Tierra y Corazon: "Es una Salsa... muy salsa?"

After experiencing a cultural identity crisis in Europe of whether I was Mexican-American or just American, I came to the conclusion that I am American with Mexican flavors. Tapatio hot Sauce is a popular hot sauce amongst la comunidad, bringing a sense of nuestra tierra (dirt replaces hot sauce in bottle) to our tables. It is not, however, produced in Mexico, but in Vernon, California. Tapatio flavors foods and dishes, and can arguably be seen as an authentic Mexican topping. But very much like the "Mexican-American" community, the bottle is seen with a Mexican image (the Mariachi Character), not with the transnational identity it carries.