Mexican Influence around the World Thread

[RMuller]

La Música Ranchera en Colombia

La Ranchera es un género de música mexicana muy popular. las rancheras se convirtieron en la música ícono y símbolo de México y hasta el día de hoy son muy populares, especialmente en países latinoamericanos. Los países en donde más se ha desarrollado la ranchera fuera de México, son Colombia como el primer país donde gusta, se escucha y se difunde este género, otros países como Chile, Argentina, Perú, y Venezuela.


Una ranchera, principalmente, presenta argumentos sentimentales y románticos y mucha melodía. La interpretación de ella se caracteriza especialmente por la utilización de notas mantenidas por largo tiempo al final de cada frase. Generalmente sorprenden los tonos agudos producidos por el intérprete y la manera en que los hace descender en picada. Su voz se caracteriza por ser abierta y brillante que la hace un muy buen acompañamiento para los mariachis


La música ranchera nunca pasa de moda en Colombia. Se le puede escuchar en festivales populares, hasta en fiestas de Año Nuevo suena fuerte en las emisoras y hoy por hoy existen en el país alrededor de 3500 conjuntos y más de 20,000 músicos que interpretan este género. Quienes son contratados para todo, fiestas, cumpleaños, aniversarios, actividades de empresas, homenajes, misas y hasta despedidas de muertos en los cementerios”, afirmó Juan Vargas, un músico que ha trabajado en mariachis.


En la historia de la ranchera se han destacado grandes intérpretes del género, de los cuales se pueden mencionar los siguientes:

Colombia y México forman parte de una serie de identidades históricas y culturales que trascienden las fronteras y los intereses políticos y se adentran en lo más profundo del alma popular, la piel y la cotidianidad de la gente

Este estilo no distingue estratos sociales sigue quedándose en el corazón de los colombianos. Y es que las melodías rancheras, que llegaron hace unos 60 años al país se quedaron en la cultura popular cafetera y es hoy parte de la vida cotidiana





60 años de 'mero' mariachi en Colombia

Miembros de la banda de mariachi Las Divas en Bogotá. Las Divas fueron elegidas como teloneras de la gira de Vicente Fernández por Colombia. (MARTINEZ/AP)


BOGOTA — Cuando se vino a Bogotá hace 60 años detrás de una mujer, el mariachi mexicano Alfonso Regla no se imaginó que la música que tanto le gustaba a su amada terminaría conquistando Colombia.

Medio siglo después de que se constituyó el primer grupo de música mariachi en la capital colombiana, actualmente hay en el país alrededor de 3.500 conjuntos y más de 20.000 músicos que interpretan este género.


Después de México, Colombia es uno de los países donde mejor se ha posicionado el mariachi, caracterizado por la presencia de violines, trompetas, guitarra, vihuela y guitarrón, y cuya preferencia supera las barreras de edad y clase social.

Según Ricardo Torres, director de Mariachi Clásico Contemporáneo, uno de los más importantes grupos del país, "la música mariachi gusta tanto, primero, por sus letras, que son profundas pero sencillas y sirven para cantarle al amor, a la vida o a la muerte...(y) también por el vestuario, que da una distinción del tipo de grupo musical".

Otro factor que explica el auge de este tipo de música en el país es la tendencia por parte de los conjuntos a fusionar el folclor ranchero con ritmos comerciales como el pop, el merengue y la salsa, pero sobre todo con aires colombianos que incluyen la cumbia y el vallenato, añadió.

"Es interesante que la gente indague, que busque colores para encontrar su propia identidad y su propio sello...(de lo contrario) se tiene un protagonismo muy pasajero", afirma Jeannette Riveros, asesora de música popular urbana de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá.

En el país hay más de 3.500 conjuntos y 20.000 músicos mariachis, de los cuales unos 200 están en Bogotá, según la Federación Nacional de Artistas de Colombia y el Movimiento Popular Artístico Colombiano.

El inicio del mariachi en Colombia está ligado a una historia de amor, cuyo protagonista es el maestro Regla, un mexicano nacido en el pueblo de Ameca, Jalisco, que dejó su país luego de casarse a los 21 años con una joven bogotana.

"Yo estaba en un teatro de México cuando vi una mona (rubia) alta, con su pelo bien hermoso, y al rato nos flechamos. Duramos veinte días de amores y nos casamos a principios de 1958. Después, ella se vino para Bogotá porque su papá estaba muy enfermo y yo me le vine detrás. Llegué un 17 de abril de 1958", comentó el músico.

"El gusanillo de formar un grupo mariachi --en los primeros meses de 1959-- empezó porque mi mujer me lo recomendó. Arrancamos seis personas en un restaurante que se llamaba "Rafael": yo tocaba guitarrón, tenía tres violinistas, una trompeta y un guitarrista, porque aquí no se conocía la vihuela", recordó el mexicano.

