Orange Is The New Black Sazon Goya Adobo Mistake

Photo: Cara Howe/Netflix.

One of our favourite things about Orange Is The New Black is that it features an incredibly diverse cast of women. For many, seeing a number of Latinas at the forefront of a mainstream television show has been life-altering. However, that also means there’s a lot of pressure on the writers to get cultural details right. After the newest season of the show premiered over the weekend, many of those viewers had one very important note.

In one of the funniest scenes in the new season, Flaca convinces her BFF Maritza, to film a makeup tutorial with their newly-acquired cell phone and makeshift selfie stick. Unlike in the makeup tutorials some of us spend hours watching on Instagram, Maritza shows her audience how to work with what you've got. Maritza explains, "What I'm doing now is contour and highlight. When I wasn't in prison, I would do this with a Mac Pro palette and a #19 fan brush. But in here, I use three spices that you can find in any kitchen: cinnamon, cumin, and Sazón Goya." It's that line that irked many Latinx viewers.

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Maritza and Flaca providing us with makeup dupes from Jail. Iconic. pic.twitter.com/zVmnKSgl4h
— GLAM QUEEN ✨ (@MakeupIcon) June 14, 2017

When you watch the scene, Maritza points to each of the spices as she names them, but when she gets to Sazón Goya, she points to something else, a bottle of Adobo. According to Goya's website, Goya Adobo is an all-purpose seasoning with garlic, oregano, black pepper and Latin spices" Sazón on the other-hand contains coriander, garlic, cumin, and annatto. While this mistake may seem insignificant to some, the two are totally different spices and aren't similar flavour profiles. That's why, as wearemitu.com pointed out, so many fans took to Twitter to air their grievances about the scene.

@OITNB It's ADOBO!!!! How the hell do you get the Latina to screw that up?! #adobonotsazon #adobo #goya #wth pic.twitter.com/dgBJHtjOvZ
— Project_Vectrix (@Project_Vectrix) June 10, 2017

@OITNB this is #adobo but maybe she's going for the pale look #sazongoya adobonotsazon #latinadontknowhercondiments @dianeguerrero__ ? pic.twitter.com/TiWQDH029V
— covfefe (@soreeyeah) June 14, 2017

Maritza Just Said That Was "Sazón Goya"... Nah, Bae, That Was Adobo! ? #OrangeIsTheNewBlack @dianeguerrero__
— Molly (@MarlynNikita) June 9, 2017

@OITNB why did she say Sazón Goya when pointing at Adobo Goya...I didn't see any Sazon in the scene..triggered
— Vanessa Casey (@nessa__monsta) June 10, 2017

maritza said "sazón" goya when it was clearly adobo that's how you know she don't cook #oitnb
— caicedo (@bxcai) June 10, 2017

Hey @dianeguerrero__ episode 5 you said Sazón Goya not Goya Adobo. I was ashamed for a good minute. #OITNB @OITNB
— Rebecca Avilas (@RebeccaAvilas) June 11, 2017

Disappointment from viewers who felt like they finally had a TV character whose life and culture wasn't so different from their own is totally understandable. Especially since this seems like a mistake that's easily avoidable. Still, it seems many are willing to let the slip-up slide. The show does seem to make up for it a little bit with lines like, "Yes, your face will smell like your abuela's pork."

When maritza in #OITNB5 calls adobo "sazón Goya". I love her so I'm not over bothered. But come on y'all ??‍♀️?
— Lexi ? (@lexi_deltoro15) June 11, 2017

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