It Burns Good
"Show them what the burrito is worth.”
Flamin’ Hot (2023)
Admittedly this is one of, if not, the fastest turnaround on a blog entry that I have ever done. This movie premiered on streaming a few days prior to publishing, and when I was looking for a movie to destress to (as usual), I remembered seeing the trailer a few weeks ago, and then it popped up on Hulu. Who doesn’t love Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, of course I was going to watch it! I had read about Richard Montañez years ago when I actually worked in Ontario, and the story was inspiring to me, despite the credibility issues or hazy explanations that would come years later.
His story reminds me of the legend of Joaquin Murrieta, a Mexican outlaw operating in Central California that roused the ire of the government officials during the transition of power between Mexico and America for the governance of California. Despite the truths, historical inaccuracies, and details, the story inspires us to right the wrongs, fight the good fight, and do better than the world expects of us. Fortunately for him, Richard is still around to see his story come to fruition on the small screen and tell his story through the directorial debut of Eva Longoria. Fortunately for us, there was another vato that had the ganas to get there to inspire us.
The Review
Richard Montañez is a broke cholo from Gusati, a small town that barely anyone has heard of near Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Growing up as a farm worker didn’t afford him many opportunities other than what the Cholo life had to offer - crime, dealing, and being broke. Richard has no education, not even a high school diploma. When his wife becomes pregnant and he makes a choice to leave the Cholo life, he’s in and out of jobs trying to provide for his family. His friend from the Hood offers to connect him with the hiring manager at Frito Lay, where he barely makes it as a janitor.
When the factory faces layoffs and possible closure in the late eighties, he sees a video from the CEO playing in the break room, encouraging the employees to take initiative and “think like a CEO”. This encourages Richard to break company protocols and work with his family to create a spicy flavoring for the Frito Lay product line,and then directly call the CEO to pitch it. To his surprise, the CEO agrees and his family helps him to prepare a sample batch and sales pitch for corporate consideration.
Richard, along with the support from his wife, kids, and coworkers, presents an idea that not only stands to save his factory but his company, and along with it the jobs of his friends. His idea to create a product that appeals to the Hispanic market opens the doors to a multi-billion dollar business bigger than anyone in his family could have dreamed of. Thus the world was introduced to the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto.
The Take
Let me first say that I have actually been to Guasti, where Richard Montañez comes from. When I started my marketing career in AEC I worked in Ontario, CA, and I used my lunch breaks to go pay the rent. The nearest U.S. Post Office where I drove to get our money orders was the Guasti Post Office. Those vineyards where Richard grew up are now the Ontario Airport, although a few vines still hang around. As it turns out, that same office is down the road from the Frito Lay factory. So this story felt all the more familiar, and in more ways than one.
Half of my family growing up in the Central Valley worked in farming or factories. Uncle Tommy worked for Dole, my brother took shifts at Zacky Farms, my grandmother worked at countless packing houses, my grandfather worked at SunMaid, and Aunt Maria worked at PepsiCo in LA. Like I said, this story is all too familiar to me.
“I got a PHD - I’m poor, hungry, and determined sir.”
My family was poor, determined, and hungry too. The Hispanic home life shown in the film is absolutely real, including watering down the milk to make it last longer, selling tortillas (or tamales) outside the market, lighting the candles when you need the extra help, taking on the extra shifts that turn into 14-hour days, and the extensive Spanglish.
Even scraping the bottom to get by, cleaning houses, packing fruit, and throwing out trash at a factory, our culture does their best to keep our spirits up, even through economic recession. This struggle can be hardest on the men in our lives, who are expected to be the earners, the breadwinners, and the ones who can’t be seen cracking from the pressure. When the factory is hit hard by the economic situation of the eighties, Richard relates:
“So we did what Mexicans do best. We shoved it down and tried to keep our heads up, even while we were drowning.”
We survive as a group, as a crew, as a team, and especially as a family. And that survival game is never anything you should be ashamed of, as is constantly related throughout the film.
