Finding great flavors and street food from the Mexican interior to the Peruvian highlands and all points in between—from south to Tierra Del Fuego and north to Ensenada, with Cal-Mex, Tex-Mex and New-Yorkican (Puerto Rico)—that’s the easy part. Translating those flavors into prepared foods that maintain the integrity and authenticity that consumers demand is the challenge.
Latin flavors are experiencing a strong upward surge, for good reason. There already are large parts of the US (especially California, Texas, and New Mexico) in which non-Hispanics are the minority. US Census Bureau data indicate that by mid-century, about a third of the population will be comprised of persons of Latin/Hispanic background. (Meanwhile, the Caucasian population is expected to drop from around 62% to about 56%.)