Biden was addressing the progressive Latino nonprofit group UnidosUS in San Antonio, Texas, where he said one of the group’s former presidents built it with diversity in mind. He said Raul Yzaguirre built it “with the understanding that the diversity of this community, as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the flowers of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio.” He also appeared to mispronounce “bodegas” in the speech. The comments drew a small cheer from the crowd and Biden laughed, according to video of the event. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists responded to Biden’s speech, saying, “Using breakfast tacos to try to demonstrate the uniqueness of Latinos in San Antonio demonstrates a lack of cultural knowledge and sensitivity to the diversity of Latinos in the area.” “NAHJ encourages Dr. Biden and her speechwriting team to spend time going forward to better understand the complexity of our people and communities.” “We are not tacos. Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by different diasporas, cultures and food traditions. Don’t stereotype us.” Some Republicans also picked up on Biden’s speech, with Rep. Andy Bigg of Arizona tweeting: “Jill Biden says Hispanics are as ‘unique’ as tacos and calls bodegas ‘boguedas.’ No wonder Hispanics are leaving the Democratic Party!” And Steve Guest, an adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz, tweeted: “Which White House speaker just won a bet to get the First Lady to say something like that?” Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS, tweeted that the group was “honored” to host Biden, saying, “She was a great educator in our community and a great friend for years. It’s a privilege to call her a friend.”
