No Passport Required

[ Bell ringing ] Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is the good stuff.

-Yeah.

-This is tongue taco?

-Mm-hmm, tongue taco.

-Oh, this is beautiful.

-Awesome.

-Great.

Is is good?

This is so good.

Oh, my God.

Ooh.

Oh, my God, this is good.

Oh, wow.

This is amazing.

This is, like, a three-star Michelin dish, this.

I mean, think about it.

-Yep.

The preparation, the texture of the tortilla -- we just take it for granted because it's affordable.

Yeah.

Right.

If this would be $100, it would still be value for money.

Do you know what I mean?

-Right.

You know how messed up that is?

Yeah.

But the good thing about that -- it is cheap, it is here.

Yeah.

No, no, I-I -- I'm not suggesting raising the prices.

I'm just saying, "This is gold right in front of you."

You know, you guys value it 'cause it's here.

It's in your neighborhood.

I feel like the Mexican community in America is what made America taste great again, right?

So they should have a big thank you.

But you take away the Mexican-American community in this country... -Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

...our food does not taste good.

This is just -- that's hands-down.

And every chef that I ever worked with would agree with that.

I agree with that, too.

You know, I mean, what would it taste like?

I have no idea.

-No idea.

Hard-shell tacos are not that tasty... Yeah.

...but I will eat them sometimes.

[ Laughs ] You don't like that.

[ Both laugh ] Oh, my God.

I'm Chef Marcus Samuelsson, and as an immigrant born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, food, to me, has always told a deeper, more personal story.

It's a path to culture, identity, and history.

Now it's a party.

I'm going across the country to learn more about America's immigrant communities and culinary traditions to see how food connects us all across the United States.

"No Passport Required" was made possible in part by Samuelsson: Chicago is an amazing food city, actually one of the best in the country.

It's also the home of some of the best chefs ever in this country.

The James Beard Awards holds its big awards there, which is really the Oscars of the food world.

There's also a really cool emerging Mexican food movement that is really creating dishes at the highest level.

Mexican food is very often thought of, in this country, as inexpensive fast food, just road food that we have learned to love.

But there's a whole new generation of Mexican chefs that really are putting a new value proposition of what Mexican-American food can and should be.

I was surprised to know that almost two million Mexican Americans call Chicago home.

Mexicans have been coming to Chicago for over 100 years to find work and contribute tremendously to this incredible city.

They have created tight-knit communities in areas such as Little Village, Back of the Yards, and Pilsen, which is really considered the heart of the Latino community today.

But it's a really challenging time of the Mexican-American community today from building the wall to ICE raids to ending DACA.

These policies are threatening the people, the culture, and the food scene, but not only throughout Chicago, but actually throughout the whole country.

The restaurant and hospitality industry without the Mexican's contribution, the Mexican laborer would collapse.

That's how vital the Mexican-American community is in America.

This is a lovely spot.

This is not my place, but you're always welcome.

Well, we're in... You picked it, so... Yeah, I picked it.

It's a favorite.

So we're talking about a convenience store, a butcher shop, a bar.

And a taqueria all in one.

-All in one.

You couldn't get any better than that.

In "Hotel California," you can never leave, right?

Exactly.

My buddy Juan is an artist in the South Side of Chicago.

Juan: I have different ideas that I've explored through my work.

Adaptation is one of them.

In Chicago, you constantly have to adapt to different communities and different situations.

I go around looking for materials all throughout the city and alleyways and buildings, flea markets.

I love materials of triumph, direction.

And I love materials of failure.

I utilize these materials to create installations that sort of make a connection to the viewer that there is something more here that meets the eye.

You were born in Mexico, right?

Yeah.

I was born in Mexico.

What region?

I was born in northern Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Yeah.

What was the food you grew up with in Chihuahua?

Um, well, Chihuahua is a place of lots of meat.

See, it goes with the agricultural parts.

-Yeah.

-So it's wheats and meats and cattle ranching and all that.

The way the grilled beef is differently in every state because, you know, every state has their own methods.

So the way that I grew up... -Yeah.

...everyday food had a lot to do with meat.

Hey.

How are you, man?

-Oh, man.

-What do we got?

-Cecina.

-Explain to me what we got.

So cecina, this is, like, beef jerky tacos.

-Yeah.

-All right?

And I really like this one is complemented with beans in it, which I've never seen that before in a taco, right?

That's really good.

You tell me what you think.

Oh, it's so delicious.

This is the perfect bite because it's strong meat, you have some avocado, you have some cooked tortillas, like -- -Right.

You have everything.

-Really, really delicious.

Exactly.

You have everything in one bite.

Yeah, this cecina, it doesn't even taste like beef jerky.

It doesn't even feel like beef jerky.

I don't know how they reconstitute it to get that.

Mm-hmm.

And this is really also a preserving technique, right?

-Right.

-Because it's been air-dried and some spices on it.

Right, exactly.

I mean, that is the old way of cooking.

Ooh, you got more?

-Ohh!

Ahh!

-Ahh!

-My favorite.

-Nice.

I love this stuff.

The texture of cactus is so great.

It's, like, so slimy and good, man.

-And it's so good for you.

-Oh, it's healthy?

Oh, yeah, of course it's healthy -- it's green.

Yeah, yeah.

[ Laughs ] You talking about, this is the new kale?

-It is the new kale.

-Of course!

You know, I loved it as a kid.

