Americans, Mexicans, Tejanos, and German settlers. And get this, even after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Enslaved people in Texas didn’t find out they were free for another two and a half years later. The Union didn’t show up in Galveston until 1865. So yeah people, trust your government, right? One group that escaped was the Black Seminoles. These aren’t just black people or just indigenous people, but both. They’re a completely distinct culture that most Americans have never heard of. In 1849, the black Seminole leader, John Horse, took about 180 black Seminoles across the border to Mexico, to Nacimiento Coahuila, where slavery had been abolished 20 years earlier. Viva Mexico, bro! The Mexican government welcomed them as border guards and they built their community there. But here’s where it gets deeper. We know that indigenous history in Texas and Northern Mexico spans at least 14,000 years. The Coahuiltecan, Caddo, Karankawa, Camanche, they all live here. But then in 1837, right after the Alamo, the Texas government basically erased them with one document, the Senate Standing Committee on Indian Affairs for the Republic of Texas. Which basically stated that these people aren’t a separate nation anymore, they’re Mexican. So from this point on, Native American roots and names get dissolved, not only in name, but also in land rights. So indigenous people are now categorized as Mexicans. This is an example of how colonization has impacted indigenous people in Texas and Mexico. And you can see it in a lot of us. Hey, we all have that cactus on our forehead. You know that term. Tienes el nopal en la frente. A cultural saying used to point out that someone that has distinct Mexican and indigenous physical features, especially for those that do not identify with these cultural roots. Of course, with these culture roots, we have to mention the food waste. Pre-colonization foods included corn tortillas or corn patties before the term tortillas were introduced, beans, squash, chiles, and wild game, root vegetables, and technology that colonizers learned or took from indigenous people, including pozos, underground pits that were used to cook. Root vegetables over long hours. Does that sound familiar mi gente? Anybody out there heard about barbacoa or had some lately? That’s right. And with colonization came cattle and pigs and goats and sheep and wheat was introduced. Through this conflict, new ways of cooking and recipes were developed. Some have been retained and some have been lost. We’ll get into all of this in today’s episode on food, migration, identity, and survival. All right, well, let’s get into it. I’m gonna formally introduce our guest, Ms. Barbara Reeves. Thank you so much for being here. Is an Austin, Texas resident and proud descendant of the Black Seminoles with family roots tracing back to the historic Black Seminole community of Nacimiento de los Negros in Coahuila, Mexico. She is dedicated to preserving and sharing her family’s rich heritage, honoring the resilience, cultural traditions. And legacy of black Seminole communities across generations. Let’s give it up for Ms. Reeves. Myles Bloxson is a seventh generation Central Texan and an award-winning journalist, producer, and QUT Austin host, whose work centers on storytelling that elevates culture, community, and lived experience. She is also the creator and host of Miles to Mogul. Ooh, a conversation-driven series exploring the mindset lessons and inner work behind purpose-driven success. Let’s give it up for Myles. And finally, Iracema Mazacuatl, did I get that right? Maso menos, okay, okay. Reza Bailey is a first generation Mexican American. She is a traditional healer and teacher, somatic, body worker, full spectrum doula, and sacred space holder and founder of the Birth Comadres Collective. So welcome, Iracema. All right, well let’s get into it. Ms. Reeves, let’s start with you. Talk about, you know, where you grew up and when you found out that you had that lineage of a black Seminole. Yeah, it’s on. There you go.
Barbara Reaves [00:09:30] I’m originally, I was born in Del Rio, Texas. I always knew that we were Seminoles. My grandma was very proud of her heritage. She was the one that was actually born in Nacistimento. So I always new, and that’s the way we lived. That’s the we cooked, it was always instilled in us. The language was a little bit different. I can’t really speak it, I can read it. I know she couldn’t read and write in English. She only read and wrote in Spanish. That’s really how I learned Spanish. She said, girl, go to the store, get me some frijoles, arroz. And I knew what that was. I knew that was, she wanted beans, she wanted rice, you know. Get some leche, get some milk, you now. That’s, I could read it, I just can’t speak it because when I was a kid, they didn’t have… Bilingual teachers. So either you spoke English or you didn’t get to go to school. So it wasn’t allowed in our household. I just picked it up by listening to her.
Mando Rayo [00:10:51] And what were some of the foods that you grew up with?
