Tacos of Texas

Victoria Elizondo: [00:00:00] Why would you not, why would you try to erase what this country was built on? Mm-hmm. Like, you’re, you’re not, you’re never gonna go back to like, you know, a, a country without immigrants. Right, right. Like that we’re, we’re. It’s everywhere like our DNA is in this land.

Mando Rayo: What’s up Taco World? I’m Taco Journalist Mandore, and welcome to the Tacos of Texas podcast, El Cinco produced by Identity 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 taste the sares that take you back home and get ready for some muy tasty taco conversations.

¡Sabor!

what do tacos have to do with identity and politics in 2025? In times of uncertainty, they can say more than you think. In this episode, you’ll hear from Chef Victoria Elizondo, a DACA recipient and business owner, navigating how these same politics impact her life, restaurant, and community. And we’ll also hear from Daniel Elda, a proud mega Latino, as I try to understand perspectives that show just how complicated these times really are.

It is taco time. And now here’s a word from our sponsor, Vamos A La Chuco Town. Going visit El Paso is the hometown of this taco journalist. Get your Cultura on at the Mexican American Cultural Center, or the Mac approved by El Paso voters in 2012 as part of the quality of life bond. The Mac was developed to celebrate and preserve Mexican American [00:02:00] heritage.

The center aims to honor the traditions, resilience and cultural contributions of Mexican Americans through vibrant arts experiences and creative engagement. Situated in the heart of El Paso’s downtown Arts District, the M offers exhibition spaces, performance areas, classrooms and artists in residence studios, fostering a dynamic cultural environment as a cultural institution under the Museum and Cultural Affairs Department.

The M plays a pivotal role in enriching the city’s cultural landscape and providing a platform for the celebration of Mexican American art and culture. To our friends at Visit El Paso for sponsoring this podcast episode. Follow visit El Paso on Instagram and Facebook at visit El Paso or on their website@visitelpaso.com.

It’s 2025, and if you’re anywhere online, you’ve heard about the immigration [00:03:00] crackdowns and the ICE raids and yes. They’re impacting ROS and RAs and restaurant workers. For context, here’s some news clips of what’s been happening

News Anchor: back here in Austin. A local RIA owner tells me the industry has been met with challenges including fear.

News Source: I’ve met people who’ve told me like, oh no, I can’t go change my tires right now because there’s a lot of ice rates around.

News Anchor: Latinos embraced Donald Trump at the ballot box. Despite his anti-immigrant rhetoric and campaign promises of mass deportation, it was almost forbidden for Latinos to support Trump.

So we love immigration, but we want them to come here illegal.

Donald Trump: Look at that sign. Latinos support Trump, I love you. I love you.

Mando Rayo: We are living in chaotic times. Everything feels politicized, especially identity and culture. And yes, even tacos. Identity is complicated. [00:04:00] And for some this episode might feel uncomfortable at times. And that includes me as I have family members on both sides of the political spectrum. I’m a child of an immigrant.

My wife is from Honduras. And you know the thing is, no matter where you go and where you live in the United States, we’re all touched by immigrants and the immigration policies of the United States. Just take what happened to me during the first Trump administration. I was petitioning for my wife to get her residency card, right, her green card, and we were in the final steps.

We went to San Antonio with our lawyer. We got to the office. It was basically kind of the. Just the last, uh, step in the process, the interview all, I was there as the petitioner to show my birth certificate, make sure all the documentation was right, and this has been over 10 years of actually working on her immigration case.

And so we were there and, and really I wasn’t really there to answer any questions. It was just there. As a [00:05:00] petitioner, most of the questions were really directed at her, but the immigration agent was like, well, looking at my passport. And uh, and he was like, well, wait a minute. Where were you born? You were born in, uh, along the border, and is this your birth certificate?

So he started asking me those questions and I was like. Well, yeah, of course. This is, I’m, I’m a US citizen. This is my birth certificate. I was born in El Paso. Well, I’m gonna have to hold on to this birth certificate. And I was like, what? What’s, what’s happening? I’m like, yeah, we’re gonna have to do an investigation on you now, obviously, I was stunned.

And, and well, we’re doing investigations on people that were born along the border in the seventies and, uh, that were born by midwife. And so I’m like, like, what? What? What I was just like, I, I was speechless, as you can tell. I was speechless. We left that immigration office without my birth certificate, and I applied for my, uh, passport as I usually do.

I’ve had it, you know, for the last. You know, I renew every 10 years. I [00:06:00] traveled, uh, around the world and it was rejected. I didn’t get my passport. And so for four years I was in a sense stateless. Uh, we had to provide documentation in a sense. I had to prove that I was born in the United States. I had to go back and.

Find those records, you know, and you’re talking about 50 years going back for documentation on, you know, uh, the birth certificate, right? But also like baptism records, medical records, school records. And I was like, so I went, I mean, I still had to work and I went back to, you know, my hometown of El Paso and I tried to uncover like.

All the documentation that I had had to get, I had to find like old teachers. I had to find, uh, you know, just relatives that would petition, you know, to say like, Hey, yeah, of course. He was born here. He was here, you know, as a baby. He was born here. He went to school here and. I had this whole [00:07:00]idea of like, you know, what happened?

What, what happens when, when a system targets a certain, uh, type of people, like people like me, right? And so, four years of this, we had to prove, um, that, and get the documentation. I mean, it was a lot of documentation that I had to do and, and, and get a new lawyer. And, and, and pay those fees. And we finally submitted it.

Um, and basically it was trying to figure out like, okay, well I’m hoping this is gonna work. And, and even like, have like former employers petition, what an upstanding citizen I am, being the taco journalist that I am. And uh, so it was, it was kind of crazy times, uh, during that first Trump administration.

But finally one day I did receive the call from, uh, the Department of State and. The woman was like, well, we have, we have your, your passport. It’s been approved. I couldn’t believe it. First I thought it was a spam phone call [00:08:00] and then I really couldn’t believe what the woman was telling me is like, yes, it’s been approved.

