Ignacio Anaya García (15 August 1895 – 9 November 1975) was a Mexican maître d'
who invented the popular
Tex-Mex
Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine, American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the Tejanos, ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others i ...
dish
nachos
Nachos are a Mexican culinary dish consisting of fried tortilla chips or ''totopos'' covered with melted cheese or cheese sauce, as well as a variety of other toppings and garnishes, often including meats (such as ground beef or grilled chicken ...
at the Victory Club restaurant a couple miles from the border of Texas in Mexico in 1943.
After nachos grew in popularity Anaya was promoted to chef, and he eventually started his own restaurant in the 1960s.
He never did profit off his creation.
His nickname was ''Nacho'', derived from the Spanish ''Ignacio'', the Spanish version of ''Ignatius''.
Life and career
Born in San Carlos,
Manuel Benavides,
Chihuahua,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
on 15 August 1895,
he worked at the Victory Club restaurant in
Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to:
* Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico
** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city
* Piedras Negras (Maya site)
Piedras Negras is the ...
,
Coahuila
Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico.
Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, a restaurant close to the US border and popular with Americans from a nearby base during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Anaya created nachos while working there in one day in 1943
when a group of US Army wives entered and the chef was nowhere to be found.
As recounted by his son:
The dish became so popular, the owner of the Victory Club, Roberto de los Santos, put his creation on the menu as ''Nacho's Especiales''.
When the Victory Club closed in 1961, Anaya opened his own restaurant, Nacho's Restaurant, in Piedras Negras.
Anaya married Marie Antoinette Salinas, with whom he had 9 children.
Death and legacy
Anaya died on 9 November 1975,
leaving a son Ignacio Anaya, Jr who went into banking, and 5 other surviving children. Posthumously, he was honored with a bronze plaque in Piedras Negras.
To celebrate Anaya's invention, the city of Piedras Negras holds a three-day Nacho Fest every year around October 21, the International Day of the Nacho.
''
Smithsonian Magazine
''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.
History
The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' maga ...
'' ranked nachos as a sports stadium favorite in 1976, following the invention of a
processed cheese sauce by Frank Liberto.
[ ]Howard Cosell
Howard is an English language, English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (disambiguation), Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defe ...
added to the popularity of nachos during a September 4, 1978 NFL game by weaving "nachos" into his commentary. Although the original nachos contained only three ingredients, nachos can now be found with a wide variety of toppings, reflecting the enduring popularity of Anaya's contribution.
On 15 August 2019, Google honored Anaya with a Doodle
A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...
celebrating what would have been his 124th birthday.
Notes
:1.Anaya's son, Ignacio Anaya, Jr., is quoted as saying "My father was maître d' and he said 'Let me go quick and fix something for you.' He went into the kitchen, picked up tostadas, grated some cheese on them—Wisconsin cheese, the round one—and put them under the salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...
(a broiling unit that browns the top of foods). He pulled them out after a couple of minutes, all melted, and put on a slice of jalapeño."
References
Sources
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Further reading
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*Nickel, Sandra and Oliver Dominguez (2020). ''Nacho's Nachos: The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack''. New York: Lee and Low.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anaya, Ignacio
Mexican inventors
People from Piedras Negras, Coahuila
1895 births
1975 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Restaurant staff
People from Acuña, Coahuila
20th-century inventors
Mexican restaurateurs
20th-century Mexican businesspeople
Restaurant founders