And you know, growing up in northern Mexico, this is -- you have this a lot.

It has that okra sliminess.

Mm-hmm.

That's true.

It also has that sophistication.

Almost of the French bean or something like that, right?

-Mm-hmm.

This -- I love it.

It's great.

-These are great.

These are grilled.

-Mm-hmm.

So you're at the ranch, at home, learning your craft, and you're a country boy.

Mm-hmm.

And then you come into this massive, big-city, urban Chicago.

That must've been a culture shock.

The culture was different, definitely.

I mean, if you can imagine, I came here in the winter of '85, maybe it was, like, going on '86.

-Yeah.

I show up to seventh grade, right, by wearing... -T-shirt?

Oh, no, wearing a nice cowboy shirt with, like, you know, the snap button, pearlita buttons and, like, tight Wranglers and cowboy boots.

I love it.

I love it.

And it's, like, and everybody is, like, in Chicago in '86.

That's my look!

That's my look!

And everybody's wearing, like, you know, parachute pants, break dancing, or if not that, they're looking like Michael Jackson in "Thriller."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, so it's, like, immediate culture shock.

Like, "Who the h--l is this kid?"

"Who is this kid?"

And then, you know, adaptation was rough.

You know, Chicago was rough.

Trying to adapt to here... -Uh-huh.

...I found kids on my block that were skateboarding.

And I was, "Hey, I can do that."

-Yeah.

-And then you sort of, like, opened up a whole-new avenue for me.

Yeah.

Juan and I are touring the Stockyard District, which was essential for the first generation of Mexican Americans coming to Chicago, working in industries like meat packing.

If you were an immigrant, you came to this community in Chicago.

You came to this area.

And so, historically, Canaryville is mostly Irish.

-Irish?

-And it still remains that way.

Bridgeport is Italian and Irish... -Okay.

-...and now Chinese.

And then you have Englewood that's African American.

-Wow.

-The Back of the Yards is very much Mexican.

-Yeah.

And then, we see that point over there.

That's the entrance to the stockyard.

-To the stockyard.

-The eastern entrance.

Cool.

All that area in there used to be corrals.

That's where the cows and pigs and sheep and horses that were brought here for slaughter... -Yeah.

-...that's the area that used to be -- Now if you can think about the magnitude of it, we're talking about 10 square blocks on either direction.

Can you imagine just the stench?

Thick in the air.

-How far back do you go back?

100 years, maybe?

-100 years, yeah.

From what I understand, the first migration of work for the Mexican community in Chicago came to the steel mills.

-Steel mills.

And then, the second was the migration out of the steel mills to work in the stockyards.

Yeah.

You come and work in this community.

It's always blue collar, love to work.

It was always blue collar.

But it's also, like, if you think about the people that were migrating... -Yeah.

...there were people from rural Mexico.

-Yeah.

-Not necessarily from cities of Mexico.

-Okay.

They were migrating here because they knew the work.

Yeah.

You're hard working, you know, you worked with your hands.

And in the stockyards is that natural progression of the history of, you know, of meat in America.

You know, like... -Makes sense.

-...cowboys came from Mexico.

-Yeah, yeah.

The idea of a cowboy is a Mexican thing.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Right?

So it was very easy for them to, like, "Let go work at the stockyards."

Mexicans started arriving in Chicago by the trains that connected Mexico with the industrial Midwest.

Like almost any other immigrant group, they came to Chicago to work.

By the 1920s, there were already Spanish masses in the archdiocese and there were definitely neighborhoods that were starting to form Mexican communities.

The mural behind me is a painting by a Mexican muralist Hector Duarte.

Our city has many of his works.

The mural depicts Gulliver and really sort of depicted the Mexican community.

In other words, it's a giant who wakes up in a foreign land, and it takes a while for this giant to understand what's going on, what are the differences.

The Mexican community is seen as a giant in Chicago because there's over 1.7 million in the metropolitan area.

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of Chicago is that it is a very segregated city.

It has a lot of negative things about it, but obviously, one of the silver linings is that if you stay in a neighborhood and you share churches and stores and restaurants, the culture stays intact.

Samuelsson: Right now, I'm heading to see my friend Diana.

She has this incredible neighborhood spot called Mi Tocaya.

And today, we're gonna work on the menu to celebrate her one-year anniversary.

Hey, hola!

-Hey!

-How are you?

-Oh, my -- for me?

Flowers.

Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-One year.

Diana is super talented.

But she's also focusing on transforming how her guests will think about Mexican food.

And she really represents the next generation of exciting Mexican-American chef.

How's it going?

It's going well.

I love this coat.

-Good.

You look great.

-Thank you.

Please, please, please.

I'm ready to cook.

-Let's do it.

-Yeah.

I'm Diana Davila from Mi Tocaya Antojeria in Chicago.

I am first-generation Mexican from here in Chicago.

A lot of times when you ask someone who's Mexican or of Mexican heritage, "Where do you go for Mexican food?"

"What's your favorite restaurant?"

And a lot of times, you get the same answer... And I really want to kind of have that be Mi Tocaya.

But also, I want to take that and grow.

I'd like to think that I'm sort of a licuadora of Mexican traditions and Mexican food.

I have really combined how generation upon generation how women cook for their families with the techniques of creativity as a professional cook.

I take traditional recipes and want to make it into my own.

I have two children.

I'm a wife.

I'm a daughter.

I'm a sister.

Here, you know, Mi Tocaya really almost embodies, like, the superwoman that I want to be, where I get to put all of them together and be my super self.

What's the dish that we're doing?

I want to get into this.

I want to know.

I want to learn.

So tell me... -Okay, okay.

...what are we doing?

Well, you're gonna take on mole verde.

-Mole verde!

-Yes.

I love that!

Some green mole.

-Yes, yes.

-That's nice.

I'm taking it easy on you.

It's one of the easier moles.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

But it's really herbaceous.

It's not so known.

-Yeah.

And I feel like it's perfect.

Absolutely, 'cause I think when people think here of mole, it's, like, "Oh, it's a sauce with the chocolate into it."

Mole really actually just means a concoction of many ingredients and a balance.

I love the fact that this is the mole with not a lot of ingredients and it's still 20 ingredients here, so that's good.

-Yes, yes, yes.

-What do we do?

Do we roast them?

Do we char them?

What do we do?

-Yep, that's exactly right.

So we're gonna take these tomatillos.

We have -- let's soak them in a little bit of cold water...

Okay.

...just so we could kind of release them from its husks.

Was this your auntie's recipe?

Is this yours?

I mean, who taught you how to cook this food?

'Cause you're just, like, you're basically South Side girl.

That's it, right?

-No, that's not it.

I'm a creative, creative person.

"Don't put Baby in a corner."

So you know, they're not really even necessarily recipes.

-Yeah.

-You know, there's many times I've found myself asking my aunts or my mom, anybody in the family, "Well [speaks Spanish]" Like, "Well, how do you make this?"

Yes.

And the first response is always, like, "I don't know, what do you mean?"

Yeah.

Because you know, most of the time, it's their recipes that they've been doing -- dishes, I should say, that they've been doing.

-Yeah.

-So really, I create the recipe.

-Forever.

-They inspire them.

Yeah, they've just been doing it as a family tradition.

So yeah, so I'm like, "Well, how much chicken stock or how this?"

And they'll just be, like, "Well, the pot that I always use."

-Yeah.

-You know, sort of a thing.

So I feel like it's always -- it always starts off that way.

Do you want to keep the poblanos whole, or how do you want to...?

Yeah, you know, I always kind of like to keep them whole.

-Yep.

-...and just blister them straight onto the grill.

Mm-hmm.

So we have our pepitas.

We're gonna get a nice toast.

Nice.

Growing up, was there a Mexican chef that you admire?

No, I wouldn't say that there was a Mexican chef that I admire.

Do you know?

I thing about Mexican food, you know, it really comes from the woman.

Yeah.

You know, and it comes from the woman.

You know, in Mexico, it's still about 90% to 95%, you know, the woman making the food in the family for the family.

Yeah, sure.

You know, my mother also watches my kids, will babysit.

And she cooks as well.

And my daughter came to me and she's like, "Hey, Mama makes that, too."

Like, so it was a really -- it almost made me cry because it's, like, here.

It's right there, you know?

-Yeah.

Like, three generations right there.

And so, like, that's why I like having them help me in the kitchen because they're gonna have that same feeling.

And they're going to maybe one day make certain dishes as well that we make.

-Sure.

So here we have all of our vegetables -- our tomatillos, our red onions, our poblanos.

Nice.

That's great.

Smell that.

Wow!

-Mmm, yes.

-It's good.

So we're gonna add that to our witchcraft.

That smells really, really good.

Perfect.

Samuelsson: Diana's work is so important because she really help us re-imagine what Mexican food can be.

Why do we always have to think about Mexican food as cheap?

Not looking at the labor it took, the ingredients that are being used.

Every sauce, really, in Mexican food is almost like a brew where you keep on adding to the pot.

And the sauce, in Mexican food, it's not a side dish.

It's such -- it's a big character.

-It is the dish.

-It is the dish, right?

Yes.

Wow, that's really, really cool.

And I love that people really understand how much everything's been roasted, everything has been grilled just to get that flavor.

-Yes.

-It's super complex.

So a lot of times, people are, like, "Oh, what's something easy I could do at home?"

I'm, like, "Hmm..." For me, food and politics and policies are very related.

It's a value proposition about who we value as trade partners.

I've got chicken stock right here.

When you look at Chinese food, it has to be cheap, but Japanese food can be expensive.

When we think about Mexican food, it has to be cheap, but Spanish food can be expensive.

Ooh, ooh, I'm so excited!

We've done this for generations.

And that's why it's very difficult, then, to just say, "My food should be at this level."

So what we want to do, basically, is just let them kind of steep together.

And you're concentrating, you're simmering.

How much you want me to use?

-All of it.

-All of it?

Nice!

-There's never -- There never could be too much mole.

I second that.

I mean, these flavors are already incredible.

Right, I agree.

Like, I feel like, you know, if I was the one that first invented mole verde, I'd be like, "You know you could stop right here."

But no, they wanted to take it to that next level.

But you can't really rush this.

This takes time, you know?

And if you wanted something really, really good with depth and flavor -- not just heat and a little bit of sour salt -- this -- the depth in here is amazing.

This is really the last step.

We're gonna let that simmer.

-Nice.

You know, when we talk about complexity and thoughtfulness, you really have to dedicate the time to make it.

And Mi Tocaya, that's really what I want to share.

Well, congrats.

