Check out the new Copa de la Diversión identities 

2024 marks the seventh season of Minor League Baseball's Copa de la Diversión program in which teams assume alternate identities that engage with and celebrate their region's Hispanic fan base.

Nighty-eight MiLB teams are participating in Copa de la Diversión this season, the most ever, for a total that represents over 80 percent of the Minor League Baseball landscape. Of those 98, five are being welcomed in for the first time and three more have rebranded, replacing a preexisting Copa identity with something new. This article provides an overview of those eight teams.

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Learn more about Copa de la Diversión and information pertaining to all of the participating teams by clicking here. The program is sponsored in part by Nationwide, the official insurance provider of Copa de la Diversión.

Brand-new

Altoona Curve (Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)
Peces Dorados de Altoona
One of the most beloved characters within the Curve's sprawling mascot pantheon is Al Tuna, covering both a fish and a place name in one moniker. Peces Dorados, which translates to "Gold Fish," is an homage to Al's outsized influence as well as a tribute to Hispanic culture within the game. Curve general manager Nate Bowen notes that Peces Dorados de Altoona "draws a meaningful connection between one of the best mascots in Minor League Baseball and the vibrancy of the culture that so many of our players grow up in and engage with."

Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays)
Luces de Buffalo
There's some serious local history embedded with the Bisons' Luces de Buffalo identity, which translates to "Lights of Buffalo." New York's second largest city is known as the the City of Light due to its early adoption of electricity, and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition (World's Fair) took place within this novel illuminated backdrop. The Bisons explain that the logo's sun/light Taino symbol "represents the indigenous roots of the Hispanic people who have lived and continue to thrive in Western New York since that inaugural celebration."

Rome Emperors (High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
Duraznos de Roma
In November, the Rome club changed its name from the Braves to the Emperors. Four months later, the Emperors revealed their new Copa identity: Duraznos de Roma, or Peaches of Rome, to pay tribute to a fruit that has long been synonymous with the state of Georgia. Peaches are also important to the agricultural economies of central and southern Mexico, and play a role in Mexican and Latin American cooking. There's a baseball connection as well: The Emperors arrived in Rome in 2003 after relocating from Macon, and from 1962-82, that city's team was known as the Peaches.

Spokane Indians (High-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies)
Cafecitos de Spokane
"Bold and robust" can be used to describe a good cup of coffee, and it's also a fitting summation of the Indians' caffeinated Copa identity. Bright yellow and orange serve as a backdrop for the Cafecito logo, which features a hat-wearing, mustachioed, smiling-to-the-point-of-giddiness cup of coffee. The Indians point out that Cafecitos de Spokane "celebrates the connection of robust coffee scenes in the Inland Northwest and Latin America." Here's hoping the players who wear these uniforms make it to the Major Leagues for more than a cup of coffee.

Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals)
Rocas Azules de Wilmington
Mr. Celery -- a mysterious anthropomorphic stalk of celery who emerges from his lair whenever the home team scores a run -- is a Wilmington Blue Rocks legend. He will be joined at the ballpark by the equally mysterious and similarly celeriac Señor Apio, who is clad in a colorful blanket and sombrero. Señor Apio wields a pickaxe like a baseball bat, which he presumably uses to chip away at the blue granite located along Wilmington's Brandywine River. It was this granite that gave the Blue Rocks their name, and Rocas Azules is a direct translation.

Rebrands

These three teams were already part of Copa, but have rebranded with a new identity for 2024.

Midland RockHounds (Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics)
Old Copa identity: Matamoscas de Midessa
New Copa identity: Midland Amigos
A dog is a person's best friend, and in Midland, that dog is Rocky, the beloved mascot who puts the "Hounds" in "RockHounds." The team's Amigos identity is centered on Rocky, whose colorfully decorated face is depicted in the style of a sugar skull. Rocky's sombrero features a row of M's along the brim, signifying Midland as well as the larger Midessa region. This portmanteau is what you get when you combine Midland with neighboring Odessa.

Peoria Chiefs (High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals)
Old Copa identity: Peoria en el Rio
New Copa identity: Perros Bomberos de Peoria
Similar to Midland, Peoria's team is represented by a dog mascot. The Chiefs' beloved canine is a Dalmatian named Homer, and he's a Perro Bombero (fire dog). While Dalmatians are known for their black dots and white fur, the moniker Perros Bomberos is anything but monochromatic. The Chiefs report that the color scheme with hot pink and neon green represents charisma and hope respectively.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers)
Old Copa identity: Temblores de Rancho Cucamonga
New Copa identity: Chaquetas de Rancho Cucamonga
Chaqueta translates to "jacket," but the Quakes are specifically celebrating the flamboyant jackets worn by mariachi musicians. Even more specifically, they are paying tribute to the mariachi jacket Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly acquired from a national anthem performer in exchange for his jersey. (He later wore the jacket to the White House following the Dodgers' World Series win in 2020.) The Quakes say this unique series of events is an example of "the cross-cultural impact of community, music and baseball."