The Veracruz All Natural Documentary Is a Tale of Tacos and Immigration

Veracruz All Natural owner Reyna Vazquez is the central figure of a new short documentary film. Reyna de Veracruz tells the story of her taco journey, beginning with opening the cart as an undocumented worker in 2008, and quickly growing the trailer into one of the city’s best taco spots. Now she is a documented immigrant.

Her husband, Ryan Myers, shot and directed the short narrative. He calls Reyna his role model, and wanted to share her story with the world. “Right now, we are experiencing a very polarized political climate in the United States,” he said, “and I began to think about what levels of empathy the average citizen might possess towards immigrants, and in this case, undocumented immigrants from Mexico.”

Reyna de Veracruz premieres alongside three other short documentaries covering East Austin subjects, from eviction to the African-American legacy of Anderson High School, this week as part of a UT film student screening. Two showings will take place on Thursday, May 11, the first at the Parish Hall of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church at 7 p.m. (1206 East 9th Street, Central East Austin), and then again at outdoor venue Kenny Dorham’s Backyard at 9 p.m. (1106 East 11th Street, Central East Austin) For those who can't make the screenings, the films will be available online later this week.

Reyna, along with co-owner and sister Maritza Vazquez, now oversee two taco trailers, one Round Rock restaurant, and an Austin brick and mortar to come shortly.

• Screening: East Austin Stories Class Documentaries [Facebook]
• Veracruz All Natural Is Finally Opening a Taco Restaurant in Austin [EATX]
• All Coverage of Veracruz All Natural [EATX]