One-year anniversary.

You're doing it.

And that plays a big deal, right?

It is a very big deal.

Thank you.

I made it!

You did!

Absolutely!

To make such an authentic place like Mi Tocaya, you really need access to the most incredible ingredients that you can find in Mexico, of course.

And in Chicago, Diana found that.

This is the Cremeria La Ordena number one.

We basically sell products originally from Mexico.

Cremeria came from dairy products, but our customers had asked me to bring more products from Mexico.

And we have added dried chilies... ...20 varieties of moles... ...and obviously, all the dairy, cheeses, creams, and chorizo sausages, and a lot of varieties of beans.

We have real Mexican ingredients people can find here -- real Mexican heritage.

Knowing how parents and grandparents find nostalgia in all the ingredients that they can find here, that could transfer them to the original regions in Mexico.

At the beginning, the persons who were shopping were first-generation Mexicans.

But now, we have discovered that young Mexican Americans shop here.

And we have enjoyed being part of this little story here in Chicago.

The fact that the Mexican-American community has been there for over 100 years and stayed intact really shows how successful the older generation had been in nurturing the next generation of Mexican American in Chicago to hold on to its history, its culture, and food.

[ Speaking Spanish ] Carnitas is, like, reaching pork heaven.

First of all, they are simmered in fat, right?

In French, you would call it confit.

They're simmered for hours.

When done right, it's both juicy, crispy, crunchy -- all at the same time.

-Whoo!

-Your carnitas have arrived.

Samuelsson: Looking good!

-Fiesta.

-Fiesta, exactly.

-Shoulder... -Yeah.

You hungry?

Let's eat!

So get a little bit of the skin.

[ Speaks Spanish ] [ Speaks Spanish ] A little bit of the shoulder in there.

Yeah.

And I love the jelly part.

-Yeah.

Like, that's full of what gives the texture so -- -That fattiness.

-The fattiness.

-The fat.

-There's a lot of flavor, yeah.

And a little bit of the ribs.

I don't think you can eat better than this.

Honestly.

See, you're digging right in with your hands.

I like this salsa with it.

-Yeah?

This salsa has a lot of jalapeos with the vinegar in it.

-Mm-hmm.

So some of the acidity of the salsa cuts right through some of the fattiness of the pork.

It's just juicy.

Mmm.

Mmm.

That's so beautiful.

The way the meat is prepared -- not a ton of sauce.

It's the meat.

All the labor in the meat is there.

I love it.

It's fantastic.

It's fantastic.

I have to ask, we eat authentic Mexican food today because of people like your father.

So when he hears that, in this climate that on national TV that Mexicans, immigrants are bad or -- How does it -- It must feel so bad for him.

Yep.

You know, at times, we're not portrayed that way.

And it's, you know, the focus is shifting and looking at us in a different lens.

But you know, we're here -- -Contributing.

Amazing.

-Contributing, yeah.

It's, like, especially for your business owners.

Like, that energy that you put out is exactly what comes right back.

Samuelsson: There's a tendency to generalize and stigmatize a whole group of people.

These people are just one thing when we know it's layered and complex.

But these broad strokes makes a conversation we need to have about poverty, crime, and violence much harder.

And I feel like Chicago would have to have a conversation about gang violence and gun violence.

And to learn more about that, I want to talk to somebody that grew up in this environment.

So I'm about to meet Mr. Rapper, Towkio.

Samuelsson: So how long have you guys been doing music?

How long?

How did you come up with it?

How did you start?

Towkio: My abuelo on my mother's side, he was a famous musician in Mexico.

So he used to, like, teach people music.

And so, I have music in my blood.

Samuelsson: Towkio is one of the members of Saymoney, a hip-hop collective that also includes Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper.

So let us know a little bit about your background 'cause you both have Mexican and Japanese, is that right?

My mom spoke Spanish, while my father spoke English 'cause he grew up in Chicago.

-Yeah.

So my dad's a Japanese dude from Chicago.

-You're so lucky!

-Yeah.

-You have the best food culture!

-Yeah, it's lit.

We be having sushi and tamales at our Christmas.

-That's crazy.

-Yeah.

If we go back a little bit, everyone knows Chi now from movies, from TV shows, from the music.

There's always been gangsters from way, way, go back.

-It's the gang culture, yeah.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

As young guys coming up, how did you guys stay away from that?

Was music a big part of that, or, I mean...?

I mean, yeah, definitely.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Chicago's a city of gangsters.

You can't beat 'em, then you join 'em.

If I didn't have that, I could have went the wrong way.

The music, in many ways, gave you the path.

And it's interesting.

Like, I grew up in Sweden.

Sports always saved me.

-Word.

Like, there's always something that as a kid, you can hold onto that, you know, like, gets you -- make you see the light.

Like nowadays -- like, nowadays, it's, like, just neighborhoods and groups of people.

-Yeah.

But you could be walking down the street and have your life threatened.

It could be any situation.

You could have on the wrong color, the wrong hat... -Right.

...anything.

And sometimes, they're not even trying to hear you.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I feel like every person who lives here experiences it.

Peezy: It's either, like -- it's either, like, you join 'em or... -Yeah.

...or you gotta figure it out, you know what I'm saying?

-Yeah, or you getting robbed, like, you know what I'm saying?

I just want to ask you guys, as big as you guys made it, you still would pick Chicago as your home?

-Yes.

