A dining and drinking establishment in San Antonio, Texas, has recently come under fire for threatening a ban on men who sported the “Edgar,” a bowl-shaped haircut popular among young Latinos.

The food truck park El Camino posted a photo of said haircut with a crossed-out red circle on top. In the caption, the establishment wrote, “Should we enforce a no chili bowl policy?”

Popular among Gen Z Latinos and late millennials, the Edgar is thought to be inspired by the hairstyle of Indigenous Native Americans, including the Jumano tribe, as per NBC News. It’s also associated with the modern ranchera/o and corrido music aesthetic. 

A food truck park in Texas threatened to ban the “Edgar,” a popular haircut among young Latinos associated with the ranchero/a aesthetic and Indigenous cultures

Image credits: lmtonline

Image credits: Courtesy of Ricky Ortiz

The owner of El Camino, Ricky Ortiz, was heavily criticized after making the anti-Edgar Instagram post on May 3.

“Stereotyping someone based on a haircut is crazy. This is weird behavior to exhibit as an establishment,” a social media user wrote.

“Everyone in town should get the Edgar cut and come order food,” another person suggested, while a separate individual said, “Imagine discriminating [against] your customers.”

The post, published by El Camino, showed an image of a man with the bowl-shaped cut along with the text “No Edgars”

Image credits: reddit

Ortiz, who also owns the restaurants Besame, Ay Que Chula, and Perfect Tender, denied claims of racism and said his post was inspired by the April 28 Fiesta Market Square shooting in San Antonio, which resulted in the deaths of two gunmen and left four others injured.

Mikey Valdez, one of the shooters, had an Edgar haircut, Ortiz told the San Antonio Current.

“I see Edgar as more of a state of mind, a maturity level more than just a haircut,” the business owner told the publication. 

“Edgar is more the personality of the people with face tattoos, guns [sic] committing these crimes. You know what I mean?”

The night of the shooting, Ortiz wrote on Facebook: “Market Square is what carnival used to be. Fiesta commission needs to fence the whole thing off, charge a cover, and have a no Edgar policy. A good chunk of the people in this city are absolute [trash can emoji]. Make it unaffordable for them to even attend.”

The haircut is popular among Gen Z  Latinos in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas

Image credits: reddit

Image credits: David clipperhands

Image credits: MartyBlendz

The Texas resident believes that those who accuse him of being racist are “speaking from a place of ignorance” and that men with Edgar cuts “want to be in a culture influenced by gang affiliation.”

“I did not mean to offend an entire race, because, obviously, it’d be silly for me to do that. I’m also someone who is in that culture and grew up in it and has had my fair share of run-ins and trouble,” he told MySanAntonio.

On May 11, San Antonio artist Colton Valentine responded to the controversial post with a mural depicting a teenager sporting an Edgar haircut in front of a black-and-gray portrait of an Indigenous boy.

The mural, located at 802 San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio, features the words “They not like us.”

“Y’all think it’s OK to judge folks by their haircut? Asking for a friend. Lemme know what y’all think!” wrote Valentine, who spent eight hours creating the mural.

Bored Panda has contacted El Camino for comment.

People reacted to the “anti-Edgar” post by El Camino

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