March Madness: Version Copa de la Diversión, part 4

Okay, okay, I know. All of these team names and rebrands are Latinx to some degree, but there are translations and rebrands and then there are just full on, overt shout outs to Latinx culture.

This bracket is devoted to the Copa de la Diversión rebrands that are not aiming for subtle.

If you missed our first two brackets, the Western bracket still has some upsets brewing and the Legends bracket is just underway! Make sure your voice is heard before the next round.

1 v. 16 Flying Chanclas v. Toros

MiLB San Antonio Flying Chanclas

I don’t know what to say here other than Flying Chanclas is probably the best logo ever. San Antonio unveiled this for the 2018 Copa and they were absolutely correct to bring it back. Chanclas are sandals, they fly when grandmothers need to get your attention. What I’m saying is this honors abuelitas, or grandmothers:

The club honors the matriarch of the Latino family, the Abuelita, and her symbol of strength, discipline and love with its on-field persona for this special series of events. The chancla has long been symbolic of the Abuelita as she maintains the structure and order of la familia.

MiLB Visalia Toros

The Rawhide were clever with their choice of the Toros (bulls) for their rebrand, but it’s a tough field and “rawhide” to “toros” really doesn’t cut it for me.

8 v. 9 Caballeros de Charlotte (Charlotte Knights) v. Gallos de Delmarva (Delmarva Shorebirds)

MiLB Caballeros de Charlotte

The Cabelleros are a direct translation, but this is their third year doing this gig and they have honed the mascot substantially. They’ve updated the logo to have Latinx flair on the horse and the knight. It’s a subtle and beautiful homage.

MiLB Gallos de Delmarva

The Shorebirds have adopted a different bird for their Copa image, el gallo, or the rooster. As they describe it:

The Rooster - a majestic animal in which the crowning at dawn of each morning symbolizes the daily triumph of light over darkness and the victory of good over evil. The Rooster symbolizes strength and determination. The vibrant colors of the Rooster is diverse, much like the Delmarva peninsula. Without the Rooster, the dynamic poultry industry on Delmarva is not able to thrive.

5 v. 12 Picantes de Lake County (Lake County Captains) v. Matamoscas de Midessa (Midland Rockhounds)

MiLB Picantes de Lake County

The Picantes are aiming for spicy, and their logo delivers. I love the concept but I’m not sure the backstory matches the art.

MiLB Matamoscas de Midessa

Matamoscas translates to flyswatter, and while I understand the angle here, it’s not a chancla.

4 v. 13 Mariachis de Nuevo México (Albuquerque Isotopes) v. Calaveras de West Michigan (West Michigan White Caps)

MiLB Mariachis de Nuevo México

The Mariachis won the Copa in 2018 and the Albuquerque Isotopes serve green chile in their stadium, so I probably should have ranked the returning champions higher, but what can I say, it’s a tough field this year and I’m not sure doubling down on the Mariachi will win this year. Even with the world’s most perfect food.

MiLB Calaveras de West Michigan

The Calaveras are a great newcomer to the dance and it’s just bad luck that they drew the Mariachis round one. This is a nice shoutout to Dias de los Muertos and I like the motion in the logo.

6 v. 11 Pajaritos de Norfolk (Norfolk Tides) v. Cangrejos Fantasmas de Chesapeake (Bowie Baysox)

MiLB Pajaritos de Norfolk

This is one of the toughest first round matchups in the Copa. The Pajaritos are adorable. The name translates to little birds, which is a great reference since the Tides are an Orioles minor league affiliate. I love that he’s got “suerte” in his beak (it means luck). This is a great rebrand.

MiLB Cangrejos Fantasmas de Chesapeake

The Cangrejos Fantasmas are the ghost crabs. It’s apparently a real thing this rebrand was very popular in 2018 and Chesapeake has improved it.

3 v. 14 Diamantes de Arkansas (Arkansas Travelers) v. Medusas de Lakewood (Lakewood BlueClaws)

MiLB Diamantes de Arkansas

The Diamantes legend is too good, I’m just going to let it speak for itself:

Diamantes was a legendary baseball player of Latin descent who played baseball in historic Hot Springs, Arkansas. Rumor has it he came to Arkansas in search of Diamonds, looking for prosperity and the American Dream. When he wasn’t playing baseball he would spend countless hours digging for real diamonds and earned the nickname “Diamantes”. One day, Diamantes went out to look for real diamonds and he was never heard from again.

MiLB Medusas de Lakewood

The Medusas brand is not nearly as clear as the Diamantes, but they have put a lot of thought into a colorful new logo:

The Medusas de Lakewood were born just five miles from the Atlantic Ocean and represent the Jersey Shore throughout the national Copa initiative.

The Medusa, or jellyfish, in this case, has five tentacles, with each representing a different characteristic of the Hispanic/Latino community. The five tentacles here stand for inner strength, faith, trust, family, and acceptance, all powerful and innate features of the group.

The vibrant colors including the light blue, pink and purple stand for the diversity of the community and the familial bond and affection shown throughout the Hispanic/Latino group at the Jersey Shore.

7 v. 10 Xolos de Gwinnett (Gwinnett Stripers) v. Winston-Salem Rayados (Winston-Salem Dash)

MiLB Xolos de Gwinnett

This is short for Xoloitzcuintli, which is the National Dog of Mexico. I’m not going to lie, I learned there was a National Dog of Mexico through this project. However the maracas are great, and the explanation from Gwinnett is endearing:

Xolos (pronounced “SHO-lows”), short for Xoloitzcuintli, are the National Dog of Mexico. The breed has existed for over 3,000 years, dating back to the Aztec empire when they were revered as guardians and protectors. Modern-day Xolos are known for intelligence, loyalty, and athleticism, traits that our team personifies every game at Coolray Field.

MiLB Winston-Salem Rayados

The Rayados were almost a bubble team for me, the logo didn’t jump out initially, and then I dug deeper and realized they just had to be in the bracket. The translation doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, but the design is strong it looks like a soccer kit with a lot of references to the Dash.

2 v. 15 Llamas de Hickory (Hickory Crawdads) v. Piñatas de Erie (Erie Seawolves)

MiLB Llamas de Hickory

This is probably the most colorful matchup of the first round.

Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand what the Llama is doing here or what the meaning of any of this is. Hickory says it has something to do with strength, but I’m skeptical. Whatever, the Llama is here and he’s awesome and while the official Hickory line is that he has a piece of furniture in his mouth, I really think he might be smoking something.

What I’m trying to say is I have no idea what is going on with this llama but I love him. I think we just all need to be okay with that.

MiLB Piñatas de Erie

I had a piñata at an early birthday. I was turning five or six or something. It was awesome. We swung at it, the candy sprayed. Every single one of my friends loved it. I love that Erie has a shoutout to this childhood staple as their Copa mascot. I’m just not sure it can come close to whatever that Hickory Llama is doing up there.

Get your votes in for the Latinx bracket by Monday evening. We have one more bracket to go here for the inaugural Bleed Cubbie Blue Copa de la Diversión March Madness, stay tuned to be sure all of your votes count.