Latinos and Muslims are breaking bread and boundaries over delicious tacos in a loving act of communal unity and friendship.

Food trucks parked near the Islamic Center of Santa Ana in Southern California have kicked off the first of what is sure to be a traditional, month-long occasion where halal tacos are served at mosques all over Orange County.

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, 1.8 billion Muslims around the world commemorate the special time to fast from morning to night. At sunset, the day's fast ends with a meal known as the iftar.

The "Taco Trucks at Every Mosque" campaign is organized by members of the Latino Muslim Unity movement to facilitate observers breaking their fast as well as bring attention to the rise of hate crimes against Muslims and Latinos throughout the country.


The birth of the movement started as a play-on-words originating from Latinos for Trump co-founder, Marco Gutierrez.

During an MSNBC interview, Gutierrez said that if something is not done about his own "imposing" Mexican culture, "you're going to have taco trucks on every corner."

Activists, like Rida Hamida, a community organizer and former Senior Advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives, found the comments offensive and decided to act.

Hamida said, "It's really important to raise awareness about our struggles and the injustices that we both experience, but also to get to know one another and to defend one another."

Ben Vazquez, a Santa Ana school teacher and one of the founders of the program, said "We have a saying - la cultura cura - the culture cures. There's nothing better than two sides coming together to cure evil thoughts about each other."

The act of solidarity has been embraced by members of the LGBT community, as well as Jews, Christians, and others wanting to partake in the effort.

Related