S. California teachers under fire for wearing sombreros and mustaches for yearbook photos

A half-dozen foreign language teachers at a high school just north of the U.S.-Mexico border are facing criticism for dressing up in sombreros, fake mustaches and ponchos for yearbook photos, costumes that a local college professor says amount to racist mimicry.

The photos of the teachers from San Pasqual High in Escondido, California, emerged this week after an angry mother texted them to Marisol Clark-Ibáñez, a sociology professor at nearby California State University, San Marcos. Clark-Ibáñez posted them to social media and shared them with KFMB-TV, which first reported on the incident Tuesday.

None of the teachers immediately responded to requests for comment sent to their work email addresses. The Escondido Union High School District, which is in San Diego County, said the photos were “culturally insensitive and in poor judgment.”

A school system representative said Friday the teachers’ actions are being addressed, but because the matter constitutes a personnel issue, details remain confidential.

Principal Martin Casas expressed contrition over the photos. He said that while the teachers who appeared in the pictures had no ill will, “cultural appropriation is offensive, whether it was intentional or not.”

“We owe an apology to our Latinx and Chicano community, a community that I am part of,” said Casas, who was born in Tijuana, Mexico.

Casas directed teachers to discuss the episode with students and to ask them how the photos made them feel.