-You wouldn't leave, right?

-For sure.

-But do you think, like, a word like Chiraq, for example, does it bother you or does it -- is it offensive to you guys that are from here?

Or are you actually, like, "That might be what it is"?

That's, like, this negative connotation.

-Yeah.

-The publications love using the word, though.

-Yeah.

And that came from the facts of there being more killings in Chicago at the time than there was in Iraq.

And that's a very sad thing.

With that, you take that motivation to understand all that mess that's going on.

-Yeah.

-You bring that to the studio, try to, you know, clear your head.

And through that, you just gotta find that energy to pull through, you know what I'm saying?

'Cause music comes out of that.

-Yeah.

-It's based out of everything.

-I think everything.

-Yeah.

I think everything comes out of it 'cause everybody's -- you know, they living, like -- they just know that nothing's promised, you know?

It's not promised.

Samuelsson: For kids growing up with negative influences, it's really important to find a pathway out.

For me, it was soccer and cooking.

For Towkio, it was rap.

And for a group of kids in Little Village, it's boxing.

In the basement of this church, Gabriel has a boxing club.

It's really an incredible after-school program, a place to learn about life skills, about respect, about self-defense, working together as a team.

-What's up, Marcus?

-What's up, man?

How are you?

-Gabriel.

Good, good.

Good to see you, man.

You have all kinds of youth in here.

All kind of youth.

All ages, from 8 all the way up to 17, 18.

That's awesome.

I mean, we're in the South Side.

It's pretty well known now.

There's all kinds of activities where there's gangs, where there's other stuff.

How do you keep them off from right and wrong, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

You're not with them 24/7, so...

I'm not with them 24/7, but the parents are helping me.

-Yeah.

With myself and the parents' help, we could make a big difference.

That's awesome, man.

So you wanna suit up and we'll -- Yeah, let's suit up, man.

All right, let me get you some gloves.

Right, block, hook.

Jab right.

Block, block, right.

One, two.

Good job.

Samuelsson: How often have you heard a shooting here in your neighborhood?

There's about a good two shootings every two weeks, every week.

So two shootings a week, that's about 100 shootings in a year.

-Right.

-You know, th-th-that must... Wow.

That's unbelievable.

Little Village is a great place.

It's just that the violence and the gangs... Yeah.

...I try to stay away from that and -- try to get a ride to the gym, ride home.

I try not to walk a lot.

-Wow.

And I just gotta look out for my surroundings a lot.

I got friends who gang bang.

And I don't follow in their footsteps.

-Yeah.

-I go my own path.

You guys are brave.

You know, 'cause it's harder to be different.

It's harder to step out and go your path.

-Yeah, it really is.

-It's easier just to follow.

It takes a lot of heart, a lot of corazn to do what you guys do.

I want to see you guys in 2020 Olympics.

-That is the goal.

-That's the goal.

Why not?

Dream big.

That's what -- yeah, that's what we're fighting for.

Navarro: That's what we're fighting for.

I wish you all the best and I'm so proud of you, man.

Thank you.

Samuelsson: Every kid needs role models, somebody to look up to.

There's a chef in Chicago that helped young cooks to really aspire to think on a higher level and to cook with really high techniques to be excellent.

My name is Carlos Gaytan.

I do modern Mexican with French techniques.

There is a new group of chefs that we want to try to showcase food that you find now in Mexico.

This is our Mexican cuisine.

We do not know what is margaritas and guacamole, basically, because we have such an amazing culture and amazing dishes that people don't realize that exist.

Those flavors, you know, when I grow up -- when I was a kid, and bring that over to Chicago.

You decide to step out of box and do something different, you're gonna find yourself that you did something great.

Hello, hello.

Wow, what's going on in here?

-Hi.

-It smells so good.

How are you?

Carlos Gaytan is amazing.

He was the first Mexican-American chef to get a Michelin star.

So Carlos is very important in what a next-generation Mexican chef can be, can taste like.

-Hi, Carlos.

-That smells so good in here.

It's good, right?

-Okay, mole.

-Ceremonial.

-Ceremonial Michoacno.

-Michoacno.

-Wow.

-Michoacno.

Gaytan: How 'bout the tamales?

She's gonna be making her tamales.

-Yes.

-And I'm gonna make my own tamales.

They're a little different.

Yeah, this is, like, I'm at a tamale tasting.

I'm lucky one today.

-Yeah.

-You know?

-Yeah.

I'm in the kitchen with two very skillful chefs teaching me two different takes on tamales.

Corundas.

Atzimba Perez is this traditional, pre-Spanish chef, which means that her recipes are thousands and thousands of years old.

Tamales can be traced back to 7,000 B.C., the Mayans and the Aztec civilizations.

So we have the masa here.

Corn?

Nice.

Yep.

What've we got here?

What do you call this?

Metate, okay.

Yeah.

Wow.

These recipes are actually from the native Mexicans -- like, pre-Spanish.

And that's why they're so special.

Atzimba is really preserving, almost like a historian of Mexican culture that we may not know enough about.

So instead of using, you know, something really dense as the masa... Yep.

...because of the corn is what happens.

So we gonna do the seafood.

It's gonna be more lighter.

When you cook it... -Oh, I love that.

...it's gonna be very flappy.

So Carlos is gonna show me how to make his version of tamales, equally difficult to make, equally sophisticated, but just in a very different method and techniques.

