Piedras Negras, the birthplace of nachos, lies across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas.
The two cities face each other across the Rio Grande, forming a closely connected international border region. Piedras Negras is in the Mexican state of Coahuila, while Eagle Pass is in Texas’s Maverick County. Their proximity helped make cross-border travel and dining part of the story behind nachos.
In 1943, restaurateur Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya created the dish at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras. He served fried tortilla triangles topped with cheese and pickled jalapeño slices to American visitors who had crossed from the Eagle Pass area. The snack was reportedly called “Nacho’s Special,” after Anaya’s nickname.
Eagle Pass is sometimes mixed up with other Texas border cities. Brownsville is across from Matamoros, El Paso is across from Ciudad Juárez, and Laredo is across from Nuevo Laredo. Those cities are also important border crossings, but none is the Texas counterpart directly opposite Piedras Negras.