America’s First Lady Dr. Jill Biden found herself in trouble after trying to compliment Latinos by comparing them to ‘breakfast tacos’. His efforts failed during a speech for the country’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization when he said Latinos are ‘unique’ as San Antonio breakfast tacos.
The First Lady’s speech inspired criticism from across the political spectrum. Speaking in San Antonio at UNIDO’s annual convention, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, Biden attempted to praise Raul Yazaguirre, who led the civil rights and advocacy organization for 30 years.
on Tuesday jill bidenSpokesperson Michael Larosa tweeted an apology to the First Lady. “The First Lady apologizes that her words expressed anything other than pure admiration and love for the Latino community,” the tweet read.
Jill Biden said the Latin community is “as different as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the flowers of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos in San Antonio.”
“Raul helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community, as different as Bronx’s BodegasAs beautiful as the flowers of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio, your strength is there,” Biden said.
She also mispronounced “bodegas,” small stores in urban areas usually specializing in Hispanic groceries. In New York City, people prefer convenience stores known as bodegas which are often run by Dominican or Puerto Rican merchants.
According to US Census data, San Antonio is one of the great Latino cities in the United States with a population of approximately 1.5 million people, of whom 65% are Hispanic or Latino.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists and others registered their offense on social media, with the journalists’ association tweeting that, “We are not tacos.”
“using Breakfast Tacos The effort to demonstrate the uniqueness of Latinos in San Antonio demonstrates a lack of cultural knowledge and sensitivity to the diversity of Latinos in the region,” NAHJ said.
The association said the First Lady and her speechwriters “should take the time to better understand the complexities of our people and communities in the future.”
Last week, President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor for a civilian, to Raul Yazaguire, the former longtime leader of Unidos.
(with inputs from agencies)
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