We have all the documentation. And to be honest, um, she also shared like, I can’t believe this actually happened to you, and I’m so sorry you’re gonna get it in the mail in a few weeks. And I was just like, this. Big sigh of relief. I was just like, whew, like this, this thing that’s been weighing on me for the last four years, you know, as, uh, working and, and taking care of my family.

But for me it was all about like. Uh, until I have it in my hands, right? Until you have something in your hands that, you know, the paper feel of a passport. And I finally, I finally received it. And man, that, that was definitely like the har, one of the hardest four years of my life. You know, I’ve debated if I should share this story with you, the listeners, but in these times I think it’s important to share [00:09:00] these experiences even though they’re hard, you know, and just kind of reflecting on at that time period, uh, what it took to kind of just keep going, you know, just, I have, you know, having a job, having mul to be honest, having multiple jobs and trying to, uh, support my family and keep that family unit.

Steady, but also how it affected us emotionally and mentally, you know, and then, and then the, it was just kind of this idea of like, there was raids happening during the first Trump administration that really were targeting Austin. So we definitely felt kind of this heightened, uh, sense of stress. And anxiety.

At one point we did take our children outta school and actually out of the state. Um, and I sent my family off to a family friend, uh, outside of Austin. And, and it was hard, you know, it was hard to kind of like keep, uh, the family unit together. [00:10:00] And us just, you know, we were very vulnerable during that time because we didn’t know what was gonna happen.

You know, we didn’t know if there was gonna cast a white net and we’re gonna get stuck in there. And then we had to get our, you know, paperwork together around like, what would, what would happen if I was gonna be taken away? What would happen if, if my wife was gonna be taken away, who would take care of our.

So those are the kind of things that, you know, that we were going through and that we had to figure out and the documentation that we had to like, you know, uh, put together. And so, so I think part of that is thinking about this idea of like, man, if this is happening to me. Um, imagine somebody else that, you know, without kind of the, the, the, the resources or just kind of the galas to keep it moving and, and you know, then that’s one of the things for me as I reflect on that time, is like, you know, people ask me, well, why, why, why do you fight?

Why do you stay here? Why do you use your voice? And because, you know what, this is where I live. This is where I [00:11:00] live. This is where my family is, this is where my community, but, and, and that’s why, because this, this is what, uh, this country has given us. And, and in a sense, I’m using my voice and my right to do that.

And even though you go through those hardships, uh, and that time that we went through and, you know, all that anxiety, you know, for me it. It’s like, man, maybe it’s my like idea around, uh, you know, isolating different emotions or bearing my emotions real deep that I’ve had, you know, through my childhood and that childhood trauma that kinda helped me fight through.

Through that process, but for me, it, it was just, we had to do it. I had to do, I had to continue, I had to fight even under the radar of just, you know, keep working, working in my production, working in the nonprofit space and, and maybe not sharing my. Story as much. Uh, my close personal friends did, did know about our situation, [00:12:00] but, but now, um, you know, I think it’s important, especially what’s happening today, where families are being separated yet again, and the impact that that has on our communities.

These stories are important to share because it impacts all of us, and especially immigrants, Mexicanos Latinos, and that’s one of the drivers for me, like why I want to tell these stories and why it’s important for me to keep this kind of taco journalism going. But especially in this episode, I think it’s the idea around being uncomfortable and having some conversations around why people think the way they do.

And especially about this episode, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I’ve always kind of been nervous about it and this idea around like, you know, how can you be so anti-immigrant as well as enjoy our food? And that’s kind of like, Ugh, I don’t get it. I don’t understand it. And that’s kind of at the [00:13:00] core of like why I wanted to bring this episode and this discussion to the forefront.

And I think that leads to a deeper understanding of how we can move forward as a community just willing to have these conversations. So for me, sharing my story, but it’s also about a deeper understanding and curiosity of the views that may go against even my own values and beliefs. Right. So pull up a chair, grab a taco, and let’s explore what it means to be Latino, immigrant American, and everything in between.

In a country that’s still figuring out what to do with all of us. Today I’m sitting down with two guests who challenge these assumptions. Victoria Elizondo, a DACA recipient and celebrated chef speaking up for immigrant rights in Houston. And Daniel Estrada, a Mexican American Trump voter and Austin resident.[00:14:00]

Heads up. This episode was recorded in June, 2025. We know a lot has happened since then, but we wanted to provide context and clips of what was happening earlier this year. A reminder to our listeners, the format for this episode will be a back and forth between separate interviews of our guests as they talk through their experiences and points of view.

Victoria, you know, did you know that I had my own? Really?

Speaker 4: Oh,

Mando Rayo: well, welcome to the show. I know you’ve been on before and I’m glad you’re able to make it today. In person. Yeah, in real life. Yeah. Yeah. Tell us, um, tell us a little bit about your background, your story.

Victoria Elizondo: Okay. Well, I’m Victor Elizondo. I’m the chef and owner of Cota and Co. I was born and raised in Monterey, so north to Mexico.[00:15:00]

And my mom and I migrated to the US when I was around 12. Um, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for food. Yeah. As you can tell. Yes. Um, so I always knew I wanted to. Be around it. Uhhuh. So I did start my business back in 2016. Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: So

Victoria Elizondo: next year it’s gonna be 10 years.

Mando Rayo: Oh wow. Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: It’s called, yes.

It started as a popup, then it turned into a food truck and then a food hall, and then back to a popup during the pandemic. And then we shared a space with the business, and now it has transformed into a pretty cool little. Kingdom. Nice. Wow. Love it. We have a, a restaurant, we have a second location that is working alongside a nonprofit Okay.

Called United Against Human Trafficking. Mm-hmm. And uh, we also have a manufacturing business where we package a lot of goods and sell them nationwide as well as here in Austin. [00:16:00]

Mando Rayo: And your story is. Not uncommon here in Texas. You know, your, your story is an immigrant story, right?

Victoria Elizondo: Of course.

Mando Rayo: What is your immigrant story?