Regla, que hace 11 años despidió en un cementerio a su esposa con la mejor de las serenatas, es todavía un músico activo que trabaja al lado de unos 80 conjuntos rancheros agolpados diariamente en una zona llamada La Playa, que abarca tres calles al norte de Bogotá.

En La Playa el cliente puede contratar mariachis de primer, segundo y tercer nivel que cobran, por una serenata de siete canciones, 1,5 millones de pesos (unos 680 dólares), 800.000 pesos (364 dólares) y 400.000 pesos (182 dólares), respectivamente.


Sin embargo, Raúl Chacón, uno de los músicos más antiguos en La Playa, asegura que con la recesión económica se pueden conseguir recitales por 120.000 pesos (55 dólares).

El maestro Regla explicó que "por mal que le vaya a un mariachi, se hace (o se consigue trabajo) en viernes y sábado --días en que hay mayor demanda-- 250.000 pesos" (114 dólares).

En vista de la importancia del fenómeno mariachi y con el ánimo de colaborar en la profesionalización de los músicos, la alcaldía de Bogotá y el Instituto de Cultura y Turismo organizan desde el 2002 el festival Ranchera al Parque, que reúne a sus mejores exponentes.

"Gran parte de la música mariachi que adquieren los amantes del género en Colombia es de cantantes mexicanos", agregó Romero.

La Playa reúne cientos de "estrellas anónimas", de orígenes muy humildes, que buscan diferenciarse bajo el sobrenombre de "El Juan Gabriel Colombiano", "La Rocío Durcal Colombiana" o "La Ana Gabriel Colombiana", como es el caso de Deisy Magaly Cufiño.

Cufiño, de 38 años, canta por contratos en algunos locales de La Playa y a través de un programa de variedades de la televisión colombiana logró conocer en 2008 en México a uno de los máximos exponentes del género: Vicente Fernández.

Fernández estará de gira en Colombia a partir del jueves y Cufiño será su "telonera", o la artista que anteceda la presentación del astro mexicano.

Al respecto Cufiño, quien con motivo de la visita de Fernández conformó un conjunto femenino de 12 mariachis, en su mayoría madres cabeza de familia, señaló que "lo malo de este medio es que es muy absorbente y uno trasnocha mucho, y no le queda tiempo para los hijos".

La cantante destacó que ser mariachi mujer en Colombia es todavía más difícil porque a veces los hombres las discriminan.

A un día de que Fernández inicie su gira en el país, unos 600 "charros" tienen la esperanza de que el artista los acompañe en un acto para refundar en La Playa una plaza dedicada al género musical.

Los organizadores de los conciertos de Fernández esperan que más de 280.000 espectadores acudan en total a los 11 conciertos previstos en 10 distintas ciudades colombianas. Dos de los conciertos serán en Bogotá.


Colombian Telenovela -La Hija Del Mariachi
la malagueña - la hija del mariachi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfl2E_baHjY



la hija del mariachi-"Cucurrucucu paloma-el coloso de jalisco tentando a lara"-(historia musical)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH5_1hpkovI



Festival Bogotá Grita Mariachi!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_vUwlp9zM


Record Nacional de Mariachis Colombia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFVGw8TkowI

[RMuller]

Doritos
The plain chips are made of ground corn (maize), vegetable oil, and salt. Other ingredients vary across the flavored chip varieties. Doritos made for the US market generally do not use pork-derived animal rennet in the making of the cheese flavorings used on the chip.[14]






Doritos (/dəˈriːtoʊz/) is a brand of flavored tortilla chips produced since 1964 by American food company Frito-Lay (a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo).[1][2]








The original product was made at the Casa de Fritos (now Rancho Del Zocalo) at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, during the early 1960s. Using surplus tortillas and taking the original idea from the traditional Mexican snack known as Totopo, the company-owned restaurant cut them up and fried them and added basic seasoning, resembling the Mexican chilaquiles, but in this case being dry. Arch West was the vice president of marketing of Frito-Lay at the time, and noticed their popularity. He made a deal in 1964 with Alex Foods, the provider of many items for Casa de Fritos at Disneyland, and produced the chips for a short time regionally, before it was overwhelmed by the volume, and Frito-Lay moved the production in-house to its Tulsa plant.[3]

"Doritos" were released nationwide in 1966, the first tortilla chip to be launched nationally in the United States.[4] The name derives from the Mexican Spanish doradito, meaning "golden brown."[5]







