Most restaurants struggle to garner attention when they first open, but thanks to its controversial name, one new eatery is certainly not having that problem.
On Oct. 9, a restaurant named “Whitexicans” opened its doors in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York, serving dishes like panko-crusted jalapeños rellenos and aguachile de cachuate. But it’s not the food that has people riled up — it’s the name.
“Assumed this was a joke, but nope,” reads one comment on an Aug. 30 Facebook post on the matter.
“They’re very Ignorant to use racist terms that divide the Mexican population and promote white supremacism,” reads another. “It’s frustrating that in this day and age people can still be so naive and blind.”
The word “whitexican” is a pejorative slang term that emerged to describe Mexico’s white population. According to Nexos, a social and cultural magazine located in Mexico City, the term alludes to a social structure that benefits Mexico’s European descendants over descendants of native Mexicans.
“Inadvertently, ‘whitexicans’ draw from a current of colonial nostalgia that looks with growing longing and proximity to the economic and cultural power of the United States,” reads a translation on Nexos.
The term has existed since around 2008 on X (formerly Twitter), but achieved a heightened status in 2020 when Mexican director Michel Franco responded to criticism of his casting choices for the film “Nueva Orden” by saying anyone using the word was “racist.” The term has also often been brought up in discussions on class and race in Mexico.
Co-owner Mateo Gomez Bermudez, who is originally from Colombia, says the name is a response to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. He describes it as “satire.”
“There’s a lot of white people that are Mexicans, so we did it as satire,” Gomez Bermudez tells TODAY.com, adding that while he doesn’t know anyone who identifies as a “whitexican,” many non-Mexicans assume Mexican people, like his wife, only look one way.
“This is a project that we all made through love, through inclusion, and this is what we’re trying to express to the world, that there’s no difference in races,” Gomez Bermudez says, pointing out a sign inside the restaurant that reads “All Humans Are Legal.”
“A lot of people come to the place and they say, ‘Wow, I love your name,’ but I haven’t seen one person come up to us and say, ‘I don’t like your name,’” he adds. But he has plenty of critics online.
“Naming a restaurant called Whitexicans in this political climate is flat-out disrespectful,” wrote one such critic under a Facebook post by Gomez Bermudez. “As someone who’s lived in Jackson Heights my entire life surrounded by hardworking Latino families, I find it disgusting that anyone would try to profit off immigration struggles or turn them into a marketing gimmick.”
“We’re watching ICE raids, detentions, and families being torn apart, and someone thought this was the moment to make a joke out of our community?” the commenter continued. “It’s not clever. It’s not bold. It’s insulting. Jackson Heights is built on the strength of immigrants, and using that pain for profit is a slap in the face to all of us.”
To further complicate matters, The Queensboro, a restaurant across the street from Whitexicans, says one of its employees was deported to Mexico. A GoFundMe for the employee’s family has raised over $111,000.
Gomez Bermudez says he doesn’t support the immigration crackdown and instead, wants to support people in the neighborhood.
“We’re just a place where everybody can feel safe,” he says. “Doesn’t matter your skin color, your race or anything. Over here at Whitexicans, everybody’s welcome.”
So, would he ever consider changing the name?
As of right now, no, “because the name wasn’t picked to offend anyone or with any bad intentions,” says Gomez Bermudez.
