The big deal about Jill Biden's breakfast taco blunder is that it belittles the community

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
·3 min read
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Good morning, readers:

Four years ago, I stood in line at an art gallery/cafe in downtown Austin, Texas, to buy one of the city's famous breakfast tacos.

There were only two left by the time it was my turn in my line, but I figured this would be my only shot to eat one during this particular trip. The tacos featured scrambled eggs and fried potatoes wrapped in a corn tortilla and kept warm in aluminum foil. The aroma mesmerized me, and I savored every bite, feeling only slightly guilty that the people behind me missed out.

I grew up eating white rice, blacks beans, plantains and all sorts of stews in my Colombian and Cuban home in Chicago. A few years ago, my parents moved to Austin, so tacos and brisket are now frequently on the menu when I visit.

Never did I intend, however, to write about breakfast tacos outside of a foodie context, but then First Lady Jill Biden came to Texas.

On Monday, as Dr. Biden addressed UnidosUS, the Latino civil rights group formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, she compared Texas Hispanics to breakfast tacos. Yes, she did, mi gente. In honoring longtime leader Raul Yzaguirre, she described the community "as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio, is your strength."

At the time she received some light laughter and appeared to be amused at what was meant to be a cute turn of phrase.

However, it was an awkward one, and on Tuesday she did not hear the end of it in news stories and on social media. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists tweeted, "We are not tacos," and Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, joked that he changed his Twitter profile photo to a taco.

Marlette cartoon: A Biden family tradition
Marlette cartoon: A Biden family tradition

Biden apologized, but hopefully she learned an important lesson: Do not diminish a group of people.

Latinos are not a monolithic group, and their distinct backgrounds span multiple races, ethnicities, socio-economic status and other lived experiences.

Yesterday, I saw social media posts and received emails claiming the "breakfast taco" blunder would drive Latinos further away from the Democratic Party.

That seems far-fetched for that slight alone. But politicians should worry about taking Latinos for granted. At the end of the day, what have they done to earn the community's trust and votes?

Do not reduce us to tasty treats like breakfast tacos, no matter how delicious they are.

Scroll to read the article, which contains the video of Biden making her breakfast taco remark.

You will also find more compelling reads of the week:

Share your cuento: Be a Latino storyteller

Thanks to your response, we have secured a couple of storytellers, but we still need two to three more. As a reminder, The Tennessean is partnering with Plaza Mariachi to put on Latino Tennessee Storytellers program on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. Nominate yourself or someone else to volunteer to share a 10- to 12-minute story that evening. Email me your name, contact information and story idea to dplazas@tennessean.com.

Happy miércoles! ¡Muchas gracias!

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. He is of Colombian and Cuban descent, has studied or worked in several Spanish-speaking countries, and was the founding editor of Gaceta Tropical in Southwest Florida. He has lived in Tennessee since 2014. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Here's the real problem with Jill Biden's breakfast taco blunder