According to Information Resources International, in 1993, Doritos earned $1.2 billion in retail sales, one-third of the total Frito-Lay sales for the year. Nevertheless, in the costliest redesign in Frito-Lay history, in 1994 the company spent $50 million to redesign Doritos to make the chips 20% larger, 15% thinner, and rounded the edges of the chip. Roger J. Berdusco, the vice president of tortilla chip marketing, said a primary reason for the change was "greater competition from restaurant-style tortilla chips, that are larger and more strongly seasoned".[6] The design change was the result of a two-year market research study that involved 5,000 chip eaters. The new design gave each chip rounded corners, making it easier to eat and reducing the scrap resulting from broken corners. Each chip was also given more seasoning, resulting in a stronger flavor. The redesigned chips were released in four flavors beginning in January 1995.[6]

Doritos are sold in many countries worldwide in assorted flavors. They launched nationally in the United States in 1966,[4] with only one flavor: toasted corn.[19] The product proved successful, but additional market research revealed that many consumers outside the Southwest and West considered the chip to be too bland and not spicy enough for what was perceived as a Mexican snack. Frito-Lay therefore developed taco-flavored Doritos, which also became successful after they were introduced nationally in 1967.[19] National distribution of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos began in 1972, and were also a hit.[19] For a short run in the late 1970s, Sour Cream and Onion flavored Doritos were available, but were discontinued in the early 1980s. A Sesame seed flavored chip was also available for a short time in the late 1970s.[20] In 1986, Cool Ranch Doritos made their debut and also became popular.[19]

Marketing

Super Bowl

For many years, Doritos advertised heavily during the Super Bowl. According to Thomas L. Harris's Value-Added Public Relations, "the most-used single video news release of 1995" was a Doritos Super Bowl Commercial featuring recently defeated US state governors Mario Cuomo and Ann Richards. The pair were discussing change and the ad ended with viewers aware that the change they referred to was not political, but rather a new packaging for Doritos. The ad generated a great deal of publicity before it ever ran and much discussion afterward. The governors later parodied their ad; when they were interviewed on the CBS news program 60 Minutes, the two were often seen eating Doritos.[33]

In 1998, Doritos cast former Miss USA Ali Landry in a new Super Bowl Commercial. In the ad, filmed in a Laundromat, she plays a sexy customer who catches Doritos chips in her mouth as they come flying helter-skelter. The ad was such a success that Frito-Lay signed Landry, who became known as "The Doritos Girl," to a three-year contract.[34]

For the Super Bowl XLIV Doritos aired the "House Rules" commercial, as a "Crash the Super Bowl" finalist. It was ranked by ADBOWL as the second best ad of the year.

[RMuller]

French Fashion Designer Gets Called Out for Copying Indigenous Mixe Oaxacan Clothing Design

Isabel Marant, a popular French fashion designer, is under fire for allegedly trying to copyright a design used by an indigenous community from Oaxaca, Mexico.

It all began with this Marant blouse.

Her typical design aesthetic is bohemian, relaxed chic with a flare of pattern. Looks cool, right? Wait…


Earlier this year, several people noticed the blouse closely resembled this indigenous Mixe Oaxacan design.



The design you see above is a blouse worn by the Mixe community in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca. They’ve been there for hundreds of years.


Here’s a side-by-side comparison. The Oaxacan blouse costs 300 pesos (about $18). The Marant blouse sells for nearly $300.




Because before the style was in Paris, these women were proudly wearing them every day.

S*** really hit the fan when it was reported that Marant was seeking a copyright in France for the indigenous Oaxacan clothing design.

According to Vogue, Marant was battling with another clothing company, Antik Batik, which claimed to own the patent to the blouses.


If a patent was upheld, that means the Oaxacan community would have to pay the patent owner copyright fees to sell their blouses. Oaxaca’s secretary for indigenous issues responded by filing a lawsuit to claim the intellectual rights of the design from Isabel Marant and Antik Balik.

After all the uproar, a rep for Marant sent Vogue magazine a statement in which she formally denies owning a patent for the design:




Marant be “setting the record straight” in a Paris, but it’s clear she’s still influenced by indigenous designs. These are some designs from her Spring/Summer 2016 Collection:







Mexico Prevents Indigenous Designs From Being Culturally Appropriated — Again

French label Isabel Marant came under fire for ripping off and exploiting the Mixe community’s 600-year-old tradition

When designer Isabel Marant sent her spring/summer 2015 “Étoile” collection down the runway last year, she had no idea that the designs—which she later claimed were “inspired by” Mexico’s indigenous Mixe community—would spur that community to action against her for plagiarism. After a year that included social media outcry, protests at Marant’s New York store and a press conference held by the Mixe people, the group is finally getting some semblance of justice.

This month, Oaxaca’s congress declared the Mixe community’s traditional designs and language as Intangible Cultural Heritage per UNESCO guidelines. The protected status is not legally binding, but it recognizes that the designs are unique to, and originate in, Mixe culture.

But separately, Antik Batik tried to lay its own copyright claims to the design, and accused Marant of copying them. In December 2015, a French court ruled that neither Isabel Marant nor Antik Batik could copyright huipil shirts because they were a cultural artifact of the Mixe people.

