The Soundtrack to Eating: Craving Some Mexican Food

Satisfy your musical cravings with a Mexican food-inspired playlist cooked up by a writer who is homesick and really wants some Mexican food.

The Soundtrack to Eating is a series in which staff writers write about how food and music are intertwined.

Written by Micaela Garza
Illustrated by Jesse Hu Jenkinson

Lately, I’ve really been missing home. Specifically, I miss the local cuisine from my Mexican-American community in the Rio Grande Valley. Austin has great restaurants, but it's hard to get that authentic taste and emulate the natural “valley” atmosphere: a baby crying, your tios arguing, and cumbias blaring from a speaker system in the backyard.

This is a playlist for when you’re really craving some Mexican food: for when you’re in the kitchen whipping up tacos de bistec for dinner, or making migas, frijoles, and arroz with handmade tortillas for brunch. This playlist features songs inspired by the mariachis at family restaurants, songs my dad would play when he grilled the carne asada, and hits from my childhood with a sprinkle of newer Latinx artists.

Hopefully this playlist satisfies a craving you didn’t know you had!