Pizza Patrón – a Dallas-based pizza chain that celebrates Latino culture and lifestyle in its stores – is giving away free pizzas tonight to customers who order in Spanish, as part of its Pizza Por Favor deal.

All Pizza Patron locations will honor the deal, including the company’s Santa Ana store at 122 E. 17th St.

To participate, customers should visit a Pizza Patrón store from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and ask for a pizza in Spanish. In return, they’ll receive a free large pepperoni pizza – the company’s top-selling product.

(Limit one per customer, while supplies last.)

Andrew Gamm, brand director for Pizza Patrón, said there’s no special phrase that needs to be used.

“Pizza por favor,” “Quiero una pizza,” or even “Dame una picza,” will work, he said.

Pizza Patrón has 104 locations in seven states and more than 80 under development. Seventy-six percent of its client base is Latino, Gamm said.

The goal of the Pizza Por Favor campaign is two-fold, he said.

On one hand, Gamm said, the company is using the promotion to strengthen its relationship with its core customers and show them what makes the chain different from its competitors (namely, its Hispanic focus).

On the other, the company also hopes to attract new customers by encouraging non-Hispanics, who live in areas where Pizza Patron has stores, to learn a few new words in Spanish.

“Have no fear, you are welcome in our stores as well,” Gamm said.

The pizza giveaway has sparked controversy across the country and in areas ranging from Mexico to Jerusalem since it was announced a few weeks ago, Gamm said.

Critics, some of whom are angry that customers are required to speak Spanish and not English, have contacted the company via email, phone calls and handwritten letters to express their opposition, Gamm said.

Someone also hacked into Pizza Patrón’s email servers temporarily, he said.

“It’s amazing how much discussion three words can create,” Gamm said.

Pizza Patrón gained notoriety in 2007 when company executives received threats over its Pizza Por Pesos program – the decision to accept Mexican pesos at its U.S. locations.

Gamm said that the company is continuing with its Pizza Por Favor campaign, despite the negative feedback.

“It hasn’t affected us,” he said. “We are moving forward excited, with smiles on our faces, and without apologies. Hopefully we can turn them into new customers. That’s what this is all about.”

Pizza Por Favor is the first of three 2012 campaigns the company has planned to “celebrate the brand’s Hispanic focus and honor the positive force of change immigrants have made in communities throughout America,” according to a news release from the company.

“Keep your eyes and ears peeled,” Gamm said. “There will be more campaigns coming in the future that are just as interesting, as discussion topics go.”