Victoria Elizondo: Well, first I’m very proud to be an immigrant. I feel like, uh, it’s in times like this where we have to remind ourselves where, where we come from mm-hmm. And how strong and resilient we are. But a little bit of the background on it is. 2002. Mm-hmm. We moved here. I don’t know what was going on in my mom’s head because everything happened so suddenly it’s kind of like blurry because I was still not grasping like onto the idea that we would moving to different Yeah, you’re a kid.

Yeah. Um, but, you know, typical Mexican adults, like mm-hmm. Yeah. Like, okay. I guess, yeah. I just have to, you know, follow along. Yeah. And, uh, and yeah, it’s been quite a journey. Mm-hmm. Uh, I will say it’s had a lot of ups, a lot of downs. Mm-hmm. Um, there’s a [00:17:00] lot of difficulties. Mm-hmm. I mean, I could write like a whole book about it.

Yeah. Yeah. Uh. Like you said, it a, it’s a story of a lot of people. Yeah. I think every story is unique. Every story is different. Mm-hmm. But, uh, it’s also very similar to what other, we all have the same or similar struggles. Yeah. And, uh, totally. But I think it also makes us who we are, Uhhuh and I feel like.

Uh, I do wanna change a perspective around the immigrant community. You know, we’re not victims. We’re pretty badass people.

Mando Rayo: Uh, so with us today, we have, uh, Daniel, so tell us a little bit about yourself and your connection to Austin.

Daniel Estrada: So, I grew up in Austin from day one. Um, I come from a broken home, you know.

Mm-hmm. My parents got. Uh, married real young and mm-hmm. And so I live with my grandparents. Mm-hmm. Um, grew up in, in central Austin. Okay. Um, [00:18:00] you know, and then, um, uh, my mom got remarried. I was like five, mm-hmm. Six. Mm-hmm. And we moved northwest Austin. Okay. Um, and that’s where I kind of got my identity from.

Yeah. Um, being in North Austin. Okay. I dunno if you know my grandfather over here, east Austin. Yeah. Yeah. So for sure. Yeah. So I got a little bit of, of both sides. Okay. Of of town. Yeah. Um, but so you’ve seen all the changes. Definitely. Right? Austin is like, I stayed away, didn’t come on this side of town for a couple years, and then one day I rolled down seventh Street expecting a normal and there’s people walking their little puppies and, uh, little, uh, duplexes popping up.

I’m like, yeah,

Mando Rayo: right. What happened? That

Daniel Estrada: happened over here? Yeah.

Mando Rayo: Yeah. It’s

Daniel Estrada: changed.

Mando Rayo: Yeah. Bet. You know, bet. Unbelievable. Nice. Good for the good. You said you kind of like grew up, you know, with different sets of parents and, um, what was the food culture like [00:19:00]growing up?

Daniel Estrada: Like what kind of foods did you eat?

Well, well, like I said, both sides. Yeah. You know, when I live with my, my mom and my stepdad, um. Tex-Mex quite a bit. Okay. So it is not quite the same. Being at my grandmother’s house, you know, we, we made tortillas from scratch. Yeah. Oh man. That was my favorite, uh, bone willows and, and all the good stuff.

Mm-hmm. And then my grandfather was a butcher. Mm-hmm. So, you know, I got to see him sharpen the knife. Okay. You know, and do all that crazy stuff mm-hmm. Which a lot of people don’t get to see. Yeah. And just slicing in a meat and, uh. Making menu noodle and all the good stuff. Okay. But, but like I said, tortillas and, and bone willows for me when I was young growing up was the funnest and, and best stuff to have.

Yeah. You know? So a lot of like food that’s like culturally grounded. Correct. My grandfather. Came, he was Hispanic, you know, they, they, um, worked the fields and did all that stuff. Mm-hmm. Um, so proud that they did all that. Mm-hmm. But then he had to say, Hey, we gotta [00:20:00] make money for the family. I’m gonna do something.

Mm-hmm. Uh, now we have a thriving business. It’s been there 65 years and running. ’cause he did whatever he had to do to get it going. Mm-hmm. And we, he’s grown it, not me, he’s grown it. Mm-hmm. Uh, to a great business mm-hmm. And supported our family and everything. So yeah, him and the rest of the family that were out in the fields, uh, I’m very proud of them.

Mm-hmm. So he was a, a, a migrant worker, correct? Well, yes. So he, they didn’t migrate here, but they were here and they, and they had, and

Mando Rayo: this was this, in a sense, this was Mexico. Right,

Daniel Estrada: right, right, right. So. But my grandpa’s not that old.

Mando Rayo: Yeah, yeah. Uh, yeah. So, so when you think about somebody like your grandfather that worked the fields and something that’s happening right now, ’cause there are still [00:21:00] people working fields, right?

Yeah. So how, how do you, um. You know what, what, what you know, is there still a connection there for what he did and what people are doing today?

Daniel Estrada: Definitely. Uh, but, but we’re at a different time now.

Victoria Elizondo: I became a DACA recipient the year it was founded. Mm-hmm. Which was in 2012.

Mando Rayo: Okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so for somebody that doesn’t know what that is, uh, can you explain it to us?

Victoria Elizondo: So it was like an executive order mm-hmm. Signed by former President Barack Obama. It offered a work permit. Mm-hmm. And it’s something that you have to renew every two years. Mm-hmm. Cost a lot of money. Um, it does provide. Some sort of comfort, you know? Yeah. Like not being scared of driving to the gas station.

Sure. Getting pulled over and, right, right. You know, getting into trouble. Uhhuh, uh, definitely calmed my anxiety a lot. Mm-hmm. By a lot. But nevertheless, it’s still.

Like, [00:22:00] yeah.

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: I can’t visit my family. There’s been a lot of opportunities that I missed out on Uhhuh, uh, not just personal, but also professional. Mm-hmm. Like TV shows that, you know, that I’ve been invited to, that I you have to be able to leave the country. Oh, yeah. Um, or, or you have to be like a resident Sure.

