# How racist was the Speedy Gonzales character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [October 20, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371 "2020-10-20T00:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/41 "2020-10-21T19:17:13Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@Colibri](#): > > > > What cartoon character actually has a real first name? There’s Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn. Ok, maybe Sylvester, but he doesn’t have a last name. What are their “actual names.” > > Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Elmer Fudd, Michigan J. Frog, Pepe Le Pew, Ralf Wolf, Sam Sheepdog, Roger and Jessica Rabbit… Wile E. Coyote, Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle J. Moose, Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Dudley Do-Right, Nell Fenwick, Hoppity Hooper, Waldo Wigglesworth, Tom Slick, Tennessee Tuxedo, Odie Cologne, Peter Potamus, Wally Gator, etc. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/42 "2020-10-21T19:29:19Z")
Here are some of the cartoons: https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLhAApyNT5JGSnX4NiH2f--b54KB52m1Dr&wmode=transparent&rel=0&autohide=1&showinfo=1&enablejsapi=1 ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/43 "2020-10-21T19:40:52Z")
Ugh. That was a terrible time for Warner Brothers cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/44 "2020-10-21T19:42:51Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > But that’s almost entirely a function of the fact that there were very few widely recognized Mexican characters in American media at the time, and has almost nothing to do with how the character was actually being portrayed. I didn’t say it was due to the way the character was portrayed. That was just what the environment was. Speedy himself is just a fast Mexican mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/45 "2020-10-21T19:49:29Z")
Speedy was one of my favorite WB characters as a kid. Even then I knew he wasn’t “racist”, that is, I was smart enough to know his being Mexican didn’t mean all _ **real** _ Mexicans were like him. He was fast, got the cheese, and stuck it to “the man” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/46 "2020-10-21T20:00:44Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I guess. As racist little kids, other racist jokes and stereotypes seemed much more common for different groups, at least in Brooklyn and Queens. Western NY here from the turn of the 80s and I never heard that stereotype either. But then again maybe I lead a sheltered life because while I did hear racist jokes about other ethnicities, I didn’t get _them_ either other than “haha they did something weird or stupid for no reason.” divorced from any pre-existing expectations. But I’m pretty sure about not getting the Mexican=lazy stereotype. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I heard people talking about the origins of it and that people apparently literally thought of a draped, sombrero-wearing mustachioed guy lounging under a cactus, which as far as origins of stereotypes go, struck me as more of a stereotype of a stereotype it was so heavy handed. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/47 "2020-10-21T23:43:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I had one, too. What cereal did that come in? {…} [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aaSnEyGxXGo/hqdefault.jpg "FRITO BANDITO ERASERS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaSnEyGxXGo) Didn’t realize corn chips could be used as cereal! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/48 "2020-10-21T23:46:51Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Didn’t realize corn chips could be used as cereal! Don’t knock it 'till you’ve tried it. And OK it was a silly question, if I’d thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/49 "2020-10-21T23:47:37Z")
Would now be the right time to mention that when I worked at Immigration Court, we once had training for our case management/scheduling software for which the model cases in the training manual were for Juan Valdez and Speedy Gonzalez? Yes, really. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/50 "2020-10-22T00:01:20Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > {…} And OK it was a silly question, if I’d thought about it. Nah, I’d swear there were those kinds of, seemingly, weird cross-promotions back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/51 "2020-10-22T14:37:08Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Nah, I’d swear there were those kinds of, seemingly, weird cross-promotions back in the day. Like my Woody Woodpecker Kazoo. What that had to do with Rice Krispies I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/52 "2020-10-22T14:50:30Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > {…} And OK it was a silly question, if I’d thought about it. > > Nah, I’d swear there were those kinds of, seemingly, weird cross-promotions back in the day. How is that weird? It’s a toy based upon a (presumably) popular cartoon character. So kids will pester their parents to buy the cereal to get the toy. The cereal company increases sales, and the TV show might get more viewers. Seems perfectly reasonable from a pure marketing standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/53 "2020-10-22T15:16:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > How is that weird? It’s a toy based upon a (presumably) popular cartoon character. The Frito Bandito wasn’t a popular cartoon character. He was a popular commercial pitchman (for Fritos corn chips). Here, he will sing you a leetle song: Aye -yi-yi-yi I am the Frito Bandito I eat Fritos Corn Chips I love them, I do I want Fritos Corn Chips I get them from you So of course the Frito Bandito eraser would be in a pack of Fritos Corn Chips. Q.E.D. