More Than Salsa

In 1992, salsa out-sold ketchup in the United States.  I’ve heard that statistic for years, referenced it a few times, and read it again in Julia Moskin’s “Rediscovering Salsa, the Soul of Mexico in a Bowl” in this week’s Dining & Wine section.  By now, most Latinos in the United States have claimed salsa’s success as our own.  I have friends who’ve worked it into sales pitches and if anyone brings it up around the chip bowl, Mexican or not, we nod knowingly.  Yet I’m not sure what kind of legitimacy we feel this confers on Latino cuisine or the growing market for Latino products.  What does it say about us?  What does it say about them?  What does it say about ketchup?  With so much baggage, it was great to read an article about salsa that was just that.