Barbara Reaves [00:10:55] Same old, same old, beans, rice, tortillas, corn tortillas flour tortillas. Napalitos, a lot of goats, goat meat, chicken. We grew almost everything in the yard. All the vegetables were there. We had chickens. All the families had goats. So whenever there was a funeral or whatever, and we were gonna have goats. So just, to me, that was just regular food.
Mando Rayo [00:11:31] Yeah, love it, love. And so when did you, when was, I guess, what’s your earliest memory of going to Nacimiento?
Barbara Reaves [00:11:39] Oh, God. I was young. I can’t… I only remember a little bit about narcissism. I remember it was… It seemed like I went for a weekend, but my sister said we were gone a long time. And what I know is whenever my grandmother would go to Mexico, she would always be gone for a month. So maybe it was a month? I remember this house that we stayed in, and it had dirt floors. Oh, I love that dirt right in the house. Cool, you know? Was it clean? Was it cleaned? It was clean. Right, yeah, that’s when we grew up too, right? It was swept clean, you couldn’t play in it or anything. But I don’t think there was a door, because I can remember seeing the animals like in the pen right outside the door. And I remember there was little girl there. She was about my age. She didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Spanish, but we had a good time.
Mando Rayo [00:12:37] Love it, love it, well, thank you so much for sharing that. Let’s go ahead and go to Miles. I feel like you’re like a staple in the black community and you’ve done a lot of coverage on Juneteenth, right? So why is that important for you?
Miles Bloxson [00:12:56] Oh man, I remember being, I think I was in elementary school. I was elementary school and I was a cheerleader for this, this, what do they call it, like, Pop Warner for Austin Cougars. And I remember my first recollection of Juneteenth was being in the parade in Rosewood. We had a float for Austin cougars, we were all dressed up, I still have the photo. I post it on Facebook every now and then to embarrass everybody, but. Yeah, remember when, but we used to have to get up super early, like a lot of kids are preparing right now for tomorrow’s parade and whatnot, but we would get up and get dressed, put our little uniforms on, go out there and get on the float, but I really didn’t understand why. But I just knew all my people were going to be at Rosewood and I had to look my best. That’s all I knew. My mom was like, you need to figure out your outfit after you take your cheerleading it off and be ready find the perfect set up by a tree so that we weren’t you know in the sun and all that good stuff But that’s when I first like that my first recollection of it and then when I started understanding why I was like, oh, okay Yeah, it would this is this is why we got our freedom on this day And we got it two years later Like you said earlier then we were supposed to you know I mean and my mom was like you need to know this and then I remember going to school with other people That didn’t know As even in high school, I’m like, you didn’t know your black card is going to be taken. You know, that’s what we say when you don’t know how to play spades or you don’t t know an important black historical fact. It’s like your black car can be taken at any time, so you have to be on your P’s and Q’s. But yeah, I remember in elementary finding out.
Mando Rayo [00:14:31] Nice, nice. Ida Sema, let’s talk about your identity and how when I grew up, I thought everybody was Mexican. Food for us was Mexican food. It wasn’t like the American kind of palette or whatever. So talk about kind of your early beginnings around your identity, around definitely Mexican, but also going back into the indigenous.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:14:55] Well, you know, just like any first-generation Mexican-American, like you mentioned, what is instilled in us is, pues el orgullo Mexicano, right? So you have this Mexican pride already instilled in you from fresh out of the womb, right. So then you know that you need to be proud, right, of your heritage, of you identity, right The thing is that growing up and finally coming to like school here in the United States, the big part for me was trying to assimilate, right? So assimilation has been a big thing. Exactly. And so, you know, there was then this like big poll of like, you know, am I Mexican or I had some remember, somebody said you’re Chicana and I was like talking about, no, I’m Mexican, but I was Chicana. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:15:55] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right, right.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:15:57] But not until I was older did I understand like what that meant, right? You know, the assimilation kind of took a big chunk of like who I am and how I presented myself. So like in the seventh grade I gave myself the, my assimilated name was Iris. Iris? I made that number. Yes, well because I was getting tired of telling people how to say my name.
