A zippy, illuminating tour through the career and complicated legacy of Speedy Gonzalez.

A plucky hero able to outrun and outsmart his enemies, Speedy Gonzales is one of Warner Bros.' oldest cartoon characters, having first debuted in 1953 during the “Golden Age” of Looney Tunes. Over the years many observers have criticized Speedy as a stereotype of Mexicans and Latin Americans more broadly, pointing to his large yellow sombrero, broken English, and childlike excitability. Yet others have hailed him as a revolutionary cultural icon who subverted white audiences' expectations by being the hero of his own stories.

Drawing on interviews, research, and new archival sources, Chasing Speedy Gonzales briskly burrows into the history of American animation to explain the influences of racial stereotypes in popular media that still linger today and reveals the impact that Latino animators and audiences have had in Speedy's creation and development. As the character's image and perceptions of him have evolved over the years, author Stephen Andes shows how Speedy has been a recurrent flashpoint in history and culture, one that simultaneously represents a racist past and a hopeful future with positive cultural icons.

Stephen Andes is professor of history at Bushnell University.

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