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Happy March Madness Cubs fans! As promised here is the first of four brackets for the first annual Copa de la Diversión. We’ll have another 16-team bracket each day this weekend to try and determine the best Latinx rebrand in the minor leagues for 2019. If you don’t see your favorite team in the brackets it’s possible they were one of the bubble teams I highlighted on Wednesday.
1 v. 16 match up: Corazones de Reno v. Caballos de Stockton
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The one seed in the East is one of my favorite rebrands. Reno’s minor league team is the “Aces” so they decided to embrace another suit in a deck of cards for their rebrand: hearts. The inclusion of chilis and a baseball sun rising over the heart represent the connection between “food, family and baseball”.
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The Caballos of Stockton refer to both the horses who helped build the region and the “iron horses,” a reference to the trains that brought immigrants to the area.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
62%
Corazones de Reno
(32 votes) -
37%
Caballos de Stockton
(19 votes)
8 v. 9 Sacramento Dorados v. Vihuelas de Nashville
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The Sacramento Dorados image is a Luchador, a wrestler from the Lucha Libre tradition. That is a great celebration of a popular Mexican tradition.
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The Vihuelas de Nashville is a great play on the original mascot, the Nashville Sounds. It pays homage to Nashville’s rich music heritage with a traditional Mexican guitar. Gear also features decorated skulls in the tradition of Dia de los Muertos.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
50%
Sacramento Dorados
(27 votes) -
49%
Vihuelas de Nashville
(26 votes)
5 v. 12 Round Rock Chupacabras v. San Bernardos de Salem
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The Chupacabras is a particularly strong rebrand from the Round Rock Express. The Chupacabra legend is particularly strong in Texas and represents a mythical creature who roams at night.
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This Red Sox affiliate has remade their mascot for the Copa series in 2019. Mugsy the Saint Bernard has taken on a Dia de los Muertos theme and it’s adorable.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
56%
Round Rock Chupacabras
(29 votes) -
43%
San Bernardos de Salem
(22 votes)
4 v. 13 Cucuys de San Bernardino v. Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City
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I’m not going to lie this image reminded me of Skeletor at first, but it’s a great rebrand that references a boogie-man in Latinx cultures. I particularly love the slash marks across the logo.
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Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
74%
Cucuys de San Bernardino
(37 votes) -
26%
Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City
(13 votes)
6 v. 11 Monarcas de Eugene v. Cazadores de Tormentas (Omaha Storm Chasers)
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There were quite a few direct translations that wound up on the bubble, but the graphic work that Eugene did makes up for the lack of creativity in the name. The team description also celebrates the journey of the mascot and relates it to the journey of migrant workers.
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This is as close of a translation to “Storm Chaser” as you can get in Spanish, but Omaha did a nice job with revamping the logo and trying to give it a bit of Latinx flare.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
78%
Monarcas de Eugene
(39 votes) -
22%
Cazadores de Tormentas de Omaha
(11 votes)
3 v. 14 Everett Conquistadores v. Viento de Lancaster
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The Aquasox have revamped their frog as a Spanish explorer. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about embracing the Conquistadors, but it’s an ambitious rebrand.
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el Viento is Spanish for “the wind” and the best part of this rebrand is how seemlessly Lancaster recast their Jethawk in the image of the wind while maintaining a recognizable bird.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
42%
Everett Conquistadores
(21 votes) -
57%
el Viento de Lancaster
(28 votes)
7 v. 10 Viñeros de Tri-City (Tri-City Dust Devils) v. Familia de Tacoma (Tacoma Raniers)
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I have such a soft spot for this cute little vineyard worker, and no, it’s not just because I love wine. It’s a lovely homage to the viñeros who make Washington’s wine country work.
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This is a lovely play on Tacoma’s saying “We R Family.” Their alternate logo is also just beautiful with roses and a lot of color. They will make their debut on Cinco de Mayo.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
83%
Viñeros de Tri-City
(40 votes) -
16%
Familia de Tacoma
(8 votes)
2 v. 15 Lowriders de Fresno (Fresno Grizzlies) v. Rancho Cucamonga Temblores
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This is one of my personal favorite rebrands of the entire Copa series. As Fresno explains on their team page:
The culture of lowriding, with its influence on art, music, and fashion, is deeply rooted in the fabric of the Fresno Latino Community. Lowriding has been a part of California culture since the 1940s. Latinos redesigned cars to ride “slow and low.” Paint jobs became mobile canvases to display artistic tributes to Mexican history and culture. Joining car clubs served as a positive and productive activity in Fresno and other California cities.
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This is not the most creative rebrand. It’s basically Spanish for earthquake and basically the same overall colors and theme of the Quakes normal logo. They also haven’t really done a great job of celebrating the rebrand.
Poll
Who wins this matchup?
This poll is closed
-
87%
Lowriders de Fresno
(43 votes) -
12%
Rancho Cucamonga Temblores
(6 votes)
There you have it, your first round Western Bracket for the BCB Copa de la Diversión March Madness! Voting is open until Sunday afternoon, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite Latinx rebrands.