Speedy Gonzalez is a Mexican hero

In this day and era of being ethnically sensitive and the cancel culture, many icons from the past have been discarded. One of them Speedy Gonzales is seen in his native Mexico as a hero rather than being offensive. The fast-running smart-mouthed mouse was created in the 1950s, and became a children’s favorite in Latin America. Speedy came from the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. His major traits are the ability to run extremely fast, speaking English with an exaggerated Mexican accent, and also speaking Spanish.Speedy's

Speedy's first appearance was in 1953's Cat-Tails for Two. In 1955 Friz Freleng and layout artist Hawley Pratt redesigned the animated character into the mouse we know and love today. The cartoon had the same name as the one two years earlier and revolved around Sylvester the Cat guarding a cheese factory against starving mice. The factory was located at the international border between the United States and Mexico and Speedy was called in by the mice to save them.

The iconic Mel Blanc gave Speedy his famous cries of"¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Epa! ¡Epa! ¡Epa! Yeehaw!"! This has been interpreted as meaning "Come along! Come along! Up! Up! Whoops! Whoops! Whoops! Yeehaw" or basically "Hurry Up." Sylvester soon was defeated and the cartoon won the ACADEMY AWARD in 1955 for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).

There are 46 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts where Speedy is featured or is part of the gang. Over the ensuing decades, the animated mouse has been criticized for exhibiting ethnic stereotypes. His Mexican accent, oversized yellow sombrero, and his cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez, have all come under fire.Slowpoke and Speedy's friends are usually depicted as dumb and lazy and after complaints CARTOON NETWORK discontinued Speedy Gonzales re-runs because they were considered too offensive.

Three years later after fans of the fastest mouse in all of Mexico began complaining the network reinstated Speedy to their lineup. In spite of the animated mouse being accused of racial cliches, the Latino community has embraced him. Mexicans have also said they love the 1961 song Speedy Gonzalez by Pat Boone. As a matter of fact, Speedy's clothing which consists of the oversized sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, was the popular attire of young males in rural Mexican villages during the time when Speedy was created.

In Mexico Speedy is considered a hero because he seems to always outsmart his foes and win in the end. Many Hispanics said this cartoon mouse depicted an image that was different from other stereotypes of the time. Speedy is seen as subverting the expectations of white audiences this is what got him back on the air. The League of United Latin American Citizens, a Latino anti-discrimination organization, was prominent in seeing that Gonzales was restored to television screens and movies. Gabriel Iglesias who voiced the cartoon rodent in the new SPACE JAM movie proudly announced that the cancel culture could not touch this iconic character.

Eugenio Derbez will voice Speedy in a movie about the mouse that is still in development. When asked by DEADLINE about stereotypes he said “In Mexico we grew up watching Speedy Gonzales,” “He was like a superhero to us, or maybe more like a revolucionario,(revolutionary) like Simón Bolívar or Pancho Villa.” Kudos to the Latino community for seeing the benefit of keeping Speedy is around. He is a hero to people of all ethnicities who can recognize his true value.

Speedy is smart, witty, and 2 steps ahead of his foes. He is fast as lightning and millions of children of all races saw past the stereotypes and fell in love with the mouse. Sorry, cancel culture this is one icon that indeed is too fast for you to catch and cancel out. There obviously are more people who embrace this animated rodent than there are who want him removed from existance.