Or a US citizen. Yeah. In a personal level. It’s like the family stuff and mm-hmm. You know. Just missing out on things. Like I, yeah. I’m a very adventurous person. Yeah. I love to explore new cultures mm-hmm. And things, and, um, just feeling trapped. The feeling can be a little overwhelming at times. Mm-hmm. Uh, my boyfriend is gonna do, uh, an art exposition in Oaxaca.

Mm-hmm. And it’s like a big, big deal for him. Yeah. His first one and, uh, you know, not being able to be there.

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: Really sucks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, totally. Uh, one of my best, best friends is getting married in Mexico and, you know, not knowing if I’m gonna be able to be there for her. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Also really [00:23:00] sucks.

Speaker 4: Yeah. My

Victoria Elizondo: grandpa has cancer, but, um. On a professional level. Mm-hmm. Like there has also been some burdens, like not being able to get a certain type of loans. Mm-hmm. I’m very thankful that the business is growing, um, and it’s very successful. Mm-hmm. And, and we’re moving forward. But there’s like that uncertainty Yeah.

Of like, it could be taken away any given day. Right,

Speaker 4: right.

Victoria Elizondo: Uh, due to the lack of effort from the government to. Bring some sort of like permanent solution to this, right. Is pretty like, it, it’s not, none of this stuff is good for anybody’s mental health. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4: I, I get

Victoria Elizondo: it that we all struggle, we all have different issues that we deal with as immigrants, but for me it’s, it’s very overwhelming and it, it, it’s pretty exhausting and just having to like.

Fight it, it feels like every day I wake up it’s a fight.

Mando Rayo: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: And I’m tired of fighting. Yeah. I just wanna chill out.

Mando Rayo: Yeah. [00:24:00] Yeah. Um, can you tell us a little bit of, you know, your political identity and, and has it changed over the years and where you are today?

Daniel Estrada: Uh, really didn’t get into to politics till a little bit later in life.

Right. Um. Didn’t really worry about it or bother mm-hmm. Bother with it. ’cause it didn’t, I, I said it didn’t bo it didn’t affect me, but it did. Mm-hmm. It just not think about it and then, yeah. Keep going. Yeah.

Speaker 4: Okay. So

Daniel Estrada: I didn’t really worry about it. Like most families, you know, you, you kind of follow their lead.

Mm-hmm. So I, I grew up with my, my mom, my stepdad, and, and my stepdad was a Republican and Okay. I could see both sides. ’cause I came to my, my grandpa’s, my dad’s side and Uhhuh. Um. It just grew on me over there. Yeah. Um, but more recent. Mm-hmm. I, I think I really turned to re Republican side ’cause it seemed like [00:25:00] the, the Democratic side was pushing, you know, seemed like lies and mm-hmm.

And the media is pushing on it too, really hard.

Mando Rayo: Okay.

Daniel Estrada: Um. So, and where, where do you get your sources in regards to the lies and, well, I’m not saying they’re lies, but Yeah. But, um, it, it seems like. They were coming after Trump pretty hard with this, this, and that, but it was okay for the other side to do similar things.

Oh, okay. You know, that kind of stuff.

Mando Rayo: Sure, sure, sure. So can I ask who, who you voted for? Trump. Trump. Okay. Okay. As you can tell, sorry, I don’t know about some Republicans don’t, don’t vote for Trump, so, yeah, yeah.

Daniel Estrada: No, you’re right, you’re right. He, he, he is a character. Yeah. Yeah. He’s flipped it upside down a little bit.

Okay. Um, and what, what, what drew you to him?

I, I would say ’cause we’re kind of similar, um, yeah, we think outside the box and, and, and not really worry about what other people [00:26:00] say. Okay. Um, I do crazy

Mando Rayo: things, you know? Yeah. Okay. Okay. What part of, like, say your values and your system and your beliefs, um, what are those connecting points that you saw?

Like, okay, we have those similarities.

Daniel Estrada: He, he, he goes outside the box. He doesn’t, doesn’t worry about what people are thinking about him. Mm-hmm. And he’s kind of flipped it upside down. Mm-hmm. Because he’s, he’s just opened up and put it out. Mm-hmm. And I kinda like that. Mm-hmm. It’s, it’s not, not the typical, you know, he, you know, I’m gonna help you out here, but really do something else.

Oh, okay. You know? Yeah. Um, that kind of stuff.

Mando Rayo: How do you think about those? Traditions that you grew up with around food and some of the, the culture, but in a sense, if we try to dispose of it, um, [00:27:00] what does that do to, to your identity?

Daniel Estrada: Uh, well,

I mean, I don’t think we’re trying to dispose of it. Mm-hmm.

Maybe slow it down and, and make sure we got the right people coming over. Not, not just, and who are the right people? Well, people that want to contribute. Mm-hmm. You know? But you do have

Mando Rayo: people that are contributing, I

Daniel Estrada: guess. Well, they are so. Maybe the system needs to work around that. And if they’re contributing, then here’s your documents to get it rolling.

Mm-hmm. And you can just go ahead and stay it, rather than sending them back and then letting them come back over. Mm-hmm. It seems like a better way to do it. Mm-hmm. Um, I mean, they have, you know, visas and stuff for, for. Other countries if, if they’re gonna contribute and go to college and stuff, they let ’em over.

Mm-hmm. With no problem. Mm-hmm. You know, so if they’re here contributing, say, getting the food for us or making it, let, let, let’s get the paperwork together. Mm-hmm. Fill this out. Let’s look, look [00:28:00] up your background. Stay. Yeah. Uh, yes. And ideal. It’s more cost effective in

Mando Rayo: an i, in an ideal world. Yeah. For, yeah.

It’s more cost

Daniel Estrada: effective for sure. Sure. You know, instead of sending out planes after plane, you know, that’s expensive. Yeah. Yeah. And then the, the manpower to get ’em. Mm-hmm. So catch ’em, check ’em out, let ’em go. Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: I think that the idea around that, it’s, you know, a little, little simplistic because of the broken system.