Maria Reyna, Mixe Soprano singer

[RMuller]

MEXICAN SOAP OPERA STAR THALIA TAKES PHILIPPINES BY STORM.

People leave work early to watch her. Parents name their girls after her. Authorities told the power company to make sure there are no blackouts while she's on. And a Manila man gave his life for her, stabbed because he wouldn't change the channel.

The sensation is Thalia, the star of ``Mari Mar,'' a Mexican soap opera that has hit the Philippines with the force of a typhoon in the current monsoon season.

Thalia flies into the Philippines today on a trip that promises as much pomp as many state visits. President Fidel Ramos has invited her to the presidential palace, and Channel 9 plans to air live footage of the nine-day trip, which it is sponsoring at a reported cost of $400,000.

Just three weeks after debuting as the first Mexican soap opera on Filipino television, ``Mari Mar'' surged to the top of the ratings, pushing aside a rival network's once-invincible ``TV Patrol'' news magazine, long the top-ranked news show in the Philippines.

While foreign soaps like ``Dynasty'' have been popular here before, the ``Mari Mar'' phenomenon has reached an entirely different level. It is the most popular serial on Filipino television ever.


``Mari Mar'' tells the story of a peasant girl who comes to the city, entertaining passers-by as a clown on the streets in exchange for tips. She falls in love with her Prince Charming, but his stepmother separates them. The girl eventually discovers she is actually the daughter of a rich Mexican landlord and is reunited with her love.

The show, which aired in Mexico a year ago, is scheduled to finish in the Philippines in October - unlike American soap operas, Mexican soaps run from six months to a year.

Entire households have rescheduled their lives from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to watch the daily soap, which is dubbed into Tagalog. Hospitals report a wave of babies named ``Mari Mar,'' Thalia's role in the show. Throughout the country, stores and offices have begun closing early.

``I even sell my vegetables at a discount so I can get home early to watch `Mari Mar,' '' said Delia, a vegetable vendor at Manila's Paco market who gave only one name. ``The story is very Filipino and it gives me a good cry.''

The civil service has warned that government employees found sneaking away to watch the show will be reprimanded on the first offense and face dismissal on the second.

Lawmakers in the town of Guimba, north of Manila, ordered the local power company not to schedule any power outages during the daily broadcast.

``Very seldom do we see our people in Guimba preoccupied and mesmerized with such a soap opera, and to deprive them of such enjoyment would be to act like a killjoy,'' city council member Benny Rillo said.

One Manila man was even stabbed to death by a drunk cousin while watching ``Mari Mar'' because he refused to change to another channel.

Tabloids regularly feature photos of Thalia, a 25-year-old Mexican singer and actress, on their front pages. In a report on an earthquake in Mexico, the People's Tonight newspaper reported that the quake had affected the city where Thalia was born - and featured a picture of her in a mermaid costume.

President Ramos has invited Thalia to the presidential palace, and wrote a letter to Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo saying that the series has created a ``new kind of Philippine-Mexico connection.''

[RMuller]

Califican visita a Chile de Jorge Negrete como "hito cultural"



visita que realizó a Chile el cantante y actor mexicano Jorge Negrete en 1946 marcó un "hito cultural" en este país sudamericano, donde corridos y rancheras juegan "de local" en la zona centro-sur.

No hay recuerdo en Chile de un recibimiento más grande que el de aquel 26 de junio de 1946. Eran cinco mil los fanáticos (en su mayoría mujeres) del cantante y actor mexicano Jorge Negrete que se agolparon alrededor de la Estación Mapocho esperando ver al ídolo en carne y hueso.




En el marco de la Feria Internacional del Libro de Santiago (Filsa), los historiadores chilenos César Albornoz y Jorge Iturriaga y el cantante mexicano Abel de la Fuente se refirieron a la figura de Negrete y al impacto que tuvo su estadía de casi un mes, a partir de junio de 1946.

Albornoz dijo en el conversatorio que "no existe una figura vinculada a la cultura de masas contemporánea que haya generado una relevancia tan significativa en el acontecer cultural y social chileno como la figura de Jorge Negrete".



"Me atrevo a afirmar que Jorge Negrete constituye el evento que consagra la cultura de masas en Santiago de Chile. El año 1946 quedó marcado por su visita, a partir de la cual se consagra la cultura popular de masas en este país", agregó.




"Hay toda una generación que recuerda a Negrete, que recuerda lo que estaba haciendo cuando se produjo la llegada de Negrete a Chile y es de los eventos que quedan en la memoria colectiva", acotó Albornoz.

El historiador indicó que las películas, música y visita del artista mexicano "constituyen una representación simbólica que da cuenta de significados de nuestra historia".

