The burrito was invented in Ciudad Juárez in the 1940s by a street vendor. He portioned the food and wrapped it in a tortilla, making it appropriate for school children, whom he derogatively referred to as “burritos” because he believed they were unintelligent.

When was the burrito first made?

The history of the burrito begins thousands of years ago

In 1895, a dish that could be identified as the burrito appeared in the book “Diccionario de Mejicanismos” (Dictionary of Mexican Spanish) by Cuban writer Félix Ramos y Duarte. He described it as a rolled tortilla filled with meat or other ingredients.

Why was the burrito invented?

One theory holds that people from Sonora (a northwestern Mexican state) invented the burrito because it was easy to travel with. The name "burrito" may have come about from its role as a sidekick to the donkey. Another theory holds that the burrito came from Chihuahua, during the Mexican revolution in the 1910s.