Tacos Rescue The Latino Vote In One Houston Precinct

By Victor Escalante, NewsTaco

“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” John F. Kennedy

As a kid, family pachangas were always something to look forward to whether it was a baptism or a wedding. One day I asked an uncle where the word came from, He said it came from politicians throwing large parties with free food and drink to win votes. According to him, it was the merging of para and changos, thus Pachanga for the uneducated masses. Folkloric myth or fact Anthropologist Margaret E. Dorsey explores the whole ethos of our modern Pachangas.

There is no question that Latinos will readily turn out for a fun time where food, drink, and music are to be had. This is no different from politicos seeking votes from expensive dinners held at hotel ball rooms. However, there are some distinct differences.

Leave it to Dr. Rey Guerra an engineer in renewable energy along with his two friends Fidencio Leija Jr. and David to come up with a better recipe for voter engagement they call Tacos and Votes. A jolly ole Pachanga organized to register new voters and turn out the Latino vote in the one of Houston’s precincts with a historic low voter turnout.

Tacos and Votes grew out of brain storming between Rey and the Leija brothers while Rey was a graduate student at Berkley. They understood the basic drives and the cultural elements that Latinos cultivate in group gatherings. The rest is history.

According to Rey Guerra, they had anywhere between two to three hundred people turn out for this event with politicians from both parties meeting, greeting and answering questions of voters. Rey added, “ At the Tacos and Votes event, you saw silver haired persons standing side-by-side with frohawked college students.  It was a beautiful thing.”

The event was first of its kind in Houston, a city that is made up of forty four percent Latinos and growing. Attendees were asked to write on post it notes the challenges Latinos face then they taped them to a piñata to metaphorically take action to break them. While the symbolism may seem childish, reports of the voter response were the second highest in all of Houston’s precincts. Tacos and Votes even got broad coverage with The Atlantic Magazine and NPR picking up the story. Some may think this was just another pachanga in a Houston barrio; however, political activists called from around the country seeking  more information to spread Tacos and Votes to their area.