The Journey
I bet you had tried Mexican gastronomy before, and tacos are the most consumed dish out of all the extense variety there is, and if you haven't tried it yet, you are definitely missing of something good.
To give some backround about this Mexican dish, we have to go back to the Pre-Columbian period, where it has its origins, not as the well elaborated tacos we know these days but as the concept of adding meat, salt and salsas to a tortilla made of corn or flour.
Moctezuma, an Aztec Emperor used to use a tortilla as a spoon to eat his food so he wouldn't get his hands dirty, now we don't care about get them dirty, as long as the tacos are tasty and delicious.
Variety
We find all kind of tacos, from the normal corn size tortilla to tacos piratas wich are normally made of flour tortilla and are real big.
There is also a way to distinguish the plenty variety, and is: by meat, or by its elaboration.
The most commons ones are:
Taco al Pastor
The main ingredient for this taco it's pork meat, marinated with achiote, orange, vinegar, pepper and sometimes combined with chopped pineapple.
Taco de Cochinita
It's a well know taco which has its origins in Yucatán, a southern state of México, which consist in the same pork meat but it has previously been cooked inside a hole on the ground with heated stones.
Also its marinated in achiote with a perfect combination of habanero pepper, red onions and garlic. It has became very popular in London, where British palates often choose Tacos de Cochinita among the rest.
Taco de Barbacoa
Then we have this little bad guy, usually elaborated with ram or lamb meat, or beef in the northern states, accompanied with onion, coriander and lamb stew. It's a custome that families get together on Sundays and usually eat Barbacoa or Carne Asada.
And we can keep going, but we would never finish.
So:
Some other examples are Tacos de Pollo(Chicken) , de Camarón(Shrimp), de Sesos( Brains), de Tripas(Guts)...
Salsas
And last but not least, Salsas are one of the most important combination when we talk about tacos. It makes the difference betwen a regular taco and a magnificent one.
Made of roasted tomatoes, garlic, coriander, onion and salt, Salsa Suadero, it's perfect for Tacos de Bisteck.
Salsa Verde, made of green tomatillo, serrano pepper, onion and garlic.
Pico de Gallo, made of chopped tomato and onion, serrano pepper or jalapeño, coriander, salt and pepper. Especially for Tacos de Arrachera or Carne Asada.
Salsa Borracha, made out of pasilla chile, Pulque ( alcoholic beverage fermented from Agave Plant )
And well Guacamole, you all probably heard of it, made of Avocado, onion, tomato, salt, and garlic.
