All I know is that Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are devoutly beloved and have been a legitimate source of sustenance at any house party or after-school hangout, especially for Mexican Americans like me. I’m not here to defend, deny or corroborate any of Montañez’s spicy revelations. It’s a hot topic that has yet to be fully resolved. This set off a chain of events in which internet sleuths, community advocates and foodies defended Montañez, declaring that his erasure was an act of racism-pressure that led Frito-Lay to backtrack while still not crediting Montañez as the snack’s sole inventor. It’s a lovable narrative that Frito-Lay never denied… until 2021, when the company declared it had no record of Montañez’s involvement with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. As Montañez tells the story, he came up with his legendary creation one day when he took home a bunch of regularly-flavored Cheetos bags from his workplace after a vending machine broke, then seasoned them with spices reminiscent of Mexican street corn. In what has since become a publicly disputed firestorm -creating a rift in the Latinx community-Montañez states that he first pitched Frito-Lay’s executives on the idea of “Hispanic branding” as part of their “method-improvement program” decades ago. He documents how he went on to become the Vice President of Multicultural Sales and Community Promotions for PepsiCo, with a net worth of $10 million. He’s the man who famously claims to have invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.Ī former janitor whose parents worked in a migrant labor camp, Montañez has authored two books, including his latest memoir, Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive. So how did this junk food with dubious origins reach the top of our cultural food pyramid? You can thank Richard Montañez. But even then, I always go back for the sting. Over my lifetime, I’ve accidentally stained countless white tees and fitted caps with red powder-or worse, I’ve mistakenly rubbed my eyes with the spicy residue that lingers uncomfortably long, like too much chile on an unprepared tongue. Yet when the rest of us not named Bad Bunny touch anything with our red hands, we don’t change the world instead, we just leave hard-to-remove splotches. The commercial is a tantalizing promise that Frito-Lay has been enticing customers with since first launching their brand in the summer of 1990: that Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are more than a red-fingered trend they’re a lifestyle.
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