Ugh.
Deadspin reported that the Rockford IceHogs, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be holding a Los IceHogs Night on November 16 in "celebration" of Hispanic Heritage Weekend. Besides wearing some of the most awful and racist jerseys ever, fans will also be getting the jerseys, free maracas, and there will even be a visit from Dora the Explorer. Are you kidding us? How many times can we say #NoMames on this one?
Right now if you go to the IceHogs official site, you will be greeted with this:
The event is being sponsored by Corona, and we are wondering if a Speedy Gonzales Zamboni machine will be clearing the ice as well. Talk about a marketing execution gone haywire. Like the Deadspin piece says:
The idea of Hispanic Heritage Weekend was probably well-intentioned, but the end product is a disaster. Only dumb white people who can't think of a good Halloween costume still consider sombreros and mustaches to be signifiers of Hispanic culture.
We are reaching out to the IceHogs today for comment. Once we hear from them, we will share their thoughts.
The team's Twitter did post the following tweet, asking people what they they thought about the uniforms.
¿Te gusta? Tell us what you think about the jerseys for #LosIceHogs night on Friday, Nov. 16. TIX: bit.ly/U3fsZb twitter.com/goicehogs/stat…
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 8, 2012
No, no nos gusta.
let’s keep it real : there are some hispanics who drink corona + like maracas + will wear these jerseys, i would
Awesome @hurikaneelswiss we will put you down in the defend the ugly stereotypes category. We don’t agree with you. We can do so much better.
@latinorebels to me this is not an ‘ugly’ stereotype. Plus we are assuming that a white person created this. What if the sponser gave money to local (what if they too happened to be hispanic) groups to organize this event and they created this banner with input from hispanics?
That is why we are asking the IceHogs @hurikaneelswiss. We are trying to get more information from the team. Also, we quoted Deadspin piece so there are questions. But we don’t agree with you on one thing: this is a stereotype and it is a sad testament that this type of marketing still continues. Thanks for the comment.
@latinorebels I am a mexican american and I don’t understand why it’s necessary for me to be ashamed or embarrassed by a sombrero or a gaban/poncho or maracas. Why do these things have to be considered offensive and degrading? I am proud of them and I a wear ponchos in public. My family members do too. The majority of hispanics in chicago are mexican. I was born and lived there and still have family in the city.
I do enjoy reading latinorebels.com, I often retweet your posts.
It is cool @hurikaneelswiss thanks for the love. We think you are missing the point. This is not about being ashamed or embarrassed, it is about ensuring there is a greater and more authentic portrayal of Latinos in this country. This imagery is stale and old. We are so much more than maracas, ponchos, sombreros, etc.
@hurikaneelswiss here is the local report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmdCLUkBYPk
@latinorebels Here is a video regarding Latinos in Rockford http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4btUAfehbw
Thanks for sharing. We are not questioning what the Latino community of Rockford does. We are just questioning the poor choices made in the marketing of Los IceHogs night. Thanks.
I’m sure they will not do that with Blacks, Jews or Italian-Americans. Hispanics, on the other hand, are very prone to being caricaturized (ie, not taken seriously).
@Gatowithbotas exactly
The shirt reminds me of something they would sell at some tourist trap spot in Cozumel, Cancun, or Acapulco
Maybe @DignityPeace that is what they think Latino Heritage is all about. Sigh.
[…] tweet got national online coverage, with Deadspin calling it “racist.” When my site, Latino Rebels shared the news with our community, the Facebook and Twitter response was of the overall opinion […]
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