By snoadmin
For those of us who grew up in a different city, state or country, YouTube can be a very useful tool for those melancholy moments of nostalgia. Sure, last week I mentioned YouTube is becoming a favorite among teens looking for their Warholian 15 minutes of fame by posting extremely violent clips. But it can also take you back to those moments you thought you’d forgotten.
While I was searching teen fights, I got a link from a friend of mine that showed a video of a very popular character in Mexican pop culture. It was Cepillin (pronounced Ce-pee-yeen). This character was popular with kids between the ages of three and 10.
He was funny, looked like a depressed clown and sang songs about chickens and ugly kids. Cepillin was our Bozo the Clown. I couldn’t help but go back to those good old days in Mexico, when I began to draw in my father’s collection of Beatles vinyl cover albums, while listening to the happy-go-lucky sounds of Cepillin.
Then I couldn’t stop.
I spent nearly three hours watching old clips from my favorite Mexican TV shows. The bright lights of “En Familia Con Chabelo (Family Time With Chabelo)” – a Sunday morning game show with a host who dressed like a child and gave prizes away – had me wondering why I never questioned the fact that there was a man dressed like a child.
“Carrusel De Niños (Children’s Carrousel)” – a sappy soap opera featuring a bunch of second graders from different cultural backgrounds – was translated to a bunch of languages around the world.
“Chiquilladas” (which I can’t really translate in English, but has to do with children and troublemaking) was one of my favorites. Imagine SNL hosted by kids.
So sure, YouTube can be quite graphic sometimes but it can also be good for the times you’re supposed to meet a deadline, but are not up to the task of writing. Or whatever.
-Julio Salgado
