The San Antonio Missions are changing their name to the Flying Chanclas. That’s Flying Sandals for those who don’t speak Spanish, and it is a marvelous name change.
A Minor League Baseball team will be the Flying Chanclas, amazing nostalgia for Latinxs everywhere
This is incredible!
The Minor League Baseball team’s name and logo will temporaily be changed for the inaugural “Copa de la Diversión” which takes place throughout the season.
According to the Missions’ website, the chancla is meant to pay homage to the Latino abuela, Spanish for grandmother, and her strength as the matriarch of the family.
This is just an incredible moment. Mexicans and Latin Americans everywhere can experience the nostalgia of their childhood in the form of a Minor League Baseball logo. The chancla is just sandal, but in the hands of your mother and your abuela, it became the heat-seeking missile that was the bane of your existence as a child. If you did something bad as a kid, their instinctive reaction would be to warn you that the chancla they’re wearing could be easily taken off and flicked across the room right at you.
But when we think of the chancla as adults, it’s not about the punishment our parents and abuelas wanted to dish out; it’s about the love and care that displayed through that. Looking back, it’s one of the most endearing events from your childhood that you can talk about with your loved ones as an adult and laugh. Everyone will have a different story and the chanclas won’t be the same either, but that wistful remembrance is universal.
And with this team logo, the Flying Chanclas are making distant childhood memories much more vivid. Plus, being able to wear it in the form of a cap or a T-shirt is pretty nice, too.
