There are some big boots to fill in Texas.

They’re holding auditions for the next voice of Big Tex.

For those outside the Lone Star State: Big Tex is the 55 foot tall cowboy that’s the embodiment of the Texas State Fair.

Tex actually started as a 55 foot tall Santa Claus about 70 years ago, as a way to attract holiday shoppers to the town of Kerens, south of Dallas.

They sold the figure to the State Fair a few years later for $750, and repurposed him as a giant cowboy.

In 1953 he got to talk; one of the previous voices said he was told Tex should sound like a cross of Santa Claus and actor Gary Cooper.

And he became a beloved icon of the fair and the state.

Tex was featured in an episode of the animated series “King of the Hill” and once joined forces with the X-Men in the comics (he got to kick Magneto).

No joke, people cried when the figure caught fire almost a decade ago.

And they cheered when he was rebuilt a year later.

The fair says if you want to be the next voice of Big Tex, you’ll need to send in your voice samples saying Tex-isms like “Howdy, folks!” and “What’s a cowboy got to do to get a funnel cake around here?”

Today is National Burrito Day and there is a burrito that’s appropriately sized for Texas.

The Freebirds World Burrito chain has a special giant burrito that’s eight pounds of food!

I think even Big Tex would fill up on something that size.

Big Tex needs a new voice, and it could be you that gives it to him (KXAN)

The History Of Big Tex At The State Fair Of Texas — And Why We Love Him So Much (KERA)

Howdy, folks: 10 things you probably didn’t know about Big Tex (Dallas Morning News)

This Massive Burrito Weighs 8 Pounds (Food Network)

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Photo by Steven Martin via Flickr/Creative Commons