SHREVEPORT, LA - A record-breaking crowd flocked to this year’s Taco Wars to celebrate Latino culture, food and music at the region’s largest taco and salsa festival and competition.

The festival, presented by Maestro Dobel, Modelo, and the Prize Foundation, returned for 2024 on April 27 outside the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium to much fanfare of taco lovers throughout the area and generated over $128,000 in revenue for these local businesses. Taco Wars featured 14 taquerias from Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. This year, the award-winning mariachi band, Los Reyes de Mexico, and Los Rancheritos were also featured.

“We are so proud of our community, and we are so humbled by their support of Taco Wars and these small businesses who worked so hard to make this the biggest, boldest and spiciest Taco Wars on record” said Gregory Kallenberg, Executive Director of the Prize Foundation and founder of Taco Wars. “Congrats to Ramirez and Taqueria San Miguel on the big wins. That said, it was such a glorious day, I think we all won Taco Wars!”

The festival featured fourteen local taquerias, selling tacos to the public and battling it out for the coveted Golden Taco (Best Taco) and Golden Molcajete (Best Salsa). Participating taquerías included Mi Mercadito, El Novillo Carniceria, Taqueria El Eden, Taqueria San Miguel, Ramirez Mexican Restaurant, Tamalocos, Taqueria Mi Palmar, Mi Meza Latin Cuisine, Taqueria Flores, Nicky's Mexican Restaurant, Taqueria La Reyna Del Sur, Taqueria Tierra Santa, La Potranca and La Villa Taqueria.

A panel of celebrity taco aficionados visited each of taquerias tents, tasted all of the submitted tacos and after careful deliberation, declared Taqueria San Miguel the winner of the Best Taco and the $1000 cash prize.

All taquerias also gave out free tastings of chips and salsas to the hungry crowd. Attendees were given voting tokens upon entry to the festival and voted to decide the Golden Molcajete winner. Ramirez Mexican Restaurant defended its title and was again crowned best salsa by the audience and awarded a $500 cash prize.

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The Prize Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012. Our mission is to promote economic growth, workforce development, youth job training, creative class entrepreneurial buildout and increased tourism through education, entrepreneurship, conferences, contests and festivals in Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana. The Prize Foundation operates six major initiatives year-round: Louisiana Film Prize, Film Prize Junior, Startup Prize, Food Prize, Music Prize, and Fashion Prize. Each Prize has a qualification process, engagement with economic and cultural resources, and an educational component.