At 14 years old, Blanca Gonzalez had no interest in the traditional quinceañera her family might have expected—she wanted a car. So, she struck a deal with her dad: if she wanted that car for her 15th birthday, she’d spend the summer with her grandmother in Mexico learning the family recipes. Blanca traded a party for two months in the kitchen.

Blanca’s grandmother and great-grandmother had built a life around food in Monterrey, Mexico. Her great-grandmother ran a small eatery connected to her ranch, serving food made from what was grown and raised there. Blanca learned the recipes, practiced until her tortillas puffed perfectly, and came home as the person her family could count on for tamales, holiday dinners, and dishes passed down through generations.

Years later, after stepping away from her corporate career to raise her children, Blanca was ready for something of her own. Her family had been telling her for years that she should sell her tacos. Eventually, they stopped suggesting and started building. Her brother-in-law had an old truck he could give her. Her dad, who restored antique cars, offered to turn it into a food truck as his retirement project. Her mom helped source parts from all over North America, which is why Blanca nicknamed it “Frankenstein.” Her kids came up with the business name, International Truck of Tacos, a true testament to the family affair.

At first, she wasn’t convinced this would work. Then her dad called—the truck was ready. Getting it from Mexico to Charlotte took nearly a year of paperwork, research, and persistence, but by then, the whole family had put something into it.

““I was afraid, but I had a purpose. I had support. I had a passion. Now, I’m full of GRATITUDE.””

— Blanca Gonzalez

Before officially opening, she tested recipes with her neighbors, handing out taco samples with questionnaires and asking for honest feedback. Soon, people were knocking on her door asking for more. International Truck of Tacos—or ITOT for short—officially began in 2018. As the truck grew, Blanca began creating part-time opportunities for women, mothers, and immigrants looking for work, something she understood personally after years away from the workforce raising her own children.

For Blanca, sharing her heritage has never been limited to what comes across the counter. It can live in a recipe learned from your grandmother, in knowing exactly when a tortilla is ready, in a father rebuilding an old truck because he believes in his daughter, in a mother helping fill that truck with everything it needs, and in kids giving the family business its name. It can live in giving someone a shift when they need extra income, in teaching someone what you know, and in creating space for another person to build something of their own. And it can live in tacos, too.

Today, Blanca describes herself as a proud Mexican American, grateful for both parts of who she is and for the community that has welcomed International Truck of Tacos. “There are many more people that love us than the ones that don’t,” she said.

Eight years in, the truck may have started with family recipes and one very determined Frankenstein build, but the table Blanca has created around it keeps getting bigger.

That is what Hispanic Heritage Month gives us a chance to celebrate: not only the food and traditions, but the people carrying them forward. Stories like Blanca’s remind us why it matters to know the people behind what we eat, where their traditions come from, and what they are building for the next generation.

And sometimes, that story starts with a taco.

Get Blanca’s Carnitas Recipe →