Right. I don’t know if. Corralling people and ice coming to communities is the right way to do these things. You know, it’s creating harm in communities, right? It’s creating fear. So you said having ice

Daniel Estrada: around and creating fear is the right way to do it. No, it’s not. No, it’s not the right way. What do you thought?

What are your thoughts on that? No, I, I think detention centers is, is pretty harsh on, you know, people that are probably good people. Mm-hmm. Uh, if it were just a criminal, it’s a different story. Yeah. But. Rallying [00:29:00] up kids, women. Yeah. You know, which they have No, they are. Uh, and just putting ’em all in the detention center, it’s, that’s harsh.

Yeah. Um, what would you do if it would happen to somebody

Mando Rayo: that you know, or, or in your family?

Daniel Estrada: Well, we’d have, we’d have to go get ’em out, uh, get all the paperwork together, but mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: Do you have trust in the system that you’d be able to do that?

Daniel Estrada: I would say with, with connections, yes. Mm-hmm. Most people don’t have a lot of good connections, so. Mm-hmm. Um, yes, I would have. Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: So how do you feel like when, uh, this year, in 2025 with the Trump administration and everything that’s happening, um, and the backlash towards immigrants and Mexicans

Victoria Elizondo: mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: How, how are you feeling right now?

Victoria Elizondo: Um, [00:30:00] I was, I mean, like I just mentioned, mental health was, uh, it’s already on, on a, on a fragile

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: Uh, level

Speaker 4: Uhhuh

Victoria Elizondo: and then the anxiety of dealing with all this issues, it’s already, it’s something that we all kind of live with.

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.

Victoria Elizondo: Um. So now it’s like 10 times worse, you know?

Yeah. Now everybody hates immigrants, you know, Uhhuh, although the country was built on it. Mm-hmm. Like, I don’t know why people have this perception or idea that America equals white. Yeah. Like, it, it’s crazy to me to mm-hmm. To to see that like, America is immigrants. It’s, uh, it is people from all mm-hmm.

Various parts of the world. Maybe in the beginning it was mostly Europeans and then the. African American people were

Speaker 4: mm-hmm. Slaves.

Victoria Elizondo: So, yeah. You know, that’s what the visualization of what America was, but

Speaker 4: Right.

Victoria Elizondo: Nevertheless, yeah. There were [00:31:00] Europeans, there were immigrants.

Speaker 4: Right, right. At the end of

Victoria Elizondo: the day, like.

This, this is what it’s always been. Yeah. With the exception of, you know, native Americans.

Mando Rayo: Right, right, right. But that’s

Victoria Elizondo: a whole nother story.

Mando Rayo: Yeah. That is a whole nother, um, yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: So now everybody hates us. You know, I have to block this lady on Facebook because she kept harassing me. Mm-hmm. Asking me on different social media posts.

Mm-hmm. Because I’m very open Yeah. About what I think. Yeah. Yeah. What you believe in. Yeah. Um, and um, she kept asking me like. Are you hiring, quote unquote mm-hmm. Illegal workers. Right. Like, do you have illegal workers? And I was just like, what? Like, this is crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, why do you care? Yeah.

Yeah. We make tacos like we’re not a threat to society. Yeah. I pay taxes, I employ people just like every restaurant or every immigrant owned business. Mm-hmm. Like, I mean, I. Will honestly say that I’ve been lucky or privileged, I don’t know what the right word is. Uhhuh. I never really encountered [00:32:00] racism mm-hmm.

As much mm-hmm. As probably my people or mm-hmm. Other, uh, people have. Yeah. Um, you know. I feel like at some point we all encounter it, but Yeah.

Mando Rayo: Sure.

Victoria Elizondo: But it’s never

Mando Rayo: like in your face. Not in your face. Never to the point

Victoria Elizondo: where I’m like, what am I doing in this country? Uhhuh.

Mando Rayo: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: You know, I have never to the point where I’m like, why am I still here if I’m not wanted here?

Yeah. Like never to the point where I don’t wanna have kids here. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 4: I

Victoria Elizondo: don’t know how much longer I can stay here, you know? Right,

Speaker 4: right, right.

Victoria Elizondo: This has always. Been home mm-hmm. And felt like home, you know? Mm-hmm. People talk about like, oh, why are you waving the Mexican flag? Mm-hmm. Because we’re proud of where we come from.

Yeah. It’s right. But this is my home.

Speaker 4: Yeah. This

Victoria Elizondo: is my home, you know? Right. This is where I went to high school where I had my first kiss, my first boyfriend, uh, where I built a business. This is where everything I love and care for is, so. Yeah.

Mando Rayo: Okay. Okay. You know, you mentioned like, oh, it rubs off from your parents and all that.

Right, right. Um, and so you [00:33:00] do have kind of like this duality, if you will, right? So what are the, like the strong points that you connect with, uh, on both sides?

Daniel Estrada: Yeah. It’s harder on the other side ’cause I wasn’t as much on the other side with him, Uhhuh, but, um, you know, e even Trump wasn’t the best one at, you know, by, by far if, but if this last run. If the Democrats would’ve put somebody in that was a little bit more knowledgeable. Mm-hmm. And maybe had a debate and had had it whittled down to one person, not just, here you go, this is what you get.

They could have changed my mind. Okay. But it didn’t happen. It didn’t happen. Yeah.

Mando Rayo: All right. Yeah. What would you want to let people know about your value set or your identity that that makes sense In regards to voting for somebody that’s mostly anti, I would say maybe [00:34:00] anti-Hispanic.

Daniel Estrada: I wouldn’t say he’s anti-Hispanic.

Mm-hmm. Um. I mean, I, I haven’t seen a bit of racism in him whatsoever. I mean, oh, oh, I, for me, I haven’t seen anything. Okay. But so when

Mando Rayo: he says that all Mexicans are rapists, uh. Uh, you know that they’re all criminals,

Daniel Estrada: the ones that are coming over?

Mando Rayo: No, no. He’s saying everybody, he’s blanketing a a whole lot people,

Daniel Estrada: you know?