Mando Rayo [00:16:20] Oh yeah, yeah, that’s true.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:16:22] And so, you know, the good thing for me, though, was that I had the privilege and the connection to still go back to Mexico, right? So my parents, they were undocumented, but once they got here in the Reagan administration, then they got received amnesty, right, and so then they were able to travel back and forth to Mexico and back here, and so that’s how I was able to continue to have that thread, right in my Mexican identity. But the indigenous identity, I didn’t start to really connect to it until later in life when I was, you know, going through high school, right, like the history classes. There’s a lot of gaps in the history class, right? And so I was questioning a lot. I was just like, this isn’t making sense. And so as I started doing my own research, I started to connect with more people in community that we’re also starting to I consider myself as re-indigenizing, right? So I’m coming back to my roots in that way. I also have the privilege of witnessing like my aunts and my abuelas do folk medicine, right. So that’s how I’m still honoring that with the sobadas. So I watched them take care. I watched the the folk medicine, the herbal medicine, and all of that, right, and realized that there was a deeper connection there, a deeper connection to nature, and also that there is an indigenous lens to being in relationship with nature and myself. And so I’m still on this journey of like relearning, unlearning, decolonizing, bringing back cultura into like the birth work that we’re doing and through the birth comadres collective and Just being in touch, you know back to ourselves really
Mando Rayo [00:18:31] Beautiful, beautiful. I think part of that is our journey, right? And sometimes we’re kind of like born into it. Sometimes we have to search it out, you know, and really kind of find those connections. And so before I asked Miles to be on the panel, you know her connection to the Austin community and that’s kind of where we were kind of approaching this because Juneteenth is tomorrow, you now? Juneteeth, woo woo! What do they call Juneteenth in Mexico, Ms. Reeves? And they say never, right? Yeah. 19Th of June. 19Th June. Yeah, yeah. But they do celebrate it down there. But Miles, you recently discovered maybe some indigenous roots. I did. Talk about that.
Miles Bloxson [00:19:18] Yeah, so like ten years ago, I was at South by Southwest, and I ran into a guy that was actually from London. He had a British accent, but he was Jamaican. And so I don’t know, like, if you ever travel outside of America, people are like, where are you from? And I’m like, I’m from Texas. You can’t be from Texas, look at you. Like where are you from? And I’m like, oh, there’s this long story about how people enslaved us and threw away our paperwork. So I kind of don’t, you know what I mean? Like they don’t… It’s a whole situation, right? But it started making me think, cause he’s like, you’re not from Texas. You need to like really look into your roots. So I got on SS3.com and I started building my family tree. And I remember when I was really little, maybe like six or seven, I was always really inquisitive and like trying to figure out like… Where are we from? Who are we related to? Like what’s in our lineage? All the questions, and I remember my grandmother telling me, she was like my, I think it was her great grandfather was born in Mexico, and she was he’s full-blooded. And I’m like, okay, so I automatically assumed he was Mexican. But then when I got on ancestry.com, I realized he was born Mexico, but he died on a reservation. So then I was like, okay, let me dig a little deeper. So first I saw his name was Ramon, and then some paperwork said Ramondo White, because he was also in the military. And but then when I started digging even deeper, I found out his name was, it’s why not Shoma, or something like that. I don’t know how to pronounce it perfectly, but I found that and I was like, oh my goodness. And then I saw the reservation paperwork, and then I the Dawes Rolls, which was a thing that I guess the American government implemented to figure out who was with what tribe to give people land and stuff like that, but they only honored five tribes or something like that and my grandmother, I remember her telling me that. We were, he was Blackfoot, like part of that tribe. But in the Dawes Rose, it says Cherokee. So I still don’t know because some people disguise themselves as different tribes just so they can get land and things of that nature. But when I found that out, I was like, wow. And then I also saw a picture of one of his daughters, which is my aunt. And she definitely has an indigenous, like. Do you have the picture with you? I have the pictures. Oh, show it. You want me to show it? Oh, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah. Beautiful hair, just like beautiful cheekbones. I’m like, whoever gave me these, I’m happy for those. But yeah, when I found out, I was like, wow, this is crazy. My roots are different than what I ever even imagined. And of course, there’s my black side, and then there’s Europeans throughout my family lineage. There’s all these different things. Right. Just let me know like we’re all connected. You know what I mean? And it was like, wow, I have the blood of the people that were oppressed and the people that oppressed us. And that makes it very complicated. So when I found that out, I was like well I need to do some more research, but I haven’t had time to really like dig deep and figure out every single element. Because even you were asking me earlier, like what part of Mexico was he born in? I was just like, I don’t know. I just know he was born in 1858 and he died in 1930 and he moved to Bastrop in 1880. And that’s how my grandmother’s family came about.