Go for it.

When everything that gets together in one bowl on the side is when we start getting the heavy cream.

A little bit of heavy cream.

So that's where your French is.

I feel you.

-Butter, cream.

-I love this.

This is, like, reminds me of France, you know?

Yeah, and the sauce, because I know Atzimba, she used mole, so we're gonna go more in the French side.

So Carlos is really mixing Mexican traditional food with classic French techniques and ingredients.

Samuelsson: This is beautiful.

It's gonna be great.

So what was some of the French restaurants that you worked in when you came as a young chef student -- You know, I work at the Union League Club.

Yeah, mm-hmm.

And then, from there, I was in charge one time to do a dinner for the French embassy.

And then, they got nervous when they see this Mexican cooking French cuisine.

They didn't believe it.

And too, you know, finished everything, and then they offered me a job at French restaurant.

-That's great, right?

-Yeah.

Samuelsson: When I started cooking in America, too, very often they asked, "Who's the chef?"

And I was like, "I am."

And they just weren't used to seeing a young black chef.

You know, you have to believe it.

We worked really hard.

Yes.

Mexican cooks had been the backbones of so many great kitchens.

It's very similar to how African-Americans came up.

Very often, they were the cooks, but they were silent, and reached a ceiling.

But now, what Carlos represents, is this new alarm to saying, "Yes, we've been the cooks and we have been the backbones, but now we are the chefs."

We've taken over.

This is our food.

This is how I cook.

This is a new way of telling a story."

And we need more examples like that.

Sometimes, you sacrifice great flavors because there's not traditional.

-Yeah.

You know, and I don't want to do that.

-Mm-hmm.

-It gives me the opportunity to use different ingredients that are not Mexican, different techniques.

-Yeah.

And present my food a different way.

All right, chefs.

-Wow, this is beautiful.

-A little sauce.

Samuelsson: Yeah, this is a stunning dish.

-Nice and creamy.

-Mmm.

Also, we have these beautiful tamales here.

-Yes.

-Two completely different versions and styles of cooking that both honor your home country.

And how do we serve them?

Sure.

Gaytan: That looks delicious.

-Yeah.

-It's so good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I love mole.

Sorry, chef, this is what I love.

-Oh, go, go, go, go.

-Look at that.

I'm actually gonna start with Carlos' dish because -- -It's lighter.

-Lighter, yeah.

Do you want to go with something -- yeah, the flavors?

Mm-hmm.

-Arte en un plato.

-So light Too sophisticated.

Mmm.

It's a very complex dish with layers -- the crab, the citrus with tomato.

I love this.

It's, like, something that was done 3,000 years ago can have a modern interpretation.

I love that.

-Absolutely.

Very sophisticated.

When I eat this tamale with mole, it reminds me a lot of Africa because the chilies are the same and the layers of the sauce is the same as we have in Ethiopia, but the tamale itself is very, very different.

Eating with the cheese inside, it adds a sour note that I love.

But the mole, for me, is the star.

So it's smoky.

It's not actually very spicy.

-No.

-Not super spicy.

But it's rich and flavorful.

Gaytan: This is a play with the Latin history.

It tells me a story behind, you know, when I was a kid eating these flavors.

-Mmm.

I think you did really a great job.

Mm-hmm.

You know, Carlos is teaching not only new generation, but he's also inspiring new-generation Mexican chefs to be modern, to try.

But without the history, you can't move forward.

-Yeah.

So you both are ambassadors of the culture.

And just using it in different means, right?

I've been the benefitter or working with incredible Mexican people for 20 years.

So to hear that people are not welcome anymore and this, that -- it's just nonsense to me.

I'm a big believer, faith is very important in our country.

And God has been doing a lot of things through my life.

And one of the things that I'm very sure that he's given me is a talent.

My talent is to make people happy through the things that I do.

Now, when I'm cooking, when I go represent my cuisine in other countries, I don't represent just one country.

-No.

-It's two countries.

You know, whatever I do, they don't mention the Mexican chef only.

[ Speaks Spanish ] They say the Mexican chef, "Carlos Gaytan from Chicago."

Chicago.

Yeah, yeah.

And I do very happy, you know, because I think both countries have started to recognize the things that they're doing for us, and to help us to be what we are.

Atzimba and Carlos are great examples of people that are willing to contribute, but also giving back to America with their skills and the work ethic -- twofold.

But right now, there's a lot of people that their future is very much in the unknown.

When programs like DACA is being challenged or there's not been a replacement to it, over 800,000 children and adults don't know what the next step's gonna be.

DACA, which means Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, provides a level of amnesty for people who came to this country as children.

And this is the only home that they know as home.

To have all that challenged, or by the risk of being taken away, it's detrimental.

We're playing with people's lives.

We're playing with families' lives.

Samuelsson: This is sort of, like, your water hole?

Ulises: Oh, on my day off, I'm always here.

-Yes.

-Like, I usually call my mom up and I'm like, "Hey, do you want to go hang out, grab a drink, listen to some really good music?"

-Yeah.

You seem to be very close -- mom and son.

It's a very special relationship.

Yeah, it's very close now, yeah.

How did you come up in the beverage industry?

Was it your mom that got you there, or how did you get there?

I started in high school as a barista in a coffee shop and then moved across the street to a local bar that was opening up.

-Yeah.

And I moved my way up from a bar back to a bar manager to a bartender.