Yeah. I wouldn’t say he’s, he is, he’s blanking it that far. I mean, he’s not saying that us over here, that me and you would be rapist. Mm-hmm. Uh, it was more towards people that’s coming over illegally. Mm-hmm. So you, so

you’re

Mando Rayo: not taking it like he’s talking about you?

Daniel Estrada: No.

Mando Rayo: Okay. It’s interesting because when, when I kind of, uh, look at that, um, and I see those talking points, right, that he shares, um, you know, I don’t know if [00:35:00] he, if, if the current administration cares if, if you’re, you’re a criminal or not, they just want you out.

What are your thoughts on, around that?

Daniel Estrada: Yeah. Um. They need to go back to the beginning and, and try to start legally, but mm-hmm. They, they need to slow it down maybe and, and check paperwork, check your id mm-hmm. And go that route. Mm-hmm. Versus just picking up and going. Mm-hmm. That, that’s that. Like I said, that’s pretty harsh. You just pick someone up and just because they’re Mexican and Yeah.

Take off. Yeah. Yeah. That’s, that’s not good luck in that one bit.

Mando Rayo: Yeah. Uh, and there’s also been some reports that some US citizens. Are being held and deported. You know, a few cases,

Daniel Estrada: well, I haven’t seen that. ’cause the only one that you ever see is the, the guy that got deported to South America and they’re like, we need him back.

We need him back. Well, mm-hmm. If why fights so hard for that one guy and if they’re not fighting for the Americans that are [00:36:00] being picked up, so. Mm-hmm. That’s why it’s hard for me to understand that part.

Mando Rayo: Well, for me it’s like if you do an an injustice for one, you do an injustice for all. For me, it’s about, you know, we all have rights, whether we’re no doubt, you know?

Right. I’m 100% with you on that. You’re a DACA recipient and this Trump administration, uh, said, okay, we’re only going after criminals, but they’re actually for the majority, they’re going after people without criminal records. Mm-hmm. You know, um, and. And then the response is like, well, they should do it the legal way.

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: How would you respond to them where they say, well, you’re okay ’cause you did it the legal way, if you will. Right.

Victoria Elizondo: I mean, my first response would be get off social media because it’s obviously just reading what other people are commenting on, on, on hateful mm-hmm. Posts or social media comments.

Mm-hmm. That would be my first response because obviously you have zero knowledge of the process behind. Mm-hmm. [00:37:00] Becoming. Uh, a us or not even a US citizen, a resident first, right?

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: I mean, I have family in Mexico that have been waiting on a visa for years. Yeah. And years and years. They own a home.

Mm-hmm. Have no intentions of staying here at all. Like they just wanna come shopping or vision or, yeah. You know, and so that’s one way. And then even as a DACA recipient, I get told all the time, well, like, what haven’t you? Uh, fix your papers. Yeah. I’m like, well, well, like what? What do you mean? Like you go out and you spend money on other things?

I was like, oh, you think it’s about money? Like, yeah.

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: You think I can buy myself a residency? Mm-hmm. It’s not like that at all. Like, it, it’s not even about the money, which also it is a very expensive process. Yeah. It’s expensive. It is a burden for some people. Mm-hmm. But. Then I, you know, I get comments where like, why haven’t you marry somebody?

Oh, so you’re telling me I should marry somebody for papers? Like mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: Yeah. So

Victoria Elizondo: that’s illegal, right? Right,

Mando Rayo: right. Yeah. So

Victoria Elizondo: what do you mean do it the legal way? Yeah. But then you’re telling me to marry somebody for [00:38:00] papers. Right. As in that. Illegal. Like, so what kind of mm-hmm. Hypocrisy is this?

Mando Rayo: Yeah. Well, it’s this over simplistic, um, idea mm-hmm.

Of our immigration system that’s broken.

Victoria Elizondo: Yeah. Yeah.

Mando Rayo: And what are your thoughts around, uh, people coming here to, um, just ’cause improving their lives? They having ex, you know, experiencing violence and we have a legal system that allows them, um, to become refugees here. What are your thoughts around that?

And it’s legal. Yeah. But now, like asylum,

Daniel Estrada: uhhuh. Yeah. You know, that’s fine. If they gotta get away from something that’s, that’s gonna hurt ’em. Mm-hmm. But they’re doing it legally, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah, they’re, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I’m gonna apply for asylum. Yeah. Get me outta here. ’cause I’m gonna get killed over here.

Yeah. Great. We’ll, we’ll, we’ll let you in. Yeah. And, and, you know, and maybe bump them ahead of the line just because, you know, they could die. Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: But even, even this idea around like, Hey, let’s do it legally. But to be honest, the immigration system is broken. Definitely. [00:39:00] You have a restaurant and you may have folks coming in and, and I don’t know if you’ve experienced this, but this idea around like, Hey, um, uh.

I’m gonna enjoy this food, but you know, I don’t really care about where it comes from or the people.

Victoria Elizondo: Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: What, how would you respond to that?

Victoria Elizondo: I think respect is very important. You know, I can’t expect for every single customer that walks through the door to care about who’s making their food. Mm-hmm.

Some people are just hungry. Yeah. And they don’t care where their money goes. Like I saw on Facebook, somebody was sad because the Starbucks closed and like our neighborhood. And I was like, that’s crazy. But, but you know, whatever. Like, um, I personally prefer to support a local coffee shop. Right.

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Victoria Elizondo: But.

I think part of the solution is to just stop fighting against each other and just respect each other, you know, like I don’t agree. But let’s, you [00:40:00] know, as long as you’re respecting the people that are there and that you see the value in everything that they do.

Mando Rayo: So you have, you go to a restaurant, um, whether it’s in East Austin or Northwest Austin, what have you, it could be a Chinese restaurant, a fine dining restaurant, Italian, or a Mexican or an American restaurant.

Maybe your service might be white. But you know, in the back of the kitchens, who works, the back of the kitchens, usually Hispanics. Usually Hispanics. Right. And some of ’em may be undocumented. Right. How do you feel about them with your stand on? Like who should be here and who should not? How do you feel about them making your food?

