By Emily Heil
Not all heroes wear capes. Some, according to an eclectic group of writers, activists, academics, and others, are instead draped in tortillas.
To this group, a taco isn’t just a taco: The humble dish can be a conduit for conversations about communities and inequities, an ambassador for Mexican cuisine, a political tool, and a force for good across the globe.
Meet the International Taco Council, a nascent organization whose small mascot belies its big ambitions.
“We’ve always used food as a means of connecting with others,” says Serena Maria Daniels, the Detroit-based editor and founder of Tostada Magazine, an online publication focused on the voices of immigrants and people of color, who is the council’s inaugural president. “You might have a contentious topic, but when you sit down over a plate, it takes away the distance.”