Puntualizó que ninguna figura internacional que haya visitado Chile ha generado el impacto que provocó la llegada de Negrete a la Estación Mapocho, un terminal de ferrocarriles que hoy alberga un centro cultural y por estos días a Filsa.

Albornoz subrayó que "el charro cantor es uno de los referentes de la cultura de masas a nivel latinoamericano, en gran parte porque la industria musical mexicana fue una de las más potentes de la región y también en el cine".

Por su parte, Iturriaga comentó que realizó un análisis a las películas "Ay Jalisco, no te rajes" (1941) y "Allá en el rancho grande" (1949), donde participó Negrete, y señaló que ambas "son una fiesta popular permanente".

"Hay fiesta, baile, cantos, serenatas, alcohol, cantina, carreras de caballos, naipes, apuestas, duelos, peleas de gallos, persecuciones y romances, elementos que hacen imposible que no hayan sido un hit en su época", indicó.

Añadió que "a partir de ahí estamos hablando de un producto que conecta directamente con la cultura popular campesina. Hay que recordar que la mitad de los chilenos en esos años eran campesinos y quienes llegaban a la ciudad desde el campo mantenían su identidad y hábitos campesinos".

Precisó que "al ver esa lista de estaciones y virtudes en estas películas uno se explica su éxito, porque conectaban con una fibra popular festiva, algo que el cine militante y comprometido de la década de los 60 consideró como distractor".

Recordó que en una visita a Argentina, en 1992, constató que la hinchada de Boca Juniors había adaptado el tema "Allá en el rancho grande" a los cánticos de la barra, "y eso me pareció fascinante y quedé con esa canción pegada varios años. Era el principal cántico del club, la más cantada y la más festiva".

Mientras que Abel de la Fuente recordó que poco después de su llegada a Chile, en 1999, se sorprendió por "el gusto que tienen los chilenos por las canciones mexicanas", tras lo cual aseguró que la figura de Negrete "es un ejemplo a seguir por todos los cantantes".

"Todos querían cantar como Jorge Negrete, por el sentimiento que le daba a las canciones. Cuando canto me siento como Jorge Negrete, no le llego a los talones, pero me transporto, me siento en una escena de una película romántica dando una serenata", señaló.

De la Fuente aprovechó la oportunidad para cantar algunos temas populares mexicanos, los que fueron aclamados por los asistentes al conversatorio sobre la figura del llamado "charro cantor" y su vínculo con este país sudamericano.

La llegada de Negrete a Chile, que dejó 18 heridos, congregó a varios miles de personas en las afueras de la Estación Mapocho y en el centro de la capital, en una estadía que contempló visitas a radios y seis actuaciones en dos teatros de esta capital, entre otras muchas actividades.



https://www.terra.com/entretenimient...ewl9x9khz.html



No hay recuerdo en Chile de un recibimiento más grande que el de aquel 26 de junio de 1946. Eran cinco mil los fanáticos (en su mayoría mujeres) del cantante y actor mexicano Jorge Negrete que se agolparon alrededor de la Estación Mapocho esperando ver al ídolo en carne y hueso.

Proveniente desde Buenos Aires, Negrete descendía del tren para subirse a un auto descapotable y desatar la algarabía de la gente mientras se trasladaba al Hotel Carrera, ubicado en la esquina de calle Teatinos con Agustinas. Luego recorrería Santiago, cantando en distintas radios y escenarios, acercando aún más a dos pueblos hermanos.

Ya han pasado 70 años y tal hecho marcó a la sociedad chilena, nunca un ídolo popular tuvo tal tipo de recepción. Es por eso que la Cineteca Nacional de Chile, la Embajada de México y la Cineteca Nacional de México se han propuesto celebrar como corresponde a uno de los mayores ídolos latinos de la historia con la exhibición de cinco de sus más famosas películas.

Así, desde el jueves 23 hasta el lunes 27 de junio, en la Sala de Cine de la Cineteca Nacional de Chile en el Centro Cultural La Moneda, el público podrá ver -para descubrir o revisitar- el encanto del llamado “Charro Cantor”. Un magnetismo que se expresaba en la gran popularidad con la que gozaban sus filmes, en donde además interpretaba sus pegajosas rancheras, en los cines de todo Chile.

http://www.ccplm.cl/sitio/muestra-70...jorge-negrete/


JORGE NEGRETE VISITA CHILE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d9MNU6PcuI

[RMuller]

TACO BELL

Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., they serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "value menu" items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year at 7,000 restaurants, more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees and licensees.




Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell, who first opened a hot dog stand called Bell's Drive-In in San Bernardino, California[3] in 1946 when he was 23 years old. In 1950, he opened Bell's Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in San Bernardino's West Side barrio. According to Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, Bell watched long lines of customers at a Mexican restaurant called the Mitla Cafe, located across the street, which attracted a dedicated customer base for its hard-shelled tacos.[4][5] Bell began eating there regularly, attempting to reverse-engineer the recipe, and eventually won the confidence of the proprietors such that they allowed him to see how the tacos and other foods were prepared.[4][5] In late 1951 or early 1952, he took what he had learned and opened a new stand, this time selling tacos under the name of Taco-Tia.[4][5]

Over the next few years, Bell owned and operated a number of restaurants in southern California including four called El Taco. Bell sold the El Tacos to his partner and built the first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962. In 1962, he sold Taco-Tia. Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police officer, bought the first Taco Bell franchise from Glen Bell in 1964,[3] and located it in Torrance. The company grew rapidly, and by 1967, the 100th restaurant opened at 400 South Brookhurst in Anaheim. In 1968, its first franchise location east of the Mississippi River opened in Springfield, Ohio.[6] In 1970, Taco Bell went public with 325 restaurants. In 1978, PepsiCo purchased Taco Bell from Glen Bell.[3] On the night of Nov. 19, 2015, the original Taco Bell building in Downey was moved to the Taco Bell Corporate Headquarters in Irvine, CA.[7]



Outside the United States

CANADA
Taco Bell has been present in Canada since 1981 with the first store opening in Windsor, Ontario. For some time it was possible to order draft beer with one's order. Taco Bell offers free soda refills in its stores.

There are currently Taco Bell locations in 7 of the 10 Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.[77]



CHILE
Taco Bell has fourteen stores in Chile, thirteen of which are operated in conjunction (and in the same facilities) with Pizza Hut. All Taco Bell stores are in shopping malls located mainly in Santiago.


GREECE
Greece's first Taco Bell opened in Athens upon the grand opening of the newly constructed Athens Metro Mall on November 30, 2010.[80][81] The restaurant closed in August 2012 and the chain withdrew from the Greek market due to the country's recession.[82]


INDIA
India's first Taco Bell outlet opened at the Mantri Square mall, Bangalore.[84] Another outlet at the Gopalan Mall, Bangalore opened in February 2011.


JAPAN
Taco Bell once opened shops at Tokyo and Nagoya in the 1980s but withdrew in several years[85] and there are shops only in United States Forces Japan bases.[86] But in 2015, Taco Bell decided to challenge again and opened new shop at downtown area of Shibuya, Tokyo.[85] It has "Taco rice" and "Shrimp and avocado burrito" as its original menu.[87]


SPAIN
Spain is the most important market for Taco Bell inside Europe. There are 32 Taco Bell branches in Spain.[94] The first Taco Bell in Spain was opened at Naval Station Rota in 2004 and is available only to those authorized to access the naval base.[95] The first Taco Bell for the public was opened in the Islazul Shopping Mall, Madrid, in December 2008.[96] Yum! Brands announced that it would open additional restaurants in Spain in early 2009 as part of a test trial for the European market.[97][98] The second location of Taco Bell in Spain was opened at the La Vaguada Shopping Mall, Madrid (03/2010). Taco Bell announced, at least, 10 new restaurants through Spain.[99]


As on March 2017, there are 32 Taco Bell restaurants in Spain; 13 of them are in Madrid, and the other 19 Taco Bell are distributed through Valencia (5), Málaga (2), Barcelona (2), Zaragoza (2), Alicante (2) and Jerez de la Frontera, Murcia, Cádiz, Granada, Sevilla and Naval Station Rota with 1 restaurant.[94]




SOUTH KOREA
There are currently two locations in Seoul, in the Itaewon and Hongdae districts, which attract the most foreigners and college students. The two branches opened in the summer of 2010, Itaewon's branch coming first. A Taco Bell had long been a presence at the U.S. Army's Yongsan Garrison, which is off-limits to non-military people, and for a time there was a tongue-in-cheek grassroots campaign by non-Korean, non-military foreigners in Seoul to get another Taco Bell location.[100]


UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom was the first European country with a Taco Bell. In 1986, a location was opened in London on Coventry Street (between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus) followed by a second location in Earls Court near the Earl's Court tube station. One other store opened in Uxbridge but all closed in the mid-1990s.[102] In 1994, the university food provider Compass announced plans for outlets on its university and college sites. However, only one store was opened at Birmingham University, which is now closed.[103][104]


After the Birmingham University branch closed, there were only two Taco Bell branches in the UK, at the Strategic Air Command and United States Air Force bases at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. Access is restricted to relevant service personnel.[105]


In the late 2000s, Yum! Brands announced that it was reopening Taco Bell locations in the United Kingdom as part of a large planned expansion into Europe. Yum! is taking advantage of the recent recession which led to increasing sales at other fast food outlets; it also said that there was now a greater awareness of Mexican food in the UK and that it can be successful with improved menu offerings and marketing.[97][98] The first new store opened at the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex on June 28, 2010.[106] Another store opened in Basildon, Essex on November 29, 2010, and a third in the Manchester Arndale Food Court on November 7, 2011.

