IN RESTAURANTS AND bars across the country, a generation of Latines in the hospitality industry are quietly but powerfully resisting erasure. With intention and authenticity, these culinary visionaries are reshaping narratives about Latinidad — on their own terms. And that’s especially important today, in a political climate where anti-immigrant rhetoric echoes louder each election cycle.
Regardless of your position in the hierarchy of power, resistance is key. And bringing your authentic self to work every day not only enriches the community but proves to bigots that our voices — and our flavors, our influence and our values — will not be silenced. We spoke with industry tastemakers about how they’re getting creative with their recipes and claiming their space in the process.
Guillermo López Folch
At Lala, a restaurant in San Juan, Puerto Rico, co-owned by Bad Bunny and recently named one of Time magazine’s “greatest places,” Chef Guillermo López Folch breaks out of the box Latine chefs are often confined to, bringing a wealth of experience from some of the world’s top kitchensv — including over a decade at Michelin-starred restaurant Le Bernardin in New York.
Now back on the island, he channels that pedigree into a space that blends precision with rebellion. “I’m not going to please everyone, and that’s OK. You’ve got to stay true to what you believe. That’s the most Puerto Rican thing about us. We never back down,” López Folch tells HuffPost.
