The Saddleback College Gaucho rides off into the sunset...no doubt looking for that retirement home where Steve Fogue reclines in a rocking chair on the porch.
From the LA Times:
After retiring its ‘racist’ mascot, Saddleback College asks for public’s help in choosing new school symbol
After getting rid of its former mascot for being “racist,” Saddleback College is asking for the public’s help in deciding its new school symbol.
The college’s original mascot, the Gaucho, was the subject of controversy for years. Many took umbrage with the mascot’s depiction of an angry Mexican man riding a horse. A gaucho is an Argentinian cowboy.
The mascot had long drawn comparisons with the Frito Bandito, considered one of the more racist brand logos and retired by Frito Lay in 1971...The public can submit a vote through May 11. The new mascot will be revealed before the end of the semester.
We at Dissent have covered the mascot issue over the years, as has Gustavo Arellano, late of the OC Weekly, now a columnist at the LA Times and, as of this week, the host of the Times' daily podcast, The Times (subscribe already!). Rebel Girl still hopes that Gustavo may one day be our commencement speaker before the Reb retires...A girl can dream, can't she?
Anyway, check out highlights of our coverage below which shows just how long this change has been in coming:
Gustavo Arellano v. Saddleback's "Gaucho" (2009)
Gauchos? Vaqueros? (2011)
No more oucho from Gaucho (2021)
If you want more Gaucho coverage, you can do a search and find it.
Meanwhile, congrats to those at Saddleback who didn't give up. Rock on.
