Tio’s Tacos

Artist Martin Sanchez immigrated to Riverside with his family at a young age from Michoacan, Mexico in 1984. Martin expresses the poverty he experienced in Mexico as inspiration for his sustainable practices at Tio’s Tacos. This restaurant is home to traditional Mexican cuisine, surrounded by unique and novel art. His art holds representations of Latinx culture and sustainability activism. When he came to the U.S. he did not understand the American culture of waste. The “trash” in his pieces are really symbols of alternative lifestyles, rooted in Latinidad.

Originally he sold tacos outside the land, before eventually saving enough money to purchase the property and create the restaurant. Martin expresses that this is a testament to economic resilience, this is the same entrepreneurship expressed in Barrio to the Burbs. Through art, Tio’s Tacos symbolizes deep Michoacan culture, sustainability, and inspiration for upward socioeconomic mobility.

Giant Sculptures Inhabit the Mexican Restaurant. Source: Tio’s Tacos

A Pair of Sculptures Exhibit Their Love for Eachother in the Garden. Source: Tio’s Tacos

The Restaurant Portrays Its Dual Mexican/American Identity Reflecting in the Art, Architecture, and Nature. Source: Tio’s Tacos

Works cited

1. Tio’s Tacos Restaurant: Riverside, Ca 92501. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tiostacos1.com/index.html
2. Brandeis, G. (2021, January 19). Tio’s Tacos: Riverside’s folk art wonderland. Retrieved from https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/tios-tacos-riversides-folk-art-wonderland
3. Vallejo, Jody Agius. (2012). “Chapter Three: Barrios to Burbs, Divergent Class Backgrounds and Pathways into the Middle Class.” Barrios to Burbs: The Making of the Mexican-American Middle Class, Stanford University Press.

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Cite this article

Hector De Leon. "Tio’s Tacos." Barrio Suburbanisms. https://uclachicanxstudies.github.io/BarrioSuburbanisms/#/article/2021-02-20-hectordeleonpin1