On March 1, 2013, it was announced that horse meat had been found in Taco Bell's beef in the UK, hampering the chain's growth in that already-stubborn market.[107]

As of December 2016, there are 14 Taco Bell branches in the UK from Southampton in the south of England to Manchester in the north.[108]



SAUDI ARABIA
Taco Bell has two restaurants in Riyadh and one in Khobar.



PHILIPINES
Taco Bell opened its first Philippine branch on October 30, 2004, at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City. They now have one on the ground floor and one on the fourth floor in the food court at the Gateway Mall. They have also added another branch at the TriNoma mall in Quezon City.

ICELAND
Taco Bell in Iceland is operated as a part of the KFC establishment in Hafnarfjörður, suburb of Reykjavík. It was established in late 2006, after the departure of the U.S. Navy from Naval Air Station Keflavik. A second location opened in the Ártúnshöfði part of Reykjavik in November 2008.[83] The Ártúnshöfði location is now closed and replaced by a new location in the nearby area of Grafarholt (together with KFC).[citation needed]

CYPRUS
A Taco Bell opened in Cyprus in December 2009 in Limassol at the MY MALL Limassol. Further restaurants are planned to be opened within the next 18 months (probably also in Cyprus' capital Nicosia).[78]


FINLAND
On June 15, 2017, Finnish restaurant company Restel (fi) announced that it's bringing Taco Bell to Finland. The first outlet is going to open in Helsinki region in fall 2017.[79]



OTHER COUNTRIES
Taco Bell is present in the Dominican Republic, Guam, Aruba, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and on AAFES military bases in Germany, Iraq, Brazil, Guatemala,[109] and El Salvador ETC .[110] Taco Bell relaunched in the Chinese market when a store opened in Pudong, Shanghai in late 2015.

[Selurong]

TACO BELL

Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., they serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "value menu" items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year at 7,000 restaurants, more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees and licensees.




Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell, who first opened a hot dog stand called Bell's Drive-In in San Bernardino, California[3] in 1946 when he was 23 years old. In 1950, he opened Bell's Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in San Bernardino's West Side barrio. According to Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, Bell watched long lines of customers at a Mexican restaurant called the Mitla Cafe, located across the street, which attracted a dedicated customer base for its hard-shelled tacos.[4][5] Bell began eating there regularly, attempting to reverse-engineer the recipe, and eventually won the confidence of the proprietors such that they allowed him to see how the tacos and other foods were prepared.[4][5] In late 1951 or early 1952, he took what he had learned and opened a new stand, this time selling tacos under the name of Taco-Tia.[4][5]

Over the next few years, Bell owned and operated a number of restaurants in southern California including four called El Taco. Bell sold the El Tacos to his partner and built the first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962. In 1962, he sold Taco-Tia. Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police officer, bought the first Taco Bell franchise from Glen Bell in 1964,[3] and located it in Torrance. The company grew rapidly, and by 1967, the 100th restaurant opened at 400 South Brookhurst in Anaheim. In 1968, its first franchise location east of the Mississippi River opened in Springfield, Ohio.[6] In 1970, Taco Bell went public with 325 restaurants. In 1978, PepsiCo purchased Taco Bell from Glen Bell.[3] On the night of Nov. 19, 2015, the original Taco Bell building in Downey was moved to the Taco Bell Corporate Headquarters in Irvine, CA.[7]



Outside the United States

CANADA
Taco Bell has been present in Canada since 1981 with the first store opening in Windsor, Ontario. For some time it was possible to order draft beer with one's order. Taco Bell offers free soda refills in its stores.

There are currently Taco Bell locations in 7 of the 10 Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.[77]



CHILE
Taco Bell has fourteen stores in Chile, thirteen of which are operated in conjunction (and in the same facilities) with Pizza Hut. All Taco Bell stores are in shopping malls located mainly in Santiago.


GREECE
Greece's first Taco Bell opened in Athens upon the grand opening of the newly constructed Athens Metro Mall on November 30, 2010.[80][81] The restaurant closed in August 2012 and the chain withdrew from the Greek market due to the country's recession.[82]


INDIA
India's first Taco Bell outlet opened at the Mantri Square mall, Bangalore.[84] Another outlet at the Gopalan Mall, Bangalore opened in February 2011.