Mando Rayo [00:22:18] Yeah, yeah, beautiful, beautiful. So, you know, I think part of the part of this story today is about some things that we know And some things are we’re just discovering. Yeah, you know, and I know I talked to a few folks earlier today in the crowd and they’re like, oh, you know, we’re I’m just kind of barely like scratching the surface, you know and some of us feel very strong and rooted but this is all part of our journey, you know and the complicated journey of having that that makes blood, right? Yeah, but in decolonizing ourselves and what does that look like cuz I mean we live in Texas Yeah, right. We live in in the United States. So but you know when we think about like that lineage Of how it’s all mixed cuz I got some cousins and you know, my cousin Guero He’s from Mexico He’s a widow. Yeah, like green eyes freckles. I mean I have freckle stupid So, Ms. Reeves, you grew up thinking it was totally normal for your family table to have that mix of skin colors. And then you realized that most families didn’t look like that. Tell us about that a little bit.
Barbara Reaves [00:23:29] Well, we moved to Austin when I was 12 years old. My family looks like this room. When we sit down to eat, there’s people that’s my color. There’s people your color. There’s with straight hair. There’s People that look more like Indians. That was normal. So I met this girl, and she invited me over to her family’s for a gathering. And we all sit down and And I said, so this is your family? She said, yeah. I said well, where are the others? She said this is it. I said so all of y’all are the same color? They said, Yeah. I didn’t know that. None of my family, to this day, does not look like that. If you go to Seminole Days, you go a family gathering, go to a funeral, it’s going to be all kinds of people there and we’re all hugging and we are all cousins. I was. You know, hey cousin, hey prima, primo, hey, but it’s all different Types of people and I thought the whole world was like that. It wasn’t until there again. I’m 12 years old moved to the city and People were different. It’s like they didn’t even Recognize that you could be my cousin
Mando Rayo [00:24:52] Yeah, well, we have those tíos that aren’t related to us, and primos. Ha ha ha ha. Well, speaking of that, speaking of kind of that family heritage, and especially Nacimiento. You know, your grandmother was born there, as well as your mom, or was she migrated to Texas?
Barbara Reaves [00:25:15] My mom, supposedly, was born in Brackenville, Texas, but I know she lived in Mexico for a while. I’m not sure how long, because my aunt was telling us that she was pretty grown up by the time she came back to the United States, so I’m sure about that.
Mando Rayo [00:25:37] Yeah, yeah, but what does it mean for you to have that heritage from Nacimiento?
Barbara Reaves [00:25:42] Oh Actually, I’m kind of proud. I wasn’t always proud because I didn’t understand it, like you said. It was a different language. My grandmother spoke differently than most black women. And she wasn’t black. And it was a good rhythm to it. And I think I was maybe a little embarrassed about that. And today, I am very proud. I’m very proud of that. They even can hear it. And I’ve been practicing with my cousin, as a matter of fact. Like last night, we were talking about making tortillas. I said, you know, I think I’m going to make me some tortillas, and she said, yeah. She said, but my tortillas always look funny. They don’t come out round. I said that’s OK. Be like Mama Lara said. They’ve got feet and toes, and it’s OK, roll them out. Put them out there.
Mando Rayo [00:26:37] I love that. I love a few years ago. We went to Bracketville and then we did the celebration of Juneteenth there. And then we went to Nacimiento and then they had the El Diecinueve is what they call it, right? And so, but all these families come from all over Texas and some outside of Texas, but they go down there. So it was basically Juneteeth is like a whole like two to three days celebration, right. It’s a big deal. You do see that, that people are like, hey primo, hey cousin, you know, like, oh, like I didn’t remember you, but I don’t, and so it’s kind of like that. So thinking about like the differences or commonalities, the way Juneteenth is celebrated here versus in Mexico, what are the similarities and maybe some of the differences?
Barbara Reaves [00:27:25] Well, like I said, I haven’t been to Naso Cemento since I was a kid. But I know it’s really still a big deal. I have cousins that go down there every year, you know. When I was kid, Juneteenth was always celebrated. It was a big thing. People would get the goats. They’d cook them in the ground. I mean, party. All the grown people would. Would always have parties. It was a big deal. We got new clothes. That’s very important. It’s important. Had to be dressed up on Juneteenth. I didn’t really know what it was about. I just knew that that was a holiday that we celebrated. But then we celebrated everything. Birthdays, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo. This is September. We celebrated everything, you know? So that’s all I knew. It was the holiday.
