#Goyaway - Bigger than Bob
On July 9th, Bob Unanue, President of Goya Foods said that we were ‘blessed’ to have the leadership of President Trump. Unanue continued his praise saying, “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder. And so, we have an incredible builder. And we pray. We pray for our leadership, our president, and we pray for our country, that we will continue to prosper and grow.”
The backlash was expedient as the very next day saw a massive boycott of Goya Foods, a staple in many Latino communities. Referencing Trump’s track record, the criticism was a reminder of a president who has vilified Americans of Latino descent; incarcerated Latino children in steel cages; withdrawn funding for Latino communities recovering from natural disasters; referred to Mexicans as rapists and ‘bad hombres;’ told Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to ‘go back to her country.’ Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx, New York City. The list of offenses enumerated by boycotters referencing Trump’s position towards Latinos is interminable and substantiated with evidence.
In response to Unanue’s remarks, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own Adobo.” Congressman Julián Castro tweeted, “Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products. #Goyaway.” Lin-Manuel Miranda encouraged our culinary creativity adding, “We learned to bake bread in this pandemic, we can learn to make our own adobo con pimienta. Bye.” The Goya boycott fueled unethical responses from the White House, specifically Trump and his daughter Ivanka, who used their social media platforms to advertise on behalf of Goya Foods. Former White House Ethics Chief Walter Shaub noted these offenses which violated the Office of Government Ethics Guidelines which state, "executive branch employees may not use their Government positions to suggest that the agency or any part of the executive branch endorses an organization (including a nonprofit organization), product, service or person." Such ethical violations have been par for the course these past four years.
What I found most striking in the responses from those looking to re-create their favorite recipes from scratch was the seeming reliance on Goya products, which have never been a staple in my Latino household. When you have a Mexican mother and an African American father – your kitchen is an exciting place full of flavors from Baja, Mexico to spicy creole from southern Louisiana. Growing up in Texas we had access to Fiesta Mart grocery stores, an open-market chain founded in 1972 with 60 stores in Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Austin. Fiesta caters to the Latino communities in these metropoles and provides a vast array of products that cast a shadow on the Goya line.
For example, you can find various other brands such as: Herdez, La Victoria, Abuelita, La Costena, El Molino, Embasa, Hola, Gamesa, Bimbo, Da La Rosa, La Morena, El Guapo, El Pato, and Jumex to name a few.
Unfortunately, supply chain distribution and product specificity and availability have inhibited the presence of many of these products in places where Goya is king. In fact, Goya products are tailored for populations who cook certain dishes popular among Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Colombians, and others from the Caribbean. Hence, the adobo references among boycotters. Perhaps this is the right time for other brands to provide these products, like adobo, in markets dominated by Goya. In places like New York City where food deserts abound in ethnic neighborhoods, the corner bodega becomes the grocery store with its supply of high sugar, high fat, highly processed, unhealthy food choices that wreak havoc on the health of local residents. In other words, we have a bigger food problem that surpasses Unanue’s comments and exposes rampant food insecurities, food deserts, and the consequences levied against the health of our communities at large. One scenario might include responsible manufacturers expanding their product offerings to reach these Goya-forsaking consumers, while providing food sustainability projects in the communities that need them the most. It’s easy to see how Goya dominated markets in places that offered little competition.
My recent visit to Fiesta reminded me of its spectacular display of the most glorious ‘wall’ of hot sauces known to man. Fiesta also provides many lifestyle options in its enormous offering of candles for your ofrenda. Imagine my amazement seeing the Elegua candles next to Santa Rosa de Lima or the Chango candles next to the Virgen de Guadalupe. The store also has a section for apparel including casual and work options. Perhaps one of the best reasons to shop are all of the piñatas available to choose from! Like papier-mâché chandeliers decorated in star shapes, llamas, or Dora the Explorer, the colorful candy havens are a welcoming touch and practical time saver. It can take hours to fashion and stuff a piñata in the shape of one of Despicable Me’s minions. Although the retail footprint of Fiesta is limited to Texas, it may serve as a model for thinking outside of the box of how we shop for groceries, supply chain distribution, and product availability.
Some critics have suggested the only way for Goya to recover its customer base is to donate to food banks in the Latino community. While a fellow at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, I had the opportunity to dig through the Goya Foods archive and discovered a long history of the company’s community engagement from New York City’s Puerto Rican Day parade to its sponsorship of beauty pageants, art exhibitions, and festivals. It is a company that has historically supported Latin American and Caribbean art, music, and cultural flows. For example, Goya recently partnered with BRIC in Brooklyn to sponsor an exhibition and artist residency about borders, the relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and public outreach. All initiatives opposed by the Trump administration. https://www.bricartsmedia.org/blog/bric-and-goya-bring-art-youth-dominican-republic-artist-residency
“This past spring, food giant Goya partnered with BRIC to generously sponsor the exhibition, Bordering the Imaginary: Art from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Their Diasporas. In conjunction with sponsorship of the show and as part of the company’s Goya Gives initiative, the popular food label proposed working with BRIC to facilitate an artist residency at the Orfanato Niños de Cristo orphanage in La Romana, located in the Dominican Republic, and founded by Henry Cardenas and Marc Anthony of the Maestro Cares Foundation. Bordering the Imaginary exhibition artist iliana emilia garcía was selected to travel to the Dominican Republic to provide a series of art workshops at the orphanage.”
Goya is also a corporate sponsor of Ballet Hispanico which stands with #blacklivesmatter - https://www.ballethispanico.org/. These are just a few examples which demonstrate decades of Goya’s support from the archives at the Smithsonian to contemporary dance, art and activism, and community engagement. Goya has actively funded several initiatives that are unsupported by the current administration. Goya is bigger than Bob. I’m in agreement with critics who support Goya donating to food banks, but we should also consider the work they have already done to uplift our communities.
Unfortunately, Goya is currently led by someone who doesn’t understand the current administration’s discriminatory and destructive policies that negatively impact Latino communities. Maybe what Goya needs is leadership change. Like many grassroots movements, change often begins in our kitchens. #Goyaway is Bigger than Bob.
