Sgt. Demetrio Lopez Garcia

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Sgt. Demetrio Lopez Garcia is a character first introduced in Disney's Zorro series. In that series, he is a bumbling but lovable soldier who is very proud of his military service, but not very good at it due to his cowardice, obesity and limited intelligence. He becomes Zorro's chief foil throughout the series not because he is evil, but because he is very motivated to capture Zorro for the reward money. He spends most of his free time eating, drinking and singing in the tavern with his good friend, Don Diego de la Vega. He trusts Don Diego completely and has no idea that his friend is actually Zorro. Garcia often unwittingly serves as Zorro's accomplice, because he is easily charmed by Diego into giving secret military information, discussing traps or carrying out tasks that aide Zorro. Garcia is always scheming to capture Zorro, though their relationship becomes more playful and comic as they grow to respect each other throughout the series. The comic banter between Sgt. Garcia and his dimwitted assistant Cpl. Reyes is also one of the highlights of the show.

Sgt. Garcia is probably inspired by Sgt. Gonzales, a character who plays a similar role in the original Zorro stories written by Johnston McCulley. Sgt. Garcia also appears in other versions of Zorro that followed the Disney series. !