Mando Rayo [00:28:17] Yeah, yeah, beautiful, beautiful. Iracema, tell me about how you practice your indigenous identity, like on the day to day.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:28:26] In my research and wanting to reconnect, I saw, I was invited to a Mexican Herbolía class and I was already connected to like the drum and the danza through the church. I was a matachin. So if you go to the Catholic church in Mexico, then there’s, you have the danzantes of the church and so I was already a danzante through the church, and we would come out in December to honor Donansino, La Virgen de Guadalupe. And when I went to this herbolía class here, I was, I mean, my mind was blown in the information that was shown to me and was taught to me, and that was the first sweat lodge that I attended the mascal. And I kind of like went head on into what’s called being a part of the Red Road. And so I started going to ceremony. I started then learning how to be in relationship with nature and with spirit. And that prompted me to bring back ritual as part of my prayer work, as part of the reconnection. And so I have… You know, daily practices of small rituals. But then there’s also like cycles that we celebrate and are aware of. So then there are certain ceremonias and dances throughout the year. Velaciones, there’s day work and night work as far as like working with the energy of nature, right? Because the energy during the day is different than the energy at night. And so like I just jumped full force into that. And then doing the body work, it was. Very easy to see the connection between our bodies, our nervous system, and our spirit bodies. And so a lot of the space holding that I do is learning how to integrate all of those in our daily life and what it means to be in relationship.
Mando Rayo [00:30:37] How do you, what does fulfillment mean to you when you do that?
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:30:41] Right. Well, for me, being on the red road and being a danzante was life-saving. It was a part of my reconnection to myself, to Spirit, to Creator. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have these ways of reconnection, right? So it’s not only part of like my prayer work, but it’s also part of my mental health. And how I move through the world, how I am aware of energies and cycles that we’re related to in nature and how to be guided by them instead of working against them. And so when I knew that relationship, then that allowed me to be in a more calmer space and realizing that I was a part of something bigger than just myself and that. That there is more than just me in this space. So learning how to thread everything and bring everything together is kind of my life’s work right now through the teachings of the rebozo. So the reboso is this textile, this Mexican textile, and it’s pretty much part of my daily rituals and daily life at the moment too.
Speaker 5 [00:31:59] Yeah, yeah.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:31:59] And that’s how I stay connected and that’s what this.
Mando Rayo [00:32:04] And, you know, like, we live in a state of chaos, I think. There’s a lot of just attacks on black and brown communities, indigenous communities. So how do you deal with that with everything, you know, whether it’s, like something that we grew up with of you have to behave in a certain way or you have to assimilate, right? Or you have to live in fear. So how do you like go outside of that and keep it, keep rooted, I think with the culture, with community, you know, with everything going on in the world.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:32:50] Right, I mean, I think it’s about the micro and the macro, right? Sometimes you have to look at things, pinpoint it all the way down to what’s the nucleus, which is me, and then what am I able to have control over, and how is that going to resonate out into my community, right, so looking at things from the smallest little bit of that I can do. And then also looking at the bigger things of like what bigger organizations and things that I can be a part of that can make big movements, right? So I think when you’re moving through big things right now, sometimes you have to kind of break it down and be like, wait, what is my day to day, my first thing that I’m gonna do this morning for myself? Because a lot of times we’re working out of depletion, we’re work out of not having a full cup, right, not being taken care of. And so, my goal is to try to create healing spaces everywhere I go. And so my thought and my want and desire is to teach everybody, first of all, how can we regulate our own nervous system, and then how can help my sister, right? And then help my grandma, help my tia, help my, and learning how to do that within the family unit. So that we are strong enough to then move on to the next step, which may be being a helper of another kind, right? So I feel like I try to help heal the people that are in the front lines so that they’re strong enough to then go back to the frontlines and when they’re needing to come back and replenish to come to this space of reconnecting with your body, your nervous system, and your connection.
Mando Rayo [00:34:40] I love that. I love that. Oh my God. Yes. Who agrees?
Speaker 6 [00:34:45] Yeah
Mando Rayo [00:34:50] Miles, growing up in Austin and being in Austin and about to celebrate Juneteenth. But also, Austin being Austin, they’re always asked, where are the black people in Austin?
Miles Bloxson [00:35:04] Oh my god, I get that question every single day.
Mando Rayo [00:35:08] But there’s there’s some deep rooted issues with that
Miles Bloxson [00:35:12] It is. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:35:14] So talk a little bit about that.
Miles Bloxson [00:35:15] Yeah, so do we go 1928 master plan or no? Yeah, let’s do it. Who’s familiar with the 1928 Master Plan in the room? Okay, so half and half probably. So 1928, Master Plan said that all black and brown people had to move to the east side of Austin or they would lose water and power.
Speaker 6 [00:35:33] Mmm.