And now I'm at Mi Tocaya as a beverage director.

That's wonderful.

So we have a [speaks Spanish] It's a blanco tequila.

So you can definitely smell... -Yeah.

...agave and the citrus that, like, comes out of it.

It's a lot of minerality in it as well.

Really, really nice... -Yeah, it is.

-...and sweet.

Mmm.

-Mmm.

This is, by far, my favorite mezcal, El Jolgorio Espadin.

It's been aged underground in a glass bottle for 10 years.

Oh, wow!

So this is a Mexican version of kimchi.

-Yeah.

-I love it, I love that.

Yeah.

And for mezcal, like, you got to be really open to the idea that what you're having in your glass right now, you will never, ever have again.

-Wow.

As you make mezcal, every little, small decision that the maestro mezcalero makes will affect that flavor profile.

Wow.

This is beautiful, by the way.

Yes.

It has that bitter note and then the warmth with the smokiness is there.

But it's very balanced.

Mezcal or tequila, tequila, mezcal, they're both made from agave.

Tequila, just like champagne, can only be done in one region, with blue agave from Jalisco.

Mezcal can be done with several types of agave anywhere in Mexico.

The smokiness that mezcal gets is due to the process.

Take the agave and you roast it in a pit.

That's where the mezcal gets its smoky and its earthiness from.

That's why it tastes a little bit different than the tequila.

You know, you want to savor those flavors.

-Yeah.

-And you want to, you know, smell the aromas.

Hmm.

We have a lot of, like, cool things that we can have in between, like citrus and oranges... -Yeah.

...and a little jicama.

Just to cleanse the palate, or...?

Yeah, I mean my favorite thing is just munching on chapulines.

-Okay, so let's do that.

-Please, do.

-Yeah, you're gonna like it.

-It's my favorite.

Not vegan, but delicious.

But delicious.

Salud.

-Salud.

-Salud.

Ulises, you're a dreamer.

You work very, very hard.

But the paper might not work out.

I mean, we pray and am hoping for it, but... Yeah, it's a very high toss-up.

Do you have a plan "B"?

Make mezcal in Oaxaca.

Not a bad plan "B."

It's not a bad plan "B," but America is home soil.

When did you come to America?

[ Speaks Spanish ] Okay, so 1994.

1994.

In December.

-In December.

Yeah, on the transit bus.

From Mexico City to Chicago?!

One week, right?

-No.

It's a tricky -- it's a tricky conversation... -Yes.

...because, better lack of words, we jumped the border.

You were already born?

-Yeah, I was 4 years old.

-4 years old?

-Yes.

-Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I vividly remember, we, like, caught onto a tree, jumped the fence... And then running two blocks too fast.

Yeah, ran across a neighborhood to, like, hide under a house as, you know, immigration cars were running around, like, driving around.

Wow, weren't you scared?

You had to be quiet as a child.

-Oh, very quiet.

-Very quiet.

Yeah.

But the adrenaline kicked in when we had to run across a bridge to a nearby car that was gonna drive us from Nogales to Arizona or, like... Or Santa Fe, Phoenix.

...nearby town in Arizona to Phoenix.

I mean, your story, for me, it's so powerful because a lot of people came to this country this way.

And you've been here now 24, 25 years.

And you're, at this point, you're an American kid.

-Yeah.

-Like, this is your home.

Yeah, I mean, I went to school here, graduated here... You pay taxes here.

...worked here, I paid taxes here.

Yeah, for sure.

-Everything he had is here.

You know, so the day that I did get my DACA approval, I just kind of, like... -Yeah.

...fell to the floor, and I'm, like...

Awesome.

..."I can do so much more now."

No more hiding.

You were actually... -No.

-...you know, official.

-Yes.

-You can actually contribute.

I can drive now.

I can own a car.

-Wow.

Mom, with all the work -- everything you did -- was it worth it?

Yes.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

Take your time.

Samuelsson: That idea of a mother and son crossing a border, hopefully it's gonna be better on the other side.

But not knowing what's gonna happen, it's something that I deeply understand.

When I was a young child in Ethiopia, my sister, myself, and my mother, we all had tuberculosa.

But my mother walked us to a hospital so we could get help.

You know, she sacrificed -- she ultimately passed away.

But I wouldn't be here if my mom wouldn't have done that sacrifice.

Ulises wouldn't be here contributing, working.

And there are many Olivias and Uliseses today, and they deserve a chance.

I identify very much with my culture.

And I am Mexican to the fullest.

I am 100%.

It runs in my blood.

-Yeah.

-But America is where I'm at.

It's where I'm supposed to be.

It's what I'm supposed to do.

Like this place that we're at, or like, the place that I work at, Mi Tocaya, like, we have so much more to offer.

And we have so much to teach to people.

Yeah.

There's so much more room to grow.

As a parent and as an immigrant, for me, the link that's one.

They both inspire me to work hard and do more to help others be a stronger presence in the community, contribute, to be more creative.

And that's exactly what Ulises is doing.

And now Ulises and I are gonna head over to Mi Tocaya to celebrate one-year anniversary.

This is the calabacitas con queso caribe.

Oven-dried tomatoes that have enchilado in them and kale.

Thank you, Chef.

Samuelsson: Diana, she's celebrating with her crew and her family.

This is a very typical dish my mom used to make.

Those are tortillas en carne.

Tortilla en carne.

