'Living the dream': Taco truck owner grateful his authentic food draws crowds

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, News 12 Connecticut went to Tacos El Azteca in Norwalk.
The parking lot on the corner of Main Street and Belden Avenue is packed most nights of the week, with people lined up for some of the best tacos in the country.
Tacos El Azteca owner Juan Martinez is originally from Durango, Mexico, and worked at a taqueria when he was just 12 years old.
“I always had the idea to come to this country to do a little part of Mexico,” he says. “I took a risk, without knowing what was for me.”
Martinez says he started off washing dishes at a restaurant and working seven days a week.
“When you work at a restaurant, you work from the bottom…Which was really hard, but you know of course that was the only way to do what you wanted to do,” he says.
Martinez says he started cooking ceviche, a traditional appetizer. Those he shared his cooking with encouraged him to start his own business.
He says he started his food truck by taking all the seats out of a church bus and going for a ride throughout Norwalk to find the perfect spot to set up shop.
“We got all the permits, and then I remember that I used to drive with my wife in this parking lot and it was really dark, but I have the faith,” he says. “I said…this is a great spot for a food truck.”
Martinez says his wife and his son are his partners in the family businesses.
“Mexico is a great country. I have hundreds of customers and I feel good that now they don't have to travel all the way over there to get a taco or burrito…We're living the dream,” he says. “It's not easy, but if you have the vision and you have the feeling and you have the heart and passion to do it, I don't see why not.”