Paper Tacos is a greeting card business founded by Jesús Ruvalcaba. The company focuses on creating culturally specific cards that reflect the traditions, humor, and language of the Latino community. Based in Salinas, California, Paper Tacos sells greeting cards in Spanish, often using Spanglish and references familiar to many Mexican American households.
Ruvalcaba was raised in a farmworker community in Castroville, California. He grew up in artichoke fields where he worked alongside his parents, both Mexican immigrants. He developed a strong interest in drawing at a young age and carried a sketchbook with him through much of his childhood. His parents, despite limited resources and limited English, supported his artistic interests by buying him art supplies. He studied graphic design at Hartnell College and then at California State University Monterey Bay, where he became the first in his family to graduate from college. He later earned a master’s degree in the field.
After college, Ruvalcaba worked as an art director in Silicon Valley for companies including eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Despite the professional success, he began to feel limited by corporate brand guidelines and wanted to find a creative outlet that allowed more personal expression. The idea for Paper Tacos came during a visit to a grocery store, where he was unable to find a birthday card that reflected his Mexican culture. This experience led him to start designing his own cards.
In 2016, Ruvalcaba began developing his first designs. He created 15 greeting cards that blended illustration with phrases rooted in Mexican American culture. He invested $300 to produce the initial batch and debuted the collection at an art festival in San Jose in the fall of 2017. Each card sold for $5. The positive reaction from customers confirmed the demand for culturally relevant cards.
One birthday card reads “Sapo verde to you,” referencing a common mispronunciation of “Happy Birthday to you” in bilingual households. Another card features the phrase “Sana sana colita de rana,” a line from a well-known rhyme used by parents to comfort children. Another card, designed with a cartoon version of a cleaning product bottle, reads “Have a Fabuloso birthday.”
By the end of 2017, Ruvalcaba had earned $2,000 in online sales. In 2018, revenue increased to over $12,000. Paper Tacos now has more than 200 card concepts and a growing following on social media. The business has expanded beyond California, with products available in at least 25 stores nationwide. Vallarta Supermarkets, a grocery chain with 60 stores, carries Paper Tacos cards in all locations. The Salinas branch added the cards when it opened in 2023.
Paper Tacos continues to be designed and directed by Ruvalcaba, though he has brought in other artists as the brand grows. The company features work by Mexican artist Grecia “Gree” Zamora and Salvadoran illustrator Eduardo Marticorena. This expansion reflects Ruvalcaba’s goal to represent other Latino communities beyond Mexican Americans. He has staffed his Salinas office with family members, including his niece, sister, and teenage son.
In 2023, Ruvalcaba left his full-time job to focus entirely on Paper Tacos. He plans to grow the company’s direct-to-consumer business through its website, papertacos.com, where profit margins are higher than wholesale. The cards all follow a standard format, featuring a humorous or heartfelt phrase and an illustration on the front, with a blank interior.
Ruvalcaba has described each card as a reflection of his upbringing. His goal is to share the cultural experiences of his childhood through art and humor. He continues to use his past as the main inspiration for his designs and has made it a priority to support other Latino artists in the process.
