Earlier this year, a TikToker named Nicole (@dimelifting) said she created something called “flat tacos,” after overcooking a tortilla, and was roundly criticized for rebranding tostadas. Now the video is going around again.
A few days after the original TikTok, which now has more than 1.9 million views, Nicole posted a follow-up saying it was “satire” and that the idea was allegedly her Mexican husband and father-in-law’s, who appear in the video looking uncomfortable. But over the next month, it started getting stitched by more people calling her out.
In early March, creator Petro (@petro_clips), who has more than 1.9 million followers, labeled her “Christina Columbus.” His stitch of the video is going around on TikTok again, and has more than 6.3 million views.
“Everyone’s so creative,” said one commenter, referencing Tanara Mallory’s viral catchphrase for TikTok food crimes. The flat taco hashtag has more than 1.4 million views.
@petro_clips #stitch with @dimelifting ♬ original sound – Petro
“It’s happening again,” said @jg.garcia01 in a stitch.
The search bar above Petro’s TikTok currently says “spa water,” referring to the term TikTokers created last summer to describe aqua fresca. The term “Christina Columbus” has been used on TikTok previously in reference to white creators who “discover” dishes that typically originate in Mexican culture. Last summer, there was also controversy over “cowboy caviar.”
Around that same time, TikToker Daniela Rabalais made a viral video about this trend of co-opting food from other cultures.
@danielarabalais If BIPOC appropriated foods like ⚪️ people do to our cultural foods 😂 #culturalappropriation #spawater #bipoc #foodtiktok ♬ original sound – Daniela Rabalais
Rabalais addressed the flat taco video as well, creating something called a cinnamon tostada (Smores).
