Each February 24, the United States celebrates a Mexican cuisine staple that went from been a simple leftover snack to becoming a global sensation. The National Tortilla Chip Day highlights these salty snacks and honors the hardworking hands that have been making them for generations.

According to National Today, Rebecca Webb Carranza popularized the triangle-shaped tortilla chip in the 1940s after realizing that the tortillas rejected by the automated tortilla manufacturing machine at her Mexican delicatessen and factory were still good.

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To reduce waste, reuse, and repurpose, Carranza decided to cut these leftovers and fry them for a family party. The snacks received so much praise that she decided to sell them at El Zarape Tortilla Factory to a dime a bag. Throughout the years, the snack popularized, and Mexicans found more ways to incorporate the chips into their cuisine, including serving them as complimentary appetizers in Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants.

As reported by Los Angeles Time, in her establishment located at the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Arlington Avenue in southwest Los Angeles, she packed and sold them as Tort Chips. In 1994, Carranza received the Golden Tortilla award for her contribution to the food industry.