Daniel Estrada: Well, it’s better food, but um. Funny you say that. ’cause here, here we do have a lot of Hispanics in the background mm-hmm. Making food, and it’s even in Asian restaurants or whatever. Mm-hmm. Uh, my parents and my, and a good friend of mine used to live in Kansas. Mm-hmm. And then the [00:41:00] rest, the Hispanic restaurants, there was Asians in the back cooking.

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah,

Daniel Estrada: yeah. It’s kind of flip flopped, but Yeah. Yeah. No, no, I get it. Um, if they’re undocumented, they’re making great food. I mean, like I said, if, if there’s a way to come in. Hey, you’re not supposed to be here. You know, to check ’em out, you know, background. If they’re criminals, it’s time to go. If not, file the paperwork.

You can stay.

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.

Daniel Estrada: That the way I would do it. Yeah.

Mando Rayo: That’s how you But currently what? It’s happening. It’s not. Yeah. Yeah. But everybody’s, it’s broken. Yeah. It needs to be fixed. Yeah. Yeah. Do you think that’s gonna dilute, uh, some of the experiences you have when you go to restaurants? Or what are the economic impacts when we say, Hey, let’s get rid of maybe three quarters of the labor?

Daniel Estrada: I, I think if, if that were the case, then we would adapt, I mean,

and, and say, fine, fine dining. Who are the, the chefs? Mm-hmm. You [00:42:00] know, the, mm-hmm. They’re not illegal. Guys are usually a, a man of some sort that is making these fine dining foods. So maybe some of them guys need some work too, and then they slide right in. I, I don’t know. Mm-hmm. It’s a possibility.

Mando Rayo: When you think about like your immigration journey, but also your business journey, what advice would you, you give to other, other immigrants or other people that are really struggling right now?

Um. Yeah. When they’re trying to kind of pursue their dreams,

Victoria Elizondo: um, I would say find your people, your community. A lot of times it doesn’t have to be your same color. Mm-hmm. You know, I feel like there we have a lot of allies. Yeah. And we are not as immigrants, we’re not the only ones suffering the immigrant community.

Also aligned with other underprivileged communities. Yep. So, you know, like maybe learn more about that. Talk to your neighbor, be more friendly. Mm-hmm. Um, [00:43:00] learn more about what’s happening through outlets other than social media. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, keep your, your mental health at ease. Mm-hmm. Like if you’re not.

Your best. If you’re not doing well, then you can’t really help others or do anything for, for your business or your goals or your career. Mm-hmm. So first, take care of yourself and be a good leader. Um, you know, care about others, the way that you would care about your family, especially if you have employees.

There’s not much I can do to help all the. Thousands of immigrants that are being sweeped from their homes and their families. Yeah. But I can take care of mine with the ice. With the ice raids. Yeah. With the ice raids that are so unfair and unjustified. Mm-hmm. You know, they’re taking people without criminal backgrounds.

Mm-hmm. They’re taking people that have a residency, they’re taking people that are doing it illegal way. You know, I have Cuban employees. I, I try to just take care of my team and, and be there in [00:44:00] any way that I can. Um. And motivate others to do the same. I feel like we need to remind ourselves that as business owners, we’re nothing without our team and our people and our community, you know?

So involve your customers. Mm-hmm. And, you know, we’ve, we’ve hosted like know your rights events.

News Report: Yep.

Victoria Elizondo: We, uh, we try to do the best that we can with we what we have.

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.

Victoria Elizondo: Um. Don’t bite more than you can chew because, you know mm-hmm. It’s, it’s really hard to manage, manage all the things. I don’t have kids, I can’t imagine.

Mm-hmm. For women that have kids or people that are, you know, going to college and doing a career, like, don’t forget about those things. It’s so easy to get caught up with everything that’s going on, and then you leave other things behind. Mm-hmm. Like your health and your family and relationships or school and then when this is all over or we.

Things get better, then all those things are gonna be in the back burner and it’s gonna be really hard to get [00:45:00] back up. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So take care of yourself so that you can take care of others, um, and be very persistent. I never taken enough for an answer and every time something, a project or something has failed, I pick myself right up and figure out maybe another route, another way.

Um, honestly, like, I just think being persistent mm-hmm. Is. It’s very valuable and treating others with respect and kindness Yeah. Will take you a long way.

Mando Rayo: You shared what you agree with him, right? How you’re connected. Are there certain things that you don’t

Daniel Estrada: agree with? Again, that’s a tough one ’cause there’s, there’s probably very few.

I Hmm.

Maybe slow down on how he, he spits things out. Um, sometimes doesn’t come out right. Mm-hmm. You know, um, ’cause he’s, he’s one that just let it go. [00:46:00] Mm-hmm.

Mando Rayo: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometimes it doesn’t, it comes for me. It comes across as indecent.

Daniel Estrada: Right, right, right. That’s what I’m saying. And just lets it go.

Mando Rayo: He lets it go.

And then what happens is then people think that, oh, well those Hispanics or those immigrants or whatever. Right, right.

Daniel Estrada: They’re subhuman. Yeah, he’s, he’s, he’s, he likes to blurt out stuff before really thinking about it, and like I said, he is got some good thoughts, but sometimes they just come right out and they’re, yeah.

You should have changed that a little bit. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Is there a line for you?

Yeah. I mean,

we’d have to get there when we get there. I, I haven’t seen anything. That crazy. Mm-hmm. He hadn’t said anything that crazy that I would say, Hey, we need to get this stopped.

Mando Rayo: So holding people without due process, that’s not a, a line for you? [00:47:00]

Daniel Estrada: Well, again, if there’s a million people, he is got in, in detention centers, we don’t have a million court systems mm-hmm.

To process them properly. Right? Mm-hmm. Um, so it’s gotta be done somehow. Mm-hmm. And you’re okay with that? If they’re criminals. If they’re not, well, we’ve gotta figure that out. Mm-hmm. You know, but,

Mando Rayo: okay. Well, what I’ve seen is that they go, they’re going into work sites, they’re going into, you know, restaurants, right?

