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23 Miles of Mexican Food Festival: Tacos, mariachi, beer & more at the MSA Annex

23 Miles of Mexican Food Festival: Tacos, mariachi, beer & more at the MSA Annex

Nov 2, 20222 min read

It’s time to celebrate the cuisine that makes Tucson so special.

From 3 – 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 12, the Tucson International Mariachi Conference is hosting the 23 Miles of Mexican Food Festival at the MSA Annex.

Tacos Al Pastor at El Chinito Gordo (Credit: Jackie Tran)
Tacos Al Pastor at El Chinito Gordo (Credit: Jackie Tran)

This is the Tucson International Mariachi Conference’s first year hosting the event, which serves as a fundraiser for the educational opportunities available at the conference.

This year’s festival will showcase samplings from dozens of local chefs, restaurants, and food trucks including El Taco Rustico, El Cisne, La Estrella Bakery, Brother John’s Beer, Bourbon & BBQ, Delicias, El Chinito Gordo, and many more. In other words, expect a lot of tacos, fajitas, molé, raspados, sopes, elote, cocktails, and beer at this tasting experience.

Tickets are $60 per person and include all of the samples you can handle.

El Taco Rustico
El Taco Rustico (Photo by Anna Smirnova)

This year, Crooked Tooth Brewing Company collaborated with the Tucson International Mariachi Conference to create El Grito — a kettle sour brewed specially for the 23 Miles of Mexican Food Festival. Made with nearly 80 pounds of fresh pineapple and “dry hopped” with chiltepin peppers, El Grito will be available as the official beer of the event.

Read our September 2022 article “Crooked Tooth Brewing celebrates mariachi with its latest beer collaboration.”

El Grito beer collaboration (Photo by Isaac Stockton)
El Grito beer collaboration (Photo by Isaac Stockton)

Oh, and we can’t forget about the entertainment at the festival.

While you’re chomping down on some grub, your ears and eyes will be delighted by the performances by Zona Libre, MeXcal Arizona, Compania de Danza Folklorica Arizona, Giselle Aubrey, and the Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo.

Plus, as mentioned earlier, proceeds from the event will help support Tucson International Mariachi Conference student workshops and scholarships.

The 23 Miles of Mexican Food Festival is being held at the MSA Annex, which is located at 267 S. Avenida del Convento. For more information and to buy your tickets, visit eventbrite.com

Article written by:

Matt Sterner

Matt Sterner

More about Matt

At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.

He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.

If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.

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