“Chorizo represents growing Latino population in Wisconsin”

That’s what the headline reads and the picture really speaks for itself.

Chorizo, a spicy pork sausage, signed a contract and was presented with a jersey reading “Cerveceros” across the front during Thursday’s mock press conference, an affair stuffed with so many food references it left you with a stomach ache. But this was also serious business.

According to a recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report on immigration, quoting U.S. Census Bureau figures, Wisconsin’s Hispanic population grew by 23 percent from 2000 to 2004 and accounted for 4.3% of the state’s population of around 5.5 million in 2004. The Hispanic population grew by at least 1,000 in nine state counties, including by 14,647 in Milwaukee County.

So adding Chorizo to the lineup of racially stereotyped sausage mascots was the Brewers way of showing this burgeoning population some inclusion. Other ways included translating the team’s name into Spanish (cerveceros) and emblazoning it on jerseys.

This pretty much breaks most of my rules for reaching out to Latinos in a respectful manner. The sausage is wearing a massive sombrero, has a fat moustache and is, well, a sausage. I wonder how many Venezuelans or Puerto Ricans see themselves reflected in Mr. Chorizo? Oh, I forgot, Latinos are a homogenous mass with no cultural identity to speak of between countries. Gimme a break. The only thing that is semi-comforting is that the rest of the nationalities represented in the various sausage mascots that came before Chorizo — Polish, Italian, German — are treated with equal amounts of disregard for cultural sensitivity.

Update: Apparently not everyone is happy about Chorizo…notably MLB’s marketing team. It was fun while it lasted.
Via / ABC News