Mm-hmm. They even try to go into schools

Daniel Estrada: Now that, that would be a line, I would not let anybody go into school. I mean, that, that’s an awful limit. Kids shouldn’t see. Guns and all the crazy stuff that’s happening, uh, you know, that would scare, really scare somebody. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, no, I wouldn’t do that.

That would be a line. Okay.

News Report: Good afternoon, BOG Chief Education Officer for Chicago Public Schools [00:48:00]earlier today, immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Showed up at Hemline Elementary School, the ICE agents were not allowed into the school, and were not permitted to speak to any students or staff members.

Here is the bottom line. Our students and staff are safe. Our protocols were followed. We are very thankful. For our school staff for following established district protocol.

Mando Rayo: These are complicated times we’re living in and it’s no different for tacos and Mexican food and the people, you know. We created this episode to really try to find an understanding of the plight of not only immigrants, but what’s going on right now at this moment in 2025, and how.

Some Latinos seem to vote against their own values and even their own people, and that’s kind of like at the core of why I wanted to do this episode. [00:49:00] It was a way for me to kind of get out there and try to learn as much as I can and help me navigate some of these conversations as I think whether it’s.

Within my community, within my family members, or through these conversations where I was looking to find those answers. And, and as a Latino trying to understand like what are the complexities of like, whether it’s, you know, religion or the machismo that, that we grew up with, uh, that really kind of like what’s ingrained in that culture that, that people see that in Trump.

Where I do not. And so one of the things that like really stood out for me was like this idea around like, oh, well, you know, he’s his, he’s his own person, his own man, his values. But I couldn’t really kind of, uh, get the, the, the complexity, right? The, the, the idea around like, well, what is it? And [00:50:00]beyond, beyond going, uh.

Without going beyond the talking points. Right. And so for me it was, it’s hard, it was hard to understand that. And, but at the same time, I also wanted to listen and listen and understand kind of where he was coming from. But yeah, you know, I think this idea around where, where Latinos are, um, that align themselves with Trump, it’s, you know, the, this, this whole idea around, like this connection to, to.

Maybe it’s whiteness, right? Maybe it’s this, uh, idea around American culture and the cultures of, of what it means to be an American. And, and when you think about the long history of the in, of being in the United States, being in America, it’s this idea around, uh, fitting in and. Acclimating and, um, and being part of this American society and, and this idea around capitalism or this individualistic [00:51:00]approach to living your life.

Um, and, and for me, Latino culture isn’t really about that. We’re more communal. We share. We connect with each other. You know, we have our family members, then we have like, you know, just like our family members that aren’t our family members. We have like, you know, close friends that we call BES and cousins.

So we have that. So, so for me, it’s still a disconnect, right? But at the core, it’s also about like this lack of. That, that, that didn’t come across that. I mean, what didn’t come across for me was empathy. And so, you know, this idea around like, well, you know, well, well, uh, they’re just, you know, people getting picked up by eyes.

Well, that, that’s just collateral damage. And for me, man, that just hits, hits home because I, I don’t see any empathy towards what’s happening. For families being torn apart. It doesn’t matter, you know, whether they’re documented or undocumented. It’s [00:52:00] about treating people as, as human beings. And, um, yeah, so, so for me, it was just, for me, that was kind of a hard thing to kind of listen to.

One thing that really kind of where, where I saw as I was interviewing them, but also I reflected on my own life. Victoria, Daniel, and myself have actually similar backgrounds. Similar backgrounds that we were both growing up, you know, in maybe unstable homes, maybe going into, uh, um, a country or in a, in a community that we kind of just had to kind of get by.

Um, and you know, we. Our path maybe have had been similar, but, but, but they changed, right? And we all kind of went in our own path, in our own way. And then you have Victoria starting her own business and starting, you know, um, supporting her community and her her own way. And then you have Daniel, uh, you know, having.[00:53:00]

Kind of like two parts of his identity, uh, in Austin and, but as well as like, you know, that path that led him towards, uh, towards Trump. And so this idea around like the, when people say that Latinos are all the same, no, we’re not. We have, yes, we have a shared experience, but we’re also like, you know, it’s our experiences that makes us who we are and trying to understand the kind of like what led us.

To, to our own paths. Right. You know, and at the end of it, when, when we’re children, when we’re kids, we don’t really have, have a lot of those choices. But now that we’re adults, we make our own choices. And for each of them, they’ve made their own. And this idea around immigration and doing it the legal way and what is the legal way, the system is broken.

Um, and even somebody like me that had to, that I was born here, but then I had to prove I was a US citizen. And for folks that say, do it the legal way, I don’t think there’s a deep [00:54:00] understanding of what that means. So we really didn’t come up with any solutions, but definitely a dialogue and the conversation continue.

So, with that, I’d like to thank my two guests, Victoria Elizondo and Daniel Estrada for being in this podcast episode. Also want to give some shout outs to organizations that are supporting immigrants, and that includes Raices, Texas. Houston American Gateways and the Texas Civil Rights Project for this Taco of Texas episodes, we use clips from a more perfect union KVUE Austin, CNN, CBS San Diego, ABC News, PBS NewsHour and CNBC Chicago.

This has been the Tacos of Texas Podcast developed and produced by Identity Productions. If you enjoyed today’s episode in our Craving More taco content, go to our website at www dot identity productions [00:55:00]or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at Identity Productions and United Tacos of America.

This is your host. Mando El Taco Journalist Rayo. On the next Proximo Tacos of Texas, Austin Taco History. Let’s take a deep dive into the history of tacos and Mexican restaurants and their interaction with families of Austin.

Louisa Van Assche: The Tacos of Texas podcast is presented by identity productions in partnership with KUT. And KOTX studios. Our host and producer is Mando.

Our audio is mixed by Nicholas Werden. Our story producer is me, Louisa VAAs, and our creative producer is Dennis Burnett. Music was created by Peligrosa in Austin, Texas, and King Benny Productions located in the Quinto Barrio of [00:56:00] Houston.