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A hotel owner in New Mexico is under fire for allegedly telling his employees not to speak Spanish in his presence, demanding that employees with Hispanic names make them more English sounding, and ultimately firing several employees.
Larry Whitten is feeling the sting of a community backlash, according to the Associated Press, after purchasing a hotel in Taos, New Mexico. Once word spread that Whitten had allegedly demanded the changes, the community, which is made up of mostly Hispanic residents became unglued.
"I came into this landmine of Anglos versus Spanish versus Mexicans versus Indians versus everybody up here. I'm just doing what I've always done," he told AP.
Whitten, who has successfully turned other hotels around financially, said has been routine for him to change names if they are difficult to pronounce.
"I'm not doing it for any reason other than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over America don't know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything," Whitten told AP.