Chef Che Food Truck Offends Cuban-American Population In Southern California

Food trucks have grown up, and some are going to college--which may explain why this food truck has donned the equivalent of a Che Guevara t-shirt. For the past two months, the Che Truck has been driving around Irvine with a huge silhouette of the freedom fighter/mass murderer (depending on your point of view) and serving snacks like the "Fidel Castro empanada." Some Cuban-Americans in Irvine have expressed offense.

Fox LA reports that the truck's owners, a husband and wife team, have "put everything into the truck venture," and that wife Carolina Hernandez apologizes for any offense: "I apologize to anyone who I may have offended. That was not my intention. My intention is to come out feed the masses and see people enjoy a good plate of food."

Grubstreet LA is skeptical of restaurateurs who disavow any political stance: "If owners insist they are not being political or have no clue about the painful history many of our fellow Angelenos have lived through, why veer towards such images in the first place?"

Quick Poll

Does the Che Truck go too far by naming their food and truck after figures in the Cuban Revolution?

Yes. Che Guevara and Fidel Castro are known murderers.

No, Fox LA is overreacting.

Depends--how good is the food?

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

Comments

[ABBATINKO]

01:43 PM on 12/21/2010

MAYBE THEY CAN MAKE EVEN MORE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ BY SELLING CHEPOTLE EYE TACOS AND NAME THEM AFTER CARLOS SANTANA.................

[C Molina]

12:24 PM on 12/17/2010

I can't believe how many ignorant people are on here making this into a political thing. This has NOTHING to do with politics. This is about human rights and being socially conscious and aware. After all, isn't that the very ideal that fuels the far-left movement? If you're all so much about human rights then how on earth can you dismiss what che did to the Cuban people? Again, as I've posted twice before, I'm a registered Democrat who voted for Obama. What are you going to accuse me of now? I believe that gays have the right to be married - does that make me a right-wing nut job? che JAILED THE GAYS - did you know that?

The facts are the facts and if you so choose to twist them and manipulate them in order to fuel whatever purpose you have, then so be it, but the truth is the truth.

[Manuel Menendez]

07:32 AM on 12/17/2010

Che was a killer, and Fidel set him up for failure. They deserve each other.Same ally as Hitler.

[Juan R Pollo]

02:33 PM on 12/16/2010

I'd like to see all the so-called "freedom of speech" advocates drive a German food truck with Hitler's picture or an Arab food truck with the picture of Bin Laden through the streets of Manhattan.

[jfair80]

05:14 AM on 12/16/2010

Anything is better than the Batista Burrito.

[pedro martori]

04:50 PM on 12/16/2010

BATISTA, WHO i FOUGHT AGAINST AT AGE 17 AND WHEN I HAD TO GO INTO EXILE BECAUSE THEY WERE TRYING TO KILL ME, WAS A BABY JUST BORN NEXT OT THE BLOODIEST TYRANN OF THE aMERICAS EVER : CASTRO.
While Baista's regime was building all over the country hospitals, schools, roads, ports, homes for the farmers or paysants, , Clinical Dispensaries all over the country and the biggest of all Hospitals in Cuba at the Tope de Collantes ,in Central Mountains of the Escambray.
Castro's in comparison has destroyed most of Cuba and let it rotten, crumbel down and in ruins.

Batista's regime didn't make millions of cubans to flee his regime..while Castro's has made over two millions get out , escape on rickity rafts and even risking their lives..Men, Women, old folks, Babies have done that risky crossing of the seas in the Straight of Florida or in the Caribbgean seas.
While in Batista's tiem( seven years in power) thousands inmigrated into Cuba..the contrary happened afte Castro took power..cubans and foreigners left, escape..fled , got the hell out of the gulag.

[LMPE]

11:23 PM on 12/15/2010

Someone ought to put Batista's picture on toilet paper and send it to the right-wingers.

[VerizonCells]

08:31 PM on 12/15/2010

I like it! I would love to see this truck drive around Miami...

I would pay to see all the Right Cubans freak out and cry how Castro stole everything.

[C Molina]

08:07 PM on 12/15/2010

As the person who started the movement against the image represented on this truck, I feel I have to post here in response to some of the comments. First and foremost, I am not trying to pust anyone out of business, I'm trying to EDUCATE. If you or your family members did not live through the crimes committed by che, then you don't know. If you think che was a hero, then you are saying it's OK to shoot a woman, 6 months pregnant, in her stomach because her family didn't agree with his ideology. The man was a mass murderer and a criminal, PERIOD. If you know who he was and still idolize him, that's your right, but at least be educated. When Mexican-Americans complained about Columbus day, my kid stopped having the day off at school. Was the Mexican community being hyper-sensitive? Let's make a hitler food truck or a bin laden food truck. After all, anyone offended by their images is hyper-sensitive too, right? Don't criticize people for being sensitive about a hurtful image. It's ignorant and disrespectful. These food truck owners knew what they were doing and still chose to do it - the woman admitted it on the radio last night. All I'm doing is trying to find a win-win solution to this insult to our community and trust me, I WILL find it...

