If you’re one of the (very) few people who watched “Saved By The Bell: The College Years” – it was canceled after one season – you may remember an episode where curly-haired jock A.C. Slater gets in touch with his Latino roots. In the episode, titled “Slater’s War,” we learn that A.C. Slater is Mexican, and his real name is actually A.C. Sanchez. It’s true.
It all kicks off when Theresa, one of Slater’s classmates, speaks to him in Spanish.
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And she realizes Slater doesn’t understand a word.
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Damn, Slater, you didn’t understand “Do you speak Spanish?” What happened to all that broken Spanish you spoke in episode 10 of season 3, when you had to translate for Latino kitchen staff at the Malibu Sands hotel?
BTW, this all happens during a class where students are discussing bias in media. California University was keeping shit waaaaaaay realer than Bayside High.
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Mr. Tuttle had nothing on Professor Hopkins.
K, back to Theresa and Slater. After a little bit of flirting…
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They meet at the Eagle’s Nest, where Theresa asks Slater if he’s down to join the university’s Chicano student organization. Slater isn’t quite sure:
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It becomes clear it isn’t the first time Theresa has heard that response.
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“Knowing where you come from doesn’t make you less of an American.” ???
Then Theresa asks Slater a question that really gets the hamster in his head working:
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Then she basically hits him with “Tienes el nopal en la frente.”
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Slater realizes he has lots of questions that need to be answered. So when he tells Zack he’s going to a Chicano student meeting, things get awkward.
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Mic drop in 3… 2… 1…
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And of course, Zack responds in the most Zack Morris way possible:
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Apparently, Slater ends up reading “I Am Joaquin” way too many times because he becomes super defensive:
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If you’ve never heard of “I Am Joaquin,” maybe you should take a Chicano studies course, too. ?
During a meeting with Theresa and other students, Slater suggests a sit-in after learning that the school’s chancellor doesn’t want to create a Chicano studies department.
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Admit it, that’s the most Latinos you’ve ever seen in an episode of “Saved By The Bell.”
Also, shout out to the extra in the back killing it with that vintage Selena “Amor Prohibido” look.
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Get it!
Eventually, Zack get pissed when Slater chooses the Chicano student sit-in instead of a ski trip to Lake Tahoe.
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And he thinks Slater is doing it just for Theresa…
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But Slater reveals the real reason he’s interested in Chicano studies: his last name is actually Sanchez.
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And he tells Zack the reason his last name was changed to Slater.
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But Zack still doesn’t get it.
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We finally get to the sit-in, where Theresa, Slater and the rest of the students are told they’ll be arrested.
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When Leslie tries to give Theresa a few pointers on activism, Theresa makes it clear she knows what she’s doing.
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Bye. ??? BTW, did anyone think “Saved By The Bell” would be tackling Chicano identity and white privilege in the early ’90s?
And just when Zack arrives, thinking he’s going to save the day…
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After all, if they don’t listen to the tall blonde guy, who will they listen to?
A school administrator tells them the chancellor will meet with them to discuss a Chicano studies department.
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The celebration begins…
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Slater is now a proud Chicano…
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And Zack makes up with Slater.
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Nice, but shouldn’t everyone be calling him “Sanchez”?
BTW, if you’re wondering what happened to Araceli Valdez, the actor who played Theresa, she most recently played a TV reporter in the movie “Machete.”
Credit: Troublemaker Films
And Mario Lopez, who played A.C. Slater, remains a vampire who never ages.
Credit: GEORGE DE SOTA AND JONATHAN LEIBSON / GETTY
READ: How Do They Never Age? Latino Celebrities Who Are Probably Vampires
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