Yeah, that's a plank steak.

Good?

Mm, now I know where Diana got it all from, right?

Well, thank you.

Being part of celebrating is really, really fun.

One year is a big milestone.

And I know that this is just one of many successful years that Mi Tocaya's gonna have.

The sense of pride that Diana shares with the staff, that they have achieved to create this magical place.

Samuelsson: So Chef, this looks amazing.

What have we got?

Diana: So we have ensalada de Nopales.

Yeah.

So raw cactus that's been brined and limed... Mmm.

...with raw cauliflower, onions, a little cold mole amarillo.

-Yeah.

And Chicharrn de pollo -- chicken skins.

What is this?

These guys are, like, amazing.

Yeah, aren't they awesome?

These are called enfrijoladas.

So we take tortillas.

We pan-fry them.

We fold them into these nice triangles with a local black bean sauce, some chorizo, little bit of queso fresco.

Some really kind of old-school guacamoles.

What's the black stuff on top?

-The ash.

-The ash?

It's the chile seed ash.

It just adds this really kind of cool, nuttiness, sweetness, a little pre-Hispanic technique.

You know, a lot of people think that it's modern, but it's not a modern touch, it's a little bit of the past.

For the main, we have a beautiful heritage roasted chicken with our mole verde that we've been slaying away in the kitchen and with some arroz caseros, some home-style Mexican rice.

Mmm, wow.

First of all, what a great day to be here, your one-year anniversary, and you're doing it with your staff, having a beautiful staff meal.

This is the best staff meal I've ever had.

What a beautiful staff!

Ride or die!

All: Ride or die!

I'm sorry, did we startle you?

[ Laughter ] Everybody kind of has a story here and we ended up just really bonding from -- with the food, really.

You know, like, when we start talking about home, mole verde, Nopales, or calabasitas or [speaks Spanish] or -- Different people would be like, "Oh, my mom would make that."

You see their eyes light up.

And then, they want to do -- they want to do it right.

They want to do it just.

They want to -- and they also bring their own experience to it as well.

-Yeah.

And it just so happened to be, like, all of a sudden, you know, Uli walks in the door.

I mean, you've met Uli, he's so learned on all things agave now.

He's obsessed.

Let's drink.

Well, salud.

Buen provecho.

Salud.

What have we got here?

-Salud.

-Salud.

Ulises: This is an excellent year-old tequila.

It's been aged for 48 months.

If you smell it, you smell all the caramel and vanilla notes.

So it's been left in a cask barrel, American white oak.

That's such a beautiful thing.

You know what?

Let the rich people have the cognac, and let's just keep this for us.

This is too good.

-Shh.

Shh.

Don't tell anyone.

Don't tell anyone.

Irma: How you like everything?

Samuelsson: The food is amazing.

I can't... -All the flavors, huh?

I can't even do it justice in words.

It's so flavorful.

Good, I'm glad you like it.

It's beautiful.

I mean, Diana is -- and she's a force.

She is fierce and a force.

And it's, like, discovering a young band.

It's, like, imagine in the mid '80s and Guns N' Roses are playing.

That's Mi Tocaya right now.

And you're not gonna be there and be like, "Oh, I don't remember if I ate there."

You're not gonna say, "Did I ever meet Diana?"

You're gonna remember if you ate her food and if you met her.

You know, I really do believe that Mexican food is really underestimated and underrated.

You know, but I feel like it's also something that we have to very much hold dear to us.

There you go.

And we have a certain responsibility not just if Mexican, if it's your culture, if you choose to cook this food because you love it, to do it justice.

I don't think any country has given us so much food, amazing food, as our neighboring country, Mexico.

The techniques and the history that goes into it, from carnitas...

So beautiful.

...to tacos...

This is the perfect bite.

God, this is good.

...to moles... Perez: He like a lot of mole.

...two different way of thinking about breads and sauces.

It's super complex.

-It's not easy.

You really have to dedicate the time to make it.

See, now, when we finally start to fully understand it, let's appreciate it.

And also, let's appreciate the incredible stories and individuals.

Inocencio: Good color, eh?

Everybody like tacos.

You cook Mexican taco now.

Muchas gracias.

Mexican Americans have strengthened and shaped and innovated for years.

Their love for America is shown in their entrepreneurship, in their jobs that they're doing... Salud.

-Salud.

...with lot of hope, dignity, and desire, and just contributing.

Narrator: Next time on "No Passport Required"... Samuelsson: The Indian communities is second-biggest ethnic community in Queens.

But not too many people know about it.

Samuelsson: In your family, you would cook Portuguese, Indian, Chinese.

Yeah, yeah.

Uh-huh.

You grew up with much better food than me!

Well, you take a little bit of every culture to make one pot.

People are missing this incredible culture that's some of the best music, coolest people, and some of the best food in all of Queens.

There's no if, ands, or buts -- you have to keep the culture alive.

Otherwise, it'll die out.

What are we doing?

[ Speaks Spanish ] I want the Mexican version.

This is very different.

-Show me.

-J-Just do it.

Just do it.

-[ Speaks Spanish ] Bum, bum, bum.

No.

No, "Bum, bum."

I love it.

Look, this one.

Boom, boom.

No.

[ Speaks Spanish ] This way.

Yes, that's very different.

This is when we need to drink more tequila.

-Okay, good.

-Before we start dancing.

Ulises: I agree.