Each year in Mexico City, thousands of folks from around the world descend into Mexico’s capital to celebrate the culture, tradition, history, and heritage of the country’s cuisine at the World Forum on Mexican Gastronomy—and for the first time, the forum will be vacating its home to visit the shores of the U.S., specifically right here in Long Beach.

The four-day event, running from Aug. 16-19 at the Museum of Latin American Art near Downtown Long Beach, will, in the words of forum representative Blanca Arroyo, “summon the actors and factors that are concerned with the safeguarding of Mexican cuisine.”

A cuisine, mind you, that was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2010.

With more than 60 representatives from kitchens around Mexico set to visit Long Beach, the forum will host an array of cooking demonstrations and discussions involving home cooks and professionals, the business of the culinary arts, and academic conversations on everything from representation of Mexican food in international communities to the history of Mexican beverages.

“The ultimate goal is to host a celebration of Mexican food,” Arroyo said. “From tacos to pozole, the past and the current, the forum will be a stage that shines light on the influence of Mexican cuisine not only in its home country, but particularly here in the United States.”

In fact, a large portion of the forum’s historical discussions will focus on how the American palate has been affected by Mexican cuisine, beginning with its first major introduction in the 1800s to its current state as a staple food in American diets.

The forum is free and will be hosted at the Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave.