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78R6862 MMS-D

By:  Quintanilla                                                H.C.R. No. 92 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The State of Texas has customarily recognized a 
variety of official state symbols as tangible representations of 
the state's historical and cultural heritage; and
	WHEREAS, Among such icons are the rodeo, the state sport; the 
guitar, the state musical instrument; and chili, the state dish; 
and
	WHEREAS, In keeping with this custom, the designation of the 
sopaipilla as the official State Pastry of Texas shall provide 
suitable recognition for this historic symbol of the state's 
cultural heritage, for the sopaipilla is one of the earliest 
pastries known to have been made in Texas; and
	WHEREAS, The primary ingredient of the sopaipilla is wheat 
flour, the use of which in Texas can be traced as far back as 1682 in 
Ysleta, the oldest continuously occupied community in the state; 
located in present-day El Paso County, Ysleta is the site of a 
mission established by Franciscan friars and Tigua Pueblo Indians; 
the Tigua planted, harvested, and ground wheat for use in meals that 
they prepared for the friars, and by the 1730s they were cultivating 
wheat for themselves; and
	WHEREAS, Like the grain from which it is made, the wheat flour 
tortilla, too, can be traced to the El Paso area; it was produced 
there several hundred years ago by the Tigua, using lard from 
domesticated pigs, yet another item introduced in Texas by the 
Spaniards; the Tigua, who originally helped to raise pigs for the 
friars, had adopted the animals as a source for their own meals as 
early as the second quarter of the 18th century; and
	WHEREAS, Generally made from a flour dough recipe, the 
sopaipilla was deep fried in lard in earlier times and today is 
fried in healthier oils; it has been known by the Tigua of the 
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo as "Indian fry bread" for well over a hundred 
years and is enjoyed by them on a variety of occasions; and
	WHEREAS, Widely known throughout the great State of Texas and 
across the nation, the sopaipilla is served in restaurants and 
cooked at home, both from family recipes and from store-bought 
mixes; this versatile food may be topped with honey, cinnamon, or 
powdered sugar and may even be stuffed with beans, meat, or ice 
cream; and
	WHEREAS, The sopaipilla stands out among Texas pastries 
because of its historic origins and universal appeal; embraced 
today by Texans of every ethnic background, the sopaipilla 
constitutes a much-savored part of Texans' shared cultural 
identity; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby designate the sopaipilla as the official State Pastry of 
Texas.