Los Arcos (Mazatlán)

Los Arcos is a Sinaloan seafood restaurant group, founded in Culiacán in 1977, whose Mazatlán restaurant is widely cited as the birthplace of the taco gobernador.

History

According to the company, the first Los Arcos opened in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in 1977, and the group later expanded to other cities, including Mazatlán. The company credits its founding chef, José Gaxiola, with later house dishes such as the Taco Bonita, introduced in 2008.

The taco gobernador

Los Arcos tells the origin of the taco gobernador this way: at a closing dinner for the gubernatorial campaign of Francisco Labastida Ochoa at its Mazatlán restaurant, the candidate wanted something light, and his wife, María Teresa Uriarte, and singer Lola Beltrán improvised quesadillas filled with shrimp machaca on a buttered griddle. Luz Noticias places the dish's birth in the 1980s and notes that the Los Arcos origin, while widely repeated, is not fully confirmed.

The Mazatlán version uses a lightly crisped tortilla, melted cheese and shrimp cooked ranch-style. Other Mazatlán restaurants, such as La Panamá and Tacos de Mariscos El Gordo, serve their own versions.

Reviews

See also

• Tacos gobernador
• Tacos de camarón
• Tacos in Mazatlán
• Tacos in Sinaloa

References

1. "The tradition begins in 1977". Restaurante Los Arcos. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Top 3 de mejores lugares para comer un taco gobernador en Mazatlán". Luz Noticias. Retrieved 2026-10-10.