Fans’ response to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ temporary alter ego, the Chaquetas, wasn’t quite what the team expected.
The Minor League Baseball team, which is the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced last month that the team would play under that moniker three times this season, including Saturday, April 13.
The name Chaquetas — which means “jackets” in Spanish — is a tribute to Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly, who has donned a mariachi jacket from time to time, including during a 2021 trip to the White House.
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But when the name was announced, fans were quick to point out on social media that “chaqueta” is also slang for masturbation.
“Maybe y’all should’ve done some more research before choosing the name,” Ernie Fernandez Moreno commented on a Quakes Facebook post about the rebrand.
The wait is over!
Get ready to watch the Quakes transform into the Chaquetas. Learn more about our NEW ‘Copa de la Diversion’ identity and purchase tickets to see the Chaquetas here https://t.co/zJlzSxdfJX pic.twitter.com/03TzN7eahW
— Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (@RCQuakes) March 14, 2024
“Obviously, we were surprised when we launched,” Quakes Vice President and General Manager Grant Riddle said Friday, April 12.
He said the double meaning “was not our intention.”
Before finalizing the name, he said, “we checked it with local Latino and Hispanic business partners” and the slang meaning wasn’t mentioned.
When Quakes representatives asked people again, he said, “we were told it’s not well-known.”
Richard Rodríguez, an English professor at UC Riverside who specializes in Latino literary and cultural studies, said the word’s second meaning is “definitely a colloquialism.”
“It’s kind of hard for me to believe that nobody knew (the meaning), if they’re Spanish-speakers,” he said.
In Latin America, he said, “the regional significance of the term is, in many ways, the result of working people, or people who kind of rail against the official use of language. I don’t think it has that meaning in Spain, for example.”
Rodríguez said that slang plays on language can be about “establishing a sense of connectivity” within groups like working-class communities.
And, he said, the word’s meaning is informed by the context at hand.
For example, he said, “if one says ‘apple,’ one thinks immediately of the fruit — but it could be a computer.”
The Chaquetas rebrand is for Copa de la Diversión, an “event series specifically designed to embrace the culture and values that resonate most with Minor League Baseball teams’ local U.S. Hispanic communities,” according to the Minor League Baseball website.
Teams play under a different name and adopt a mascot that represents their locale or history. For example, the Inland Empire’s other two teams, the Lake Elsinore Storm and the Inland Empire 66ers, also take part, playing as the Cadejos and the Cucuys. Both are mythical creatures in Spanish and Hispanic culture.
Riddle said the Quakes had been “searching for something to reinvigorate the fanbase,” and thought of Kelly and his jacket — but the name “mariachi” was already in use by another team. So, he said, they went with the word chaquetas, in part because it contains the letter Q.
“In Southern California, Mariachi music is a treasured art form,” the Quakes’ website states. “Its reach extends beyond those who share the genre’s cultural background.”
From left Los Angeles Dodgers players Austin Barnes, Brusdar Graterol and Joe Kelly visit the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, July 2, 2021, to mark the team’s 2020 World Series championship. Kelly dons a mariachi jacket he received in a trade with a musician for his jersey. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
When Kelly wore the jacket to the White House to meet the president to mark the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series victory, it says, “the pitcher was honoring the music’s most esteemed qualities, many of which it shares with baseball: artistry, years of dedication to the craft, teamwork, and the privilege to put on such historically significant uniforms. The Chaquetas pays tribute to that legendary baseball moment, but more importantly, the people who revere it.”
Despite the realization of chaquetas’ double meaning, Riddle said they’ve had “an incredible response” to the rebrand. He said the team’s Chaquetas baseball caps, which feature an image of Kelly pitching while wearing a mariachi jacket, sold out online within 22 minutes.
“They basically wanted to know if we knew,” he said of fans pointing out the double entendre, but “the intent, and the actual meaning of the word, is gonna rule the day.”
“We’ve got a lot of fun stuff planned,” he said.
The Quakes will play three home games as the Chaquetas, with each featuring a promotional giveaway, on the following days:
Saturday, April 13, vs. the Stockton Ports. Chaquetas jerseys will be given to the first 1,500 fans.
Thursday, May 16, vs. the Inland Empire 66ers.
Friday, July 19, vs. the Lake Elsinore Storm. The team will give away Joe Kelly bobbleheads — with the figurine clad in a mariachi jacket.
For more information, click here.