is strictly opposed to anything that he feels is demeaning toward the Latino community, including working at a paying job (even if it's a Latino oriented business). Because of his beliefs, Che tends to be a nuisance to Baldo and others. Smiley's brother is the Rogers equivalent of Gracie. For a brief time, he was Gracie's "boyfriend", but that relationship has since been dissolved. Mr. Harold was the Gang Activity Monitor at Baldo's school. He had a "tough guy" image, and falsely accused Baldo of being in a gang after mistaking a game of Paper Rock Scissors for gang signals. Rosa Bermudez was Baldo and Gracie's mother, and Sergio's wife. Though she has never been seen or heard in the strip (except that her face has been shown in the form of a framed photo), it has been revealed that she had died in a car accident when Baldo was 10 years old. The April 3, 2007 strip—part of a sequence atypically drawn in a realistic style—stated that a car driven by an inebriated motorist collided with Rosa's minivan when she drove Baldo and Gracie from a soccer game. The collision killed Rosa instantly and bruised Gracie. Baldo's soccer ball apparently saved his life in the accident. The strip has since been rerun several times. The April 4, 2007 strip shows Rosa's face, drawn realistically, in a framed photo; other strips (including May 17 & 18, 2002 and September 28, 2003) show her, again in photos, in cartoon form. She was shown in full form in a flashback on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Gregorio who was introduced on the March 26, 2007 comic, is the one who Tia Carmen has been talking to about Rosa's accident and why she had come to live with Baldo and Family. They met at the tomato section of a store. Roberto is Tia Carmen's departed husband. Sometimes his spirit visits Tia (in her imagination) for a short time. Themes Although primarily a strip focused merely on light humor, Baldo has at times delved into political and social subjects relevant to the Latino community, such as lottery scams, the 2006 United States immigration reform protests, and greater involvement in improving one's community. Baldo also allows guest artists during Hispanic Heritage Month; these guests generally depict Latinos crude stereotypes, often go on about on low rider cars and women in very revealing clothing. This has resulted