Survival doesn’t happen alone, especially in the Hispanic community. That’s why the film leans heavily into Richard’s relationship with his wife Judy. She is very much his other half and support throughout his life and his career. When he is worried about his presentation with Roger Enrico, CEO of PepsiCo (owner of Frito Lay) he considers giving up and calling off all of his research and family’s hard work. His wife guides him and takes him to the library to study as many business books as possible, figuring out together how to create a sales presentation. At every crucial turn where he considers giving up or going back to the bottom, his wife is his conscience and his strength. One of my favorite lines in the film (and there are so many good ones) is Richard’s voice-over -
“You wanna survive this crazy world, find yourself a Judy.”
It’s absolutely true what they say, behind every great man is a great woman.
One scene does a good job of explaining the caste system that the employees self-impose to keep the peace in the factory. Visually the scene plays out by explaining that each group organizes themselves into their own lunch tables based on their jobs. Plant managers at one table, floor managers, below that, engineers and machine operators after that, and packing, assembly, and delivery at the other. Included in the “bottom feeder” table are the maintenance technicians, aka the janitors. This scenario is more common than people realize at factories, companies, and retail. In the context of the film, what the film doesn’t explain is that the same rules also apply in prisons.
“If I was gonna get to the top, I needed to learn from the best. And Clarence, he was the best.”
Richard learns the hierarchy of the factory, but also through the visual example he sees which table he wants to be at. He breaks rank to entice Clarence, the best of the machine operators, to teach him how the factory and its machines work. I mean, how often do you see a janitor with a notebook taking the initiative to learn a new job while working a full time one? Remember also, Richard never graduated high school. Either from lack of opportunity or troubles with the available learning structure, he learns best by watching and doing. Throughout the film after his first week at the job, he’s rarely seen without a notebook. Those who want more do more, and definitely take notes.
Another aspect of the film that I love is the authenticity of the Chicane characters. There’s no watering down the language or the culture, nor portraying the stereotype that most media leans into. Those stereotypes that still linger from old westerns and Speedy Gonzalez (who was only recently voiced by an actual Mexican American) but in this film the authenticity is more prominent than the stereotypes. The struggle between stereotype and authenticity makes it harder to be Chicane at the office. There’s a constant fear of worrying that you’ll be too hood for the office, but too “white” for your family. That identity crisis can be more daunting than paying the bills or making a deadline, exasperated by the mental gymnastics of having to turn off your inner chola (although mine is more of a cross between Chola and Valley Girl, understandably.) In one hilarious daydream scene, Richard even states “It’s my first week on the job, I had to mind my gangster.” And I felt that, I still do, all the time.
In an interesting couple of scenes, there is a creative take on code switching where Richard imagines what the conversation must be like in the C-Suite, a place where most Chicanes don’t even dream about finding themselves. The juxtaposition of company positions and of opposing cultures is not only hilarious but accurately explains corporate operations for those of us who grew up talking like Speedy Gonzalez. Richard explains it as
“The corporate suite at Frito Lay felt like gangsters throwing down in a drug den. Because let’s be real, that's pretty much what C-suiters are. Gangsters with money.”
Because he sees them as OGs, the dialogue is written as though they actually are vatos, and played out with War’s “Cisco Kid” in the background. Some viewers may need an actual Cholo translator but I had to rewatch these scenes, they are so hilarious. It’s done with love (as we say, “con cariño”) and it looks like the actors had a lot of fun with it.
Past being a heartfelt human interest story, this movie is focused on product marketing. There are references and allusions to the true creators of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, especially in response to investigations about the true inventors of the product but it’s not always about who does it first but who does it best. I think that’s why the focus of the film toes the line of a human interest story rather than a product history. What the story focuses on are the marketing elements and the power of diversity when its value is applied, or as Roger Enrico calls it in the film “investing in a vision”. The essence of those stories elevate them past the minutiae of the details. Everybody loves an underdog in America.
The business lesson that this movie is really about is the lesson that we as the Chicane, Hispanic, and Latine community have been trying to teach for decades. We have buying power. Despite the context of the political backdrop, immigration reform, culture shifts or economic recession, we have a workforce and buying power, especially in the food market. There are reasons that Taco Bell is open 24 hours in most locations, that Chipotle is the number one fast food chain in the U.S. (although not necessarily true in California), and that Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are a worldwide sensation and billion dollar brand. And if our food is that good, imagine what our people can do for you, for your brand, and for your business.
What we do, we do “con ganas”, Cholo translated - “with desire”. That fire in our bellies to work hard for ourselves and for our families comes from those delicious chiles in our snacks.
