Latino VoicesRacismstereotypesMexican Cuisine

Pizzeria Owner Once Slammed For Blackface Now Stereotypes Mexicans

Brad Breakell insists "Billy Burrito" is just a role and therefore he's "not being racist."
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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The Pizzalchik promotional video features the owner in sombrero and brown face paint, speaking in a fake Mexican accent.
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A restaurant owner in Boise, Idaho, is under fire for promoting a burrito menu in a truly tasteless manner.

Pizzalchik owner Brad Breakell recently filmed a promotional Facebook video in which he dressed as a stereotypical Mexican named “Billy Burrito,” complete with sombrero, brown face paint and exaggerated accent. He talks about his restaurant’s menu and name drops his friends “Tony Tortilla” and “Lenny the Landscaper.”

Although the video was filmed around Christmas, Breakell only took it down this past weekend after receiving complaints that it was racist.

However, the clip was saved by Aaron McFarland, who posted it on his own Facebook page.

Breakell has a history of promoting Pizzalchik by posting wacky videos in which he dons wigs and costumes and assumes cartoonish personas. This is not the first time his advertising has led to accusations of racism.

Last summer, he made a big splash when he decided to dress up as a character named “Jacklyn Jaws.” The costume consisted of a cardboard shark body with a cutaway in the mouth for Breakell’s face.

However, when he painted his face black to blend in with the mouth and his lips bright red for contrast, he looked less like a shark’s mouth and more like a guy in blackface.

When Breakell took down that video, he also posted an apology on Facebook, trying to explain his intent. “I am so sorry if I have offended anybody,” he said in the clip. “I hope you can see that I am genuine in my apology to those of you who I’ve hurt, because this is not who I am.”

What a difference half a year makes, because Breakell seemed more defiant when HuffPost contacted him on Monday.

“This is a menu for selling burritos and Billy Burrito is an acting part,” he told HuffPost. “It’s not racist. It’s a character so I’m not being racist.”

Breakell offered another apology of sorts: “Sorry if I offended anyone, it’s not my intent. I’m just trying to market a menu.”

That’s unlikely to appease Yelp reviewers, who have been complaining about the video for the past five days. Comments include: 

  • “The flavors of racism overshadow cheese on these pizzas. Don’t support this business.”

  • “Racist owner who posts black face video, apologizes, proceeds to post a brown face video.”

  • “The owner has repeatedly used racist black and brown face costumes, with heavily stereotyped accents to promote his restaurant.”

Breakell’s comments to HuffPost suggested that he still doesn’t get why Mexicans or anybody else might be insulted by “Billy Burrito.”

“Should I be insulted when people find out I’m Canadian and say, ‘Eh. How ‘aboot’ that’?”

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Before You Go

6 Mexicans Defy Hateful Stereotypes In Powerful Photo Series
Pedro Ramírez(01 of07)
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Pedro Ramírez, 34, works at Casa Mezcal in New York City. He works to send money home to his mother in Mexico and dreams of being a boxing trainer. He told Muñoz Boullosa:

"When I hear the things Trump says it makes me laugh. I find it funny although I admit it's wrong. The scary thing is that there are many people who have the same mindset as him. Of course I'm scared. He is sick [with] power. I know that people who have the same thoughts as he does have always existed, but until now there was nobody who would stand up for their ideals.

We Mexicans are workers, not drug traffickers. We do not come to have children here, we come to help our families and follow our dreams. Most of us come to make things right." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
Pedro Ceñal Murga(02 of07)
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Pedro Ceñal Murga, 28, is a graduate student at Columbia University studying for a masters in Theory of Investigation in Architecture. He came to New York City to work on his thesis. Ceñal Murga told the photographer:

"Mexicans are an extremely heterogeneous population in the U.S.. There are Mexicans that work in the fields, and Mexicans that run entire companies. I think it is difficult to generalize the kind of intentions that Mexicans have in this country... I think that Mexicans, like many other people in the U.S., are indispensable. There are cities like Los Angeles that have an enormous population of Mexicans, even more than some cities in Mexico. Having this in mind, our workforce, our ideas, are also an important part of the economy. Mexicans are an important piece in U.S. society." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
Pedro Cruz(03 of07)
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Muñoz Boullosa met Pedro Cruz when she walked past his bodega, Rosalindo Grocery Store, in Brooklyn. He became legal in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan's immigration amnesty. Cruz told the photographer:

"I came to New York City like everybody else, like every Mexican that is looking for a new future, a new life. I came here when I was 16, through the border. I started to work and years passed by. I have two kids, they are professionals now. My son is a policeman and my daughter is a social worker.

Mexicans are not what Donald Trump says. We are workers. As long as it is work, we do whatever it takes." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
Pedro Guillermo Curiel(04 of07)
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Pedro Guillermo Curiel stands inside the SoHo Mini Market in New York City. He told Muñoz Boullosa:

"I am Guillermo… well, Pedro Guillermo. I have two names. I have worked in the deli for 11 years. I take the sandwich orders. My favorite thing happening in New York City are the soccer matches. I used to play in Flushing, but not anymore. Now I don’t have time, I always finish working until very late at night." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
Pedro Rodrigo González(05 of07)
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Pedro Rodrigo González, 24, is a ballet dancer, personal stylist, and a fashion blogger. He told the photographer:

"In 10 years I hope to be happy doing many projects that I have in my head. I hope to hold the name of Mexico higher, both in fashion and dancing. I want to help people who are trying to be dancers or designers and impulse them to achieve what they want. I don’t feel ashamed of who I am. I don’t have any secrets." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
Pedro Reyes(06 of07)
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Pedro Reyes, 24, works at the Los Tulipanes bakery in Mexico City. His 27-year-old sister, Eloisa, lives in Philadelphia and he's considered joining her. He told Muñoz Boullosa:

"I think what Trump says makes no sense. Nothing good can [come from] everything he is proposing. The image he is portraying of Mexicans is wrong. We are not how he talks about us. He is not a man who can be in command of such a powerful nation... My sister Eoisa is in the United States. She says that she prays all the time for Trump not to reach the presidency. Sometimes we talk on the phone and think about what will happen to all the people that will be deported if he wins. It is not something we should take lightly." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
Pedro Ruiz(07 of07)
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Pedro Ruiz works at the Sea & Sea Fish Market in Harlem, New York City. He told Muñoz Boullosa a bit about himself:

"I am from Puebla, Mexico. My work here is do the vegetables and keep the fish market clean. I have been in NYC 10 years now. I went back to Mexico in 2008, for 6 months. I think I like everything about NYC." (credit:Sofía Muñoz)
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