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/54 "2020-10-22T15:40:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Aye -yi-yi-yi > I am the Frito Bandito > I eat Fritos Corn Chips > I love them, I do > I want Fritos Corn Chips > I get them from you Aye-yi-yi-yi I am the Frito Bandito Give me Fritos corn chips And I’ll be your friend The Frito Bandito You must not offend! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/55 "2020-10-22T16:03:50Z")
So I guess this bloke is related to the Hamburglar, Chester Cheetah, Joe Camel, and Lucky C. Leprechaun? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/56 "2020-10-22T16:09:17Z")
Yup. When I read the lyrics above, I could still hear the jingle in my head; it was still being used in the early '70s, when I was a kid, and I remember having those Frito Bandito pencil erasers when I was in first or second grade. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FbYj7ZyqjYY/hqdefault.jpg "The Frito Bandito Corn Chips song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbYj7ZyqjYY) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/57 "2020-10-22T16:34:40Z")
When they realized that the Frito Bandito was offensive, they changed the mascot to “W.C. Fritos” > **[Toonfomercial: Remember W. C. Fritos? (1971)](http://saturdaymorningarchives.blogspot.com/2017/10/toonfomercial-remember-w-c-fritos-1973.html)** > > After pressure from certain corners forced Frito-Lay's advertising agency to retire the Frito Bandito  (Mel Blanc) in 1971,  the snack giant... > **[W. C. Fritos 1970s Fritos Corn Chips Commercial | The time machine, Old...](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/54184001746725650/)** > > Sep 5, 2022 - Early 1970s commercial for Fritos Corn Chips featuring the character W. C. Fritos based on W. C. Fields. Aired February 20, 1973 on CBS Similarly, another 1960s product was Pillsbury Funny Face Drink Mix (Goofy Grape, etc.). Two of their flavors were Chinese Cherry and Injun Orange. > **[Maybe These Pillsbury Drink Mix Mascots Are Best Left in 1965](https://food52.com/blog/18562-maybe-these-pillsbury-drink-mix-mascots-are-best-left-in-1965)** > > "Funny Face" wanted to give you a laugh in every glass. But at whose expense? > **[Funny Face (drink mix)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funny_Face_(drink_mix))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Funny Face was a brand of powdered drink mix originally made and publicly sold by the Pillsbury Company\[A\] from 1964 to 1994, and in limited productions (mainly in the Midwestern and New England regions of the U.S.A.) from 1994 to 2001. The brand was introduced as competition to the similar (and more familiar and better-selling) Kool-Aid made by Kraft Foods. The product came in assorted flavors sweetened with artificial sweetener,\[B\] and was mixed... They changed these to Choo Choo Cherry and Jolly Olly Orange. > **[Pillsbury Funny Face for sale | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/b/Pillsbury-Funny-Face/1526/bn_71609825)** > > Get the best deals on Pillsbury Funny Face when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/58 "2020-10-22T17:47:08Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Would now be the right time to mention that when I worked at Immigration Court, we once had training for our case management/scheduling software for which the model cases in the training manual were for Juan Valdez and Speedy Gonzalez? Yes, really. When testing an HRIS for a former employee, I used Mildred Rached and Sigmund Freud as names for employees during our training. I worked with nurses and doctors. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/59 "2020-10-22T18:49:20Z")
My parents would have been very sorry if I had gotten my hands on a Woody Woodpecker kazoo; in fact, my wife would be even more sorry if I had one now. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/60 "2020-10-22T19:13:23Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > My parents would have been very sorry if I had gotten my hands on a Woody Woodpecker kazoo; in fact, my wife would be even more sorry if I had one now. I had a [Woody Woodpecker door knocker](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1960s-woody-woodpecker-door-476281065), much to the consternation of my parents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371.md?page=4)