Miles Bloxson [00:35:34] So there was no choice, because who’s gonna live without water and power, right? So they moved us all to the East side, and it was part of their way of dealing with segregation, because they wanted like, you know, one black high school, one white high school. All of that stuff. And they were like, oh, it’ll be easier if we do it this way. But now what we’re looking at right in 2026 is that there are not a lot of black people on the East Side anymore.
Mando Rayo [00:35:56] It’s happening again.
Miles Bloxson [00:35:57] And it’s happening again. So where are the black people? The question that you asked me at the beginning, they’re in North. A lot of them are in Hutto. They’re in Brown Rock. They’re at Pflugerville. You know what I mean? Which used to be the suburbs that nobody wanted to live in or at. And my parents actually bought a house. I want to say in 1997 on the cusp of Pflugerville, so we’re talking like Palmer in 35, and people would be like, oh, you’re in the suburbs. You’re rich. You’re like the Cosby’s. That’s what people, like my friends, my friends from the East, I was like, you moved on up. You know what I mean? But now everybody is there because that’s where they can afford to live. Right. You know, I mean, and then people wonder, like, when we have, like what was that? The snowpocalypse or whatever. Like why they lost power is because it was never made to work efficiently. It was just made to be okay for the black and brown people that are over there. You know what I mean? And then now the people that also live there, we want to go a little deeper. They don’t want to send their kids to the schools that are there. And you see the schools closing because they’re like, I don’t my kid going to a school that’s underperforming or not doing well or whatever. And it’s like, but you move to the cool place. You live on the East side. Yeah. You know, I mean, you knocked on somebody’s door and gave them some money. And now they’re going and the money’s probably going too. So yeah, I mean, it’s complicated, right? Because I ride through the East side, a lot of things have changed. Luckily, my family, we still have three houses in the community called Stonegate. It’s on Webberville and MLK. So we’re renting some of our houses out. So we were able to do that because everybody in my family is pretty educated and they all had their own houses already. So they weren’t in a rush to sell them off. But it’s complex. When I talk to people that are from East Austin, and they’re like. Yeah, it’s cool, the growth, but like, where is our home ownership? Like, what did we lose? We lost a lot. And then there’s so much history from the east side of Austin. You know, 11th Street used to be the bumping area. You know black businesses everywhere. Even Dirty Six used to full of black businesses. And so a lot of people don’t know that history and that’s what bothers me. And that’s why I do the work that I do. Because I’m like, if you’re gonna live here, you need to know the history. Don’t just live here and be like, I live on the cool part of Austin. I walk in my dog on 12th and Chaconne. No, no, who was there before you honor the history that was there. You know what I mean? Learn about it. Do a black Austin tour. You know, they’ll teach you everything. Exactly. Do something that adds value to that community and help the people that are actually still in those communities, you know, feel wanted and needed and feel like they still belong in the place that. They were at, before you even got here. So that’s my feeling, but yeah. But if you wanna know where the black people are, you can reach out. Hit us in the mouth. I know where they are.
Mando Rayo [00:38:38] Yeah, for us, food is a great way to bring communities together. There’s a lot of cookouts, there’s a lot of carne asada, there are a lot family gatherings. So talk about some of the food culture and what are some of your favorite fond memories of growing up in community.
Miles Bloxson [00:38:58] Yeah, so you mean like for Juneteenth or just in general? Yeah, Juneteeth. Oh yeah, for Junetenth it was always a barbecue at somebody’s house. Yeah. We were always in the backyard, we were always listening to music, making the neighbors crazy. Now that I look back at it, I’m like, OK, so Juneteens became an official. Federal holiday, June 16th, 2021, I believe. I’m like, my parents had to take off from work every Juneteenth, because they were partying like it was nobody’s business. I’m, like, dang, that was in, then they had to probably recoup the next day. So they probably were off the 19th and the 20th. But as far as the food, it was just barbecue, you know, nachos, enchiladas, tacos, like a little bit of everything. We would have potlucks, now that I look back at it, whatever your favorite dish was, you would bring it to the house. You know, whether that is, you know, liquor, drinks, cakes, whatever. But I always knew when I was little, like, we’re not doing anything but being in community for Juneteenth. Yeah, I knew that that was a thing. So, yeah. So, yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:39:56] Yes, love it, yes. Okay, Iracema, full disclosure, my wife also practices, you know, the reboso and you know.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:40:06] One of my students. She’s us.
