Tacos in Guerrero

Guerrero, on the southern Pacific coast, is the land of pozole, and its most distinctive taco filling is the jumil, a small stink bug gathered on a hill above Taxco and eaten in tacos and salsa, along with Guerrero-style barbacoa and coastal seafood.

Overview

Larousse's gastronomic dictionary describes Guerrero as a state of seven regions, from Acapulco and the two coasts to the Tierra Caliente and La Montaña, where Nahua, Mixtec and Tlapanec communities keep a diet of corn, beans, squash and quelites. The Costa Chica is home to Amuzgo and Afro-Mexican communities. Guerrero is the country's leading producer of hibiscus and mango. The dictionary calls it the land of pozole, made white, green and with beans, and lists many moles, tamales and stews such as aporreado, chilate and morisqueta. On the coast, seafood is central, with tiritas de pescado in Zihuatanejo and pescado a la talla grilled over coals.

Jumiles

Larousse lists jumiles among the insects eaten in Guerrero, together with wasps, chapulines and chicatana ants. México Desconocido describes how people climb the Cerro del Huixteco above Taxco, the highest peak in the Sierra de Taxco, each November to gather the insects, which tradition holds to be souls of the dead returning from the underworld. Some are eaten alive on the spot; about fifteen are enough to fill a taco, and others are ground in a molcajete with chile, tomato and garlic for salsa. Vámonos to Mexico calls tacos the favorite way to eat them and reports that Taxco's market, taco stands and restaurants sell them and that the town holds an annual jumil fair. México Desconocido's survey of Mexican tacos places the jumil in the Tierra Caliente of Guerrero, Morelos and the State of Mexico and describes its flavor as almost peppery.

Barbacoa and other tacos

Larousse lists barbacoa and cochinita guerrerense among the state's dishes. In Los Angeles, The Infatuation describes a Guerrero-style barbacoa of adobo-rubbed lamb served by the pound or as tacos with lamb consomé, an example of how migrants carried the style north. Gorditas toqueras and many tamales round out the street repertoire.

Signature tacos

• Tacos de jumiles
• Tacos de barbacoa
• Tacos de pescado

Reviews

See also

• Tacos de jumiles
• Tacos de barbacoa
• Tacos in Morelos
• Tacos in Oaxaca
• Tacos in the State of Mexico

References

1. "Guerrero". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Jumiles, insectos comestibles de Taxco que se cree vienen del inframundo". México Desconocido. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Jumiles: A Unique Mexican Food Tradition". Vámonos to Mexico. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
4. "¡Para tacos, sólo México!". México Desconocido. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
5. "Barbacoa Estilo Taxco". The Infatuation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.