[Lou Pucci]

08:16 PM on 12/15/2010

I don't acknowledge Traitors.

[C Molina]

12:17 PM on 12/17/2010

You just did

[Lou Pucci]

08:16 PM on 12/15/2010

haha.

[VerizonCells]

08:28 PM on 12/15/2010

Thanks You! I agree... I spend lots of time in Miami because of my work and there is nothing worse to me then these Right Wing Cuban Hardliners in Miami

[DanSc]

06:40 PM on 12/15/2010

Any word on if the Che food truck thinks Africans are incompetent, as its namesake did?

[peacefullittlebunny]

05:36 PM on 12/15/2010

Worst business idea ever. What's next, the "Hitler" hotdog cart?

[VerizonCells]

08:29 PM on 12/15/2010

not even the same at all.

[cybolt]

02:54 PM on 12/15/2010

I literally laughed out loud.
How hard people will look and how far they will stretch to be offended and become a victim.
Amazing!

[iotagamma]

02:36 PM on 12/15/2010

This always comes down to your political ideology (personal). But I need to stress a point that is always ignored by the exiled cubans. Dear cuban exiles, I understand that you feel anger against a foreigner that assisted in your liberation (point of view of many), but unlike the 50's Cuba you abandoned, here we believe in Freedom of Speech and Capitalism (that which screwed the majority of your people). Freedom of Speech allows me the right to parade in little havana wearing my Che* shirt waving a Soviet flag, while you stand there and take it (accept it or leave it). Capitalism allows all of us to profit from unregistered, untrademarked, and non-patented items or goods. This allows anyone to use a photograph in anyway they desire, to boost said profit. Unless used to psychologically or physically harm another, you cannot, under our two rules mentioned above, overreact and decide to have said "offensive" material removed. If I can tolerate "cinco de mayo" then you can tolerate a simple Capitalistic move to profit from a Hero. If you cannot, then to bad. Accept it.

[Kato21]

12:01 PM on 12/16/2010

As you so astutely pointed out, freedom of speech is a cherished right in the US and the said critics are exercising that right. Fortunately they are doing so in the US and not today's Cuba.

From Human Rights Watch:

The Criminal Code mandates a three-month to one-year sentence for anyone who "publicly defames, denigrates, or scorns the Republic's institutions, the political, mass, or social organizations of the country, or the heroes or martyrs of the nation." This sweeping provision potentially outlaws mere expressions of dissatisfaction or disagreement with government policies or practices, clearly violating free expression. The protection from insult of lifeless entities, and state-controlled institutions and organizations in particular, appears designed solely to preserve the current government's

So much for liberation...

[JazzOrgan626]

01:13 PM on 12/15/2010

A good friend of mine who lives in Florida recently told me she is first generation American born from Cuban parents who fled to America before she was born. Her uncle was caught and put in prison for 25 years. He grandfather had the Cuban govt. come to his farm and inform his they were taking it over. He died shortly thereafter.

Her parents are very offended by depictions of Che Guevara's picture in pop culture. They don't understand why people would idolize this terrible person.

I will defer to them, since her family lived though the reality of the Cuban regime.

[VerizonCells]

08:35 PM on 12/15/2010

I always found it strange they all have the same story...

Are you sure they weren't wealthy land owners that exploited the people and deserved everything they got.

[dbrett480]

08:53 PM on 12/15/2010

They all have the same story because it was a common story during that period of time in Cuba's history. Visit Miami and talk to any Cuba-American who crossed 90 miles of ocean to reach America. I'm sure if Cuba was a good as you claim it is, people wouldn't risk their lives to get to the United States.

[dbrett480]

12:39 PM on 12/15/2010

Funny how we can applaud murderers just because the spread a "liberal" ideology. That's what happens when people don't take history classes.

[iotagamma]

02:48 PM on 12/15/2010

eh! not even worth it.. Congrats, you have bored me.

[VerizonCells]

08:36 PM on 12/15/2010

wow, guess you need some American history lessons.

[dbrett480]

08:55 PM on 12/15/2010

I've taken American history. I'm also very familiar with the history of Cuba and the millions of refugees who risked their lives crossing 90 miles of ocean in makeshift boats to reach America. I'm pretty sure they didn't do it because they wanted to visit Disney World.