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…
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