Mando Rayo [00:40:07] She’s us. Yeah, she’s one of your students We’re students.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:40:09] Okay, okay.
Mando Rayo [00:40:10] She’s an hermana.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:40:11] Ha ha ha.
Mando Rayo [00:40:12] And I know when you all gather, you also bring your own recipes and your own style when you come to that sharing table. Talk a little bit about what the group brings to the table.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:40:30] For sure. I think that a lot of it is the comfort stuff, right? Like, what makes you feel good and to share in community, right. Like, the way to people’s hearts is through their stomachs, right, right
Mando Rayo [00:40:45] You don’t have to ask me twice
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:40:48] And so, everybody brings what brings them comfort and good comfort food. Even though the reboso is a Mexican textile, it’s not focused on like Mexican culture, right? Like the people that are a part of like the, my students are not, come from different backgrounds. And so it’s also beautiful to like talk about like the way that textiles is part of history as well. So, just really coming together and sharing a part of who we are and threading those things together to make that fabric of life, right?
Mando Rayo [00:41:25] Nice, beautiful, beautiful. Ms. Reeves, tell us what to expect. Are we going to go to El 19 or Brackenville, Juneteenth? One of the most traditional dishes is sofki, right? You remember that? Can you talk about some of those memories?
Barbara Reaves [00:41:47] Well, it’s like As I said, you know, we make the homemade tortillas and corn tortillas The salsa I can make that. Yeah, I’m really good I’m very good. Oh, yeah I’m gonna have to get a recipe from you today. Well, I don’t have a I know how to just make it. You know what I’m saying? Just like put a little bit of this and taste it. Yes That means it’s good. When you do your head like that, that means it is right. It is good, yeah. So, yeah, but my grandma used to make a drink called toli. Okay. And usually in the wintertime, and I’m not really sure what that’s made of, but it was kind of grainy, but it sweet. Not too sweet, but sweet. And we always had it in the wintertime because it just warmed you up all the way inside. So Juneteenth, it’s a big deal still in Brackenville, but I think I usually just go down in September when we have our seminal days. That’s my time to go down and be with the family, but I don’t hardly go to Juneteeth because I’m around here. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:43:04] Yeah, yeah, no, it’s quite the journey for sure. Well, thank you so much. Thank you to each of you for sharing your wisdom, your insights, your lived experiences. And I think one of the things that we really kind of think about is, what do our cultural roots mean to us, right? And what do we get out of it? And how do we pass that forward? And how do we honor kind of some of the history, right? And if we’re just barely finding out about it, how do we dig into it a little bit more? So I wanna give some time to do some questions if we have time for a few questions, yeah? I see a hand back there. Please tell us your name and your question.
Speaker 7 [00:43:54] I’m Steph Sanchez. I came from Houston, came to Austin. In the east side, I think it was just the most perfect spot. Living off of Rosewood, and I’m seeing people already starting to camp out. I’m like, what? I usually come for the parade. So what can people expect if people call other people transplants, or folks who don’t look like us? And what could you tell them to expect? The fun and like how to respect the space and not call the cops when I’m blasting music until midnight because I want to be part of everything. Do you mean for Juneteenth or just in general? Juneteeth, but I mean, even in general, I guess, like, because it’s so insane seeing.
Miles Bloxson [00:44:33] So many white bodies and I’m like, do y’all know where y’ all at right now?
Miles Bloxson [00:44:36] No, they don’t. And I think you’re basically asking me like, what can people do to honor the East Side, essentially? Just learn the history. That’s all I’m asking. Learn the history, know that like, if somebody is blasting music and they live next to you, maybe their house has been there for multiple generations. Let them live their best life. It’s okay, you’ll still be able to get some sleep, take some melatonin.
Mando Rayo [00:44:58] Or what about this, go talk to them and join the party, right? And join the party.
Miles Bloxson [00:45:02] Join the party and then also invite them to conversations like this so they can get a better understanding of where they are and what this land in the East Side means and why it was even black and brown bodies over there in the first place. I think a lot of times it’s just because we don’t communicate with each other. And you know, and then when we go over there, like you say, you’re like, oh, it’s different. That’s how I feel too. But I’m also like, hey, how are y’all? Do y’al know this and that? You know, like I wanna inform people and that’s why I do the work that I do at my job. Like I make documentaries with featuring black and brown people. I have black and Brown organizations on just so that, you know, people that don’t look like me can learn more about the community that they’re in. You know, so that’s that’s all we can do is keep spreading the information sharing this podcast episode with somebody that you don’t know. Have you heard of tacos of Texas, you should listen to the last episode.
