Chipotle

OK. Am I the only person disgusted by the incessant "chipotle" marketing campaign? What is with corporate America choosing the most exotic sounding spice or ingredient in ethnic cooking and exploiting it like some two-bit pimp turning out his latest crack whore for a stroll down the track in search of a trick. Every fast food chain and franchise restaurant has their own "chipotle" flavored meal. Chipotle marinated chicken, chipotle dressings and mayonnaises, chipotle wraps, chipotle this, chipotle that--enough!

Also I find it INCREDIBLY insulting that all of the lastest McDonald's commercials that showcase their Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap have "Latino" music (heavy on the drums and maracas,) brown skinned girls with tons of chica attitude, baggy clothes, big earrings, and of course this skeevy Rico Suave-esque voice over because, you know, ALL hispanics have an accent. UGH!

And it's not just chipotle! Miller has that new Miller Chill beer which is just a ripoff of chelada style drinks. (Chelada is a slang term for beer and a squirt of lime served on the rocks with a salted rim. It's a combination of chela, beer, and helada, iced or with ice. There's your linguistics/culture lesson for the day. Enjoy.) Oh, and guess what? The commercial for Miller Chill has--you guessed it--an accented voice over. Come on!

There's also this bizarre "mango salsa" trend. I don't know where the hell that started, but it's just weird. Look, I love salsa as much as the next person, but I'm so not into fruit salsas. Besides isn't mango salsa really just mango chutney? Methinks someone in the marketing department of some huge restaurant corporation was all, "Hmm. How can we pander to the Latino market? I mean, they are the biggest untapped market segment. I know! I'll just rename these basic menu items and tell the recipe department to throw in some mangoes here, a little lime there, and some kind of exotic spice, too!"

Here's the thing. As far as I'm aware, I've never in my life eaten chipotle, and Ama, my grandmother, cooked for the extended family all the time! So if chipotle is such an authentic "Latino" ingredient, why is it that NONE of my Latina friends have ever eaten it? Hmm?

I guess I'm just tired of having my culture exploited to sell really gross food and surprisingly bad beer. Seriously, folks, exploit someone else for a change. I think we've been exploited long enough.