Google is using a new animated doodle today depicting a man cooking some tasty-looking nachos from raw ingredients. Who is he, and why is Google showing this today, of all days? The company is referencing the little-known but utterly fascinating story behind the creation of nachos, one of the most popular snacks across the world. The man in the doodle is Ignacio Anaya García, and today’s his 124th birthday. Here’s the endearing story to which Google is paying tribute.
A measure of creativity and a spoonful of chance
It was 1943, according to Google, and García was working as a Maître d’ at the Club Victoria—a well-known restaurant in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila. One fine day, a group of women whose husbands were stationed at a nearby army base in Texas decided to visit the popular locale, looking for a snack.
For some reason, García struggled to find a chef right then. Since no one was around to prepare the restaurant’s regular recipes, Ignacio Anaya had to think quickly, and thus took it upon himself to come up with a dish to satisfy his customers. Little did he know that his improvised invention would revolutionize snack cuisine forever.
He took what ingredients he had at hand. A few tortilla chips, some jalapeño slices, and melted cheese—it was that simple (as great inventions often are). The dish was an instant hit. García named it “Nacho’s Especiales,” meaning, literally, “Ignacio’s Specials” (Nacho is a common nickname for Ignacio), and the recipe was immediately added to Club Victoria’s menu.
Nachos: from humble origins to international renown
The snack’s popularity grew almost overnight, and soon enough, Nacho’s Especiales could be found at every restaurant in the region. By 1949, the recipe was included in an American cookbook. As the dish spread across the world, the name was shortened and the apostrophe dropped, resulting in the familiar “nachos” we all know and love today.
A few decades later, the snack evolved slightly. They were served with liquid cheese during a Texas Rangers game at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in 1976. Then, after sportscaster Howard Cosell mentioned snacking on some nachos during a Dallas Cowboys game, the dish cemented its reputation as a staple snack of sports arenas, and its popularity grew even further.
Remembering an unfamiliar legend
García died in 1975, and a commemorative bronze plaque was erected in his honor in Piedras Negras. To celebrate the historical and international significance of his invention, October 21 was declared the International Day of the Nacho. For their part, Google joined the celebration by featuring their aforementioned doodle commemorating the moment when García came up with the fateful recipe.
The Doodle was drawn by Alfonso de Anda, an artist based in Mexico City. “There isn’t a whole lot of information on Ignacio, so I shifted my focus onto the dish itself,” de Anda told Google. “My approach was very straightforward; imagining Ignacio making his first plate of nachos while implicitly communicating a sense of fun.”
De Anda added that he hopes people get an instant craving for a snack after they see the Doodle.
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