Mando Rayo [00:45:50] It’s very delicious.
Miles Bloxson [00:45:51] Yeah, it’s very delicious, but that’s what we can do is just teach each other the history. That’s all we can
Mando Rayo [00:45:56] That’s all we can do, really, you know? Okay, well, Key, we gotta come over here, or let me, I can give you the mic if you like. Here we go.
Speaker 9 [00:46:07] So my name is Keydada, part of Writers Against the Storm, producer, et cetera. Woo, woo, woo! My husband and his team built this lovely space. So this is tough because I don’t know if this is offensive. But when I hear this conversation, there’s this subculture that I feel like people don’t. I grew up hearing y’all talk about, like, oh, you know, when I grew, like my great-grandmother’s hair was straight and she had high cheekbones and that’s how I grew. But we call that Creel. Like this sub-culture, this world where everyone intermingled and found commonality and then created a whole other culture in between these cultures that are trying to find themselves again after colonialism. So I’ve always wondered, should there be a recognition like Creole, et cetera, that there’s this alternate sub-cultural between us also?
Barbara Reaves [00:47:01] Thank you, Keith. I just think people need to just talk to each other. Just talk and listen and let whoever be whoever they are. You know what I’m saying? And I shouldn’t have to pretend that I’m something different. My grandfather’s name was Porfirio Diaz. And they’re like telling me, what is he? Is he from Cuba or Puerto Rico? Why can’t his name be Porfirior Diaz? You know? What makes it different? You know, I don’t see a difference in people. If I don’t like you, I dont’ like YOU. You know?
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:47:48] I think it can become complicated, right? Because even now, not all of the indigenous people are recognized, right. And then what are the benefits of having like a paperwork or something that says, I’m this, right, because supposedly, you know, you get land, you get these other benefits if you’re like on a reservation, but they’re really, they don’t honor any, like, and then the land that they have isn’t like, you know fruitful. And so then you’re thinking about, well, what is the benefit of it all? And so just like you said, it’s like, why are we putting ourselves in boxes? Let’s just celebrate who we are, right? And…
Mando Rayo [00:48:26] And being good people. I don’t think it has to be a subculture. It’s just a culture, you know? I have conversations with all kinds of folks and they’re like, just because you don’t know about it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Right.
Irasema Reza Bailey [00:48:39] And, you know, the culture in, like, Mexico versus here is very different, too, right? In Mexico, there’s a lot of erasure of indigenous identity, right. So there was that Mexican orgullo, but there was not an indigenous orgullos, right, and then there was a lot colorism with that, right so then there’s just a lot of like oppression and levels of oppression that it’s kind of hard to navigate on I do think that we do need to have conversations and talk about all of the different cultures that there are out there. So having panels like these and having conversations like these I think is very, very important. So thank you for bringing us.
Mando Rayo [00:49:24] No, thank you for sharing. All right, I think we are good. Round of applause for our guest, please. I’d like to thank Ms. Barbara Reeves, Miles Bloxson, and Ira Semarraza Bailey for being on the show today. Thank you so much. We all just, man, it is so good. I love seeing that, you know? And we talked a little bit about food, but I love this conversation around identity. So thank you so for being with us today. And for you out there, thank you for listening to us and to our audience, En Vivo! Thank you for being here today. This has been the Tacos of Texas podcast developed and produced by Denny Productions. If you enjoyed today’s episode and are craving more taco content, go to our website at www.identity.productions or follow us on the socials, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, et cetera, at identity productions or United Tacos Of America. This is your host, Mando El Taco Journalist, Rayo. Vamos a los tacos. DJ hit me with a Cumbia beat! In the next próximo, Tacos of Texas, the fajita lounge showdown, let’s hit the grill at a San Antonio showdown where competitors sizzling fajitas and a tight knit comunidad turn a backyard party into a family reunion.
Louisa Van Assche [00:51:12] The Tacos of Texas podcast is presented by Identity Productions in partnership with KUT and KUTX Studios. Our host and producer is Mando, El Taco journalist, Rayo. Our audio is mixed by Nicholas Worden. Our video production is taken care of by Dennis Burnett. Our wonderful interns are Quetzal and Diego Rayo, and our story and line producer is me, Luisa Min Van Asse. Music was created by Peligrosa in Austin, Texas. And King Benny Productions located in the Quinto Barrio of Houston. Special thanks to DAWA in East Austin and the volunteers for their support on this episode.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
