Live Más. Love More. Celebrate Pride Month.

Learn more about inspirational stories of those Making Modern History at Taco Bell and beyond.

First thing is first – what's Pride Month? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. Nowadays, celebrations include parades, picnics, parties, workshops and more – unifying millions of participants around the world for a month of solidarity, recognizing the worldwide impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual individuals have had and continue to have, as well as, reflecting on those impacted by hate crimes, suicide, or HIV/AIDS.

In addition to raising the Pride flag this month, Taco Bell Corp.'s Live Más Pride ERG is participating in OC Pride Festival and Parade on Saturday, June 25 along with our sister brand The Habit Burger Grill! Throughout this month, we will also be sharing information and ways to honor this month across our organization as well as sharing our very own Taco Bell team stories.

But the celebration and work doesn't stop there. Taco Bell allies are living the Pride Month celebration all year long through educating, activating and advocating. They strive to encourage inclusive perspectives, act as a proponent for Taco Bell’s LGBTQIA+ population, and allies and help serve as a cultural partner to amplify our community through education and open communication.

To honor this month and lead with action-oriented allyship, we’re amplifying the voices of those in the LBGTQIA+ community who are growing their careers at Taco Bell.

Week 1

Lucia L. - Area Coach and recent Golden Bell Winner at Taco Bell Corp.

Some people go to Taco Bell for a Bean Burrito and others find love and a successful career. Both are great reasons... but the second option was more Lucia’s style. 

Lucia lives in El Paso, TX and has worked with the Taco Bell brand for 20 years. And when we asked her why she decided to work at The Bell, she said, “I think it’s funny... when I was younger, I wanted to work here because I’m obsessed. I needed more tacos in my life!”

The obsession continued because over the years, she has worn pretty much every hat you can wear at Taco Bell; Team Member, Shift Lead, Assistant General Manager (GM), GM and now... Area Coach. As an Area Coach, she oversees several Taco Bell restaurants in the Texas area. 

Lucia didn’t take just one path to get to where she is today. She worked for two years in-restaurant and traveling to restaurants across the nation that needed help (and local restaurants in El Paso, Texas, too!) – which is where she met Lupe (her now wife), but we’ll get back to that later... 

After those two years, she left to pursue a college degree (this was before you can go to college for free through Taco Bell Corp.’s partnership with Guild). “I came back at a different point in my life,” Lucia said. She didn’t want to travel as much, she wanted to settle down in El Paso. That’s when her Growth Leader asked her to work at a restaurant in need of a GM, and after being asked a few times... she did. 

In just two weeks, she loved the restaurant team like family, had a great system going and was helping the business grow. The rest was history. She decided to stay at that one restaurant, keep up the good work and continue building her passion for the Brand over the next four years. 

Then, in 2015, when an Area Coach role opened in Lucia’s area, she felt like she was ready for it. Although she was nervous about the interview, she had help from her peers (Brandi from HR and Oscar G., who is her current coach and City Leader) to build the confidence she needed to take the next step. But what she didn’t realize was that her confidence was there the whole time. 

“Around the time of the interview, I had a conversation with Becky [HR] and she told me, ‘Wow, that’s a great way of doing that’ or ‘I wish I could clone you.’ And it wasn’t until that moment that I realized... wow, I am doing this right. I am good at what I do.”

After honing in on her inner confidence, interview practice and getting to know the ins-and-outs of the open role, Lucia was offered the job! She’s been in that role for eight years and has built on her success ever since – through overseeing great restaurants and making it to Golden Bell (more than once!), a recognition event for the Best of the Best across the nation. 

And now you might be wondering... so, how did she meet the love of her life? Well, it happened earlier in her career. They were just acquaintances – living different lives, with other “plus ones,” as Lucia would say. While they worked at Taco Bell, they never really worked at the same restaurant, so it wasn’t often that Lucia saw Lupe – until one day, something clicked. 

“I’ve always respected Lupe, how good she is at her job, going to college and a mother of one. After a while, we rekindled at a birthday party... and that was it.” 

They were together for a while and Lucia didn’t see the point of getting married at first. In her words, it was like they were already married, had a baby – they were living their lives together. 

“But after a while, that changed for me. I decided to propose to her on Valentine’s Day outside of a Taco Bell where we shared our first kiss.”

That’s not all. She had plans to get married that same day in their friend’s backyard. That’s right! Their friends, coworkers, family – everyone was in on this special moment for Lupe and Lucia. 

Here's what happened – Lucia said they were on the way to a Valentine’s Day dinner but got a call to head to the restaurant down the street. When they got there, they had a section set up outside with a Fire and Verde Sauce packet that said, “Will you marry me? - Say yes!” 

With everyone they loved there, Lupe said yes. But then she was in for another surprise! Lucia took her to their friend Oscar’s house and when she walked to the back, they had an officiant and wedding set up ready for them to get married that same day. Talk about romance!

Lupe and Lucia have been together for 14 years. Taco Bell brought them together and gave them a path to grow their careers. They both inspire their teams and others across the Brand to pursue their dreams... and find the love of their life. Congrats to Lupe and Lucia for their successes and incredible love story.

We hope you join us in recognizing the impact that LGBTQIA+ individuals have every day, everywhere and all the time! Feel free to use Taco Bell Corp.’s Pride virtual meeting background (just right click to download). Happy Pride Month, everyone!

---

Check out more people stories!