JAPAN
Taco Bell once opened shops at Tokyo and Nagoya in the 1980s but withdrew in several years[85] and there are shops only in United States Forces Japan bases.[86] But in 2015, Taco Bell decided to challenge again and opened new shop at downtown area of Shibuya, Tokyo.[85] It has "Taco rice" and "Shrimp and avocado burrito" as its original menu.[87]


SPAIN
Spain is the most important market for Taco Bell inside Europe. There are 32 Taco Bell branches in Spain.[94] The first Taco Bell in Spain was opened at Naval Station Rota in 2004 and is available only to those authorized to access the naval base.[95] The first Taco Bell for the public was opened in the Islazul Shopping Mall, Madrid, in December 2008.[96] Yum! Brands announced that it would open additional restaurants in Spain in early 2009 as part of a test trial for the European market.[97][98] The second location of Taco Bell in Spain was opened at the La Vaguada Shopping Mall, Madrid (03/2010). Taco Bell announced, at least, 10 new restaurants through Spain.[99]


As on March 2017, there are 32 Taco Bell restaurants in Spain; 13 of them are in Madrid, and the other 19 Taco Bell are distributed through Valencia (5), Málaga (2), Barcelona (2), Zaragoza (2), Alicante (2) and Jerez de la Frontera, Murcia, Cádiz, Granada, Sevilla and Naval Station Rota with 1 restaurant.[94]




SOUTH KOREA
There are currently two locations in Seoul, in the Itaewon and Hongdae districts, which attract the most foreigners and college students. The two branches opened in the summer of 2010, Itaewon's branch coming first. A Taco Bell had long been a presence at the U.S. Army's Yongsan Garrison, which is off-limits to non-military people, and for a time there was a tongue-in-cheek grassroots campaign by non-Korean, non-military foreigners in Seoul to get another Taco Bell location.[100]


UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom was the first European country with a Taco Bell. In 1986, a location was opened in London on Coventry Street (between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus) followed by a second location in Earls Court near the Earl's Court tube station. One other store opened in Uxbridge but all closed in the mid-1990s.[102] In 1994, the university food provider Compass announced plans for outlets on its university and college sites. However, only one store was opened at Birmingham University, which is now closed.[103][104]


After the Birmingham University branch closed, there were only two Taco Bell branches in the UK, at the Strategic Air Command and United States Air Force bases at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. Access is restricted to relevant service personnel.[105]


In the late 2000s, Yum! Brands announced that it was reopening Taco Bell locations in the United Kingdom as part of a large planned expansion into Europe. Yum! is taking advantage of the recent recession which led to increasing sales at other fast food outlets; it also said that there was now a greater awareness of Mexican food in the UK and that it can be successful with improved menu offerings and marketing.[97][98] The first new store opened at the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex on June 28, 2010.[106] Another store opened in Basildon, Essex on November 29, 2010, and a third in the Manchester Arndale Food Court on November 7, 2011.

On March 1, 2013, it was announced that horse meat had been found in Taco Bell's beef in the UK, hampering the chain's growth in that already-stubborn market.[107]

As of December 2016, there are 14 Taco Bell branches in the UK from Southampton in the south of England to Manchester in the north.[108]



SAUDI ARABIA
Taco Bell has two restaurants in Riyadh and one in Khobar.



PHILIPINES
Taco Bell opened its first Philippine branch on October 30, 2004, at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City. They now have one on the ground floor and one on the fourth floor in the food court at the Gateway Mall. They have also added another branch at the TriNoma mall in Quezon City.

ICELAND
Taco Bell in Iceland is operated as a part of the KFC establishment in Hafnarfjörður, suburb of Reykjavík. It was established in late 2006, after the departure of the U.S. Navy from Naval Air Station Keflavik. A second location opened in the Ártúnshöfði part of Reykjavik in November 2008.[83] The Ártúnshöfði location is now closed and replaced by a new location in the nearby area of Grafarholt (together with KFC).[citation needed]

CYPRUS
A Taco Bell opened in Cyprus in December 2009 in Limassol at the MY MALL Limassol. Further restaurants are planned to be opened within the next 18 months (probably also in Cyprus' capital Nicosia).[78]


FINLAND
On June 15, 2017, Finnish restaurant company Restel (fi) announced that it's bringing Taco Bell to Finland. The first outlet is going to open in Helsinki region in fall 2017.[79]



OTHER COUNTRIES
Taco Bell is present in the Dominican Republic, Guam, Aruba, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and on AAFES military bases in Germany, Iraq, Brazil, Guatemala,[109] and El Salvador ETC .[110] Taco Bell relaunched in the Chinese market when a store opened in Pudong, Shanghai in late 2015.

Mexican cuisine is the best in the world. I love eating Tacos and Burritos.

[RMuller]

Mexican cuisine is the best in the world. I love eating Tacos and Burritos.

When i have time i will post Mexican influence in Filipino cuisine. Or you can do it too.

[Fractal]

When i have time i will post Mexican influence in Filipino cuisine. Or you can do it too.

Pretty sure most people outside of North America would find Taco Bell to be disgusting.

You're overrating mexican influence and burritos and tacos.

[Selurong]

When i have time i will post Mexican influence in Filipino cuisine. Or you can do it too.

I'll do it. I'll post my research here at a later time.