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Ignacio Anaya
Ignacio Anaya
Born	Ignacio Anaya García; 15 August 1895; Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico
Died	November 9, 1975 (aged 80); Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico
Occupation(s)	maître d', restaurateur
Known for	Inventor of nachos
Spouse	Marie Antoinette Salinas
Children	9

Ignacio Anaya García (15 August 1895 – 9 November 1975) was a Mexican maître d'hotel^[1]^[2] who invented the popular Tex-Mex dish nachos at the Victory Club restaurant a couple miles from the border of Texas in Mexico in 1940.^[1]^[3]^[4]^[2] After nachos grew in popularity, Anaya was promoted to chef, and he eventually started his own restaurant in the 1960s.^[3]

His nickname was Nacho, derived from the Spanish Ignacio, the Spanish version of Ignatius.^[5]

Life and career

Born in San Carlos, Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua, Mexico^[3] on 15 August 1895,^[6] he worked at the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, a restaurant close to the US border and popular with Americans from a nearby base during World War II. Anaya created nachos while working there one day in 1943 ^[1]^[3] when a group of US Army wives entered and the chef was nowhere to be found.^[4] As recounted by his son:

My father was maître d' and he said 'Let me go quick and fix something for you.' He went into the kitchen, picked up tostadas, grated some cheese on them—Wisconsin cheese, the round one—and put them under the salamander (a broiling unit that browns the top of foods). He pulled them out after a couple of minutes, all melted, and put on a slice of jalapeño.
— Ignacio Anaya Jr.^[2]

The dish became so popular, the owner of the Victory Club, Roberto de los Santos, put his creation on the menu as Nacho's Especiales.^[3] When the Victory Club closed in 1961, Anaya opened his own restaurant, Nacho's Restaurant, in Piedras Negras.^[3]^[7]

Anaya married Marie Antoinette Salinas, with whom he had 9 children.^[8]

Death and legacy

Anaya died on 9 November 1975,^[6] leaving a son, Ignacio Anaya Jr., who went into banking,^[9] and 5 other surviving children.^[8] Posthumously, he was honored with a bronze plaque in Piedras Negras.^[10] To celebrate Anaya's invention, the city of Piedras Negras holds a three-day Nacho Fest every year around October 21, the International Day of the Nacho.^[3]

Smithsonian Magazine ranked nachos as a sports stadium favorite in 1976, following the invention of a processed cheese sauce by Frank Liberto.^[10] Howard Cosell added to the popularity of nachos during a September 4, 1978 NFL game by weaving "nachos" into his commentary.^[11] Although the original nachos contained only three ingredients, nachos can now be found with a wide variety of toppings, reflecting the enduring popularity of Anaya's contribution.^[12]^[13]

On 15 August 2019, Google honored Anaya with a Doodle celebrating what would have been his 124th birthday.^[14]^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c LaRoche, Clarence J. (May 23, 1954). "Nacho's? Natch!". San Antonio Express and News.
^ ^a ^b ^c Haram, Karen (2002-02-14). "The Legend of Nacho's Appetizer". Sun Sentinel. Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Action Line". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. March 25, 1974.
^ ^a ^b Andrew F. Smith (March 2009). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. pp. 209–10. ISBN 978-0195387094.
^ "Nach derivation". latina.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019. Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio, the Spanish form of Ignatius.
^ ^a ^b Berrueto, Gonazález (1999). "Anaya Garcia, Ignacio". Diccionario biográfico de Coahuila. Gobierno del Estado. ISBN 9789687568287.
^ Salter, Bill (June 15, 1969). "'Nacho' Inventor Hasn't Profited". San Antonio Express and News.
^ ^a ^b Jiménez 2008.
^ Ellerbee 2005, p. 74.
^ ^a ^b Andrew, Scott (15 August 2019). "Thursday's Google Doodle honors the man who invented nachos". CNN. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ Munsey; Suppes. "Arlington Stadium". Ballparks.com. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
^ "History". Originators of Concession Nachos. Ricos Products Co., Inc. Archived from the original on 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
^ Sokolov, Raymond (2006-02-06). "The Search for the Perfect Nacho". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
^ Young, Sarah (15 August 2019). "Ignacio Anaya García: Google Doodle honours the man who invented nachos". The Independent. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ Brett Molina (15 August 2019). "Chips and cheese: Google's latest doodle honors Ignacio Anaya García, the inventor of nachos". USA Today. Retrieved 16 August 2019.

Sources

Berrueto González, Arturo (1999). "Anaya Garcia, Ignacio". Diccionario biográfico de Coahuila. Gobierno del Estado. ISBN 9789687568287.
Browning-Blas, Kristen (May 11, 2005). "Ellerbee's looking forward to next bite". Denver Post. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
Nickel, Sandra and Oliver Dominguez (2020). Nacho's Nachos: The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack. New York: Lee and Low. ISBN 9781620143698.
Ellerbee, Linda (2005). Take Big Bites: Adventures Around the World and Across the Table. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 9780399152689.
"Ignacio Anaya García's 124th Birthday". Google.com. 15 August 2019.
Herrera-Sobek, Maria, ed. (2012). "Nachos". Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions. ABC-CLIO. p. 825. ISBN 9780313343407.
Jiménez, José Luis (2008-11-01). "Honran a don Ignacio Anaya en universidad". ZÓCALO.
Orr, Adriana P. (July 1999). "Nachos, anyone?". OED News. Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
Walsh, Robb (2004). The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos. Broadway Books. ISBN 9780767914888.