Let’s go from Argentina to Mexico this time. That’s 7'500 Km from Buenos Aires to Ciudad de México, a very long distance that shows the massive size of the Spanish Empire five centuries ago (let’s not forget that California and Patagonia were also parts of said empire).
Anyway. You might have seen this Saturday Night Live sketch pop up in your algorithm, or maybe not; it was in October last year, with Bad Bunny as a special guest.
The sketch might not ring a bell unless you know the cultural reference. It’s based on a TV show for kids from the 1970s, which is 50 years ago, called “El Chavo del Ocho” (“The Kid of Number Eight”). It was created by a genius called Roberto Gómez Bolaños:
Roberto Mario Gómez y Bolaños (21 February 1929 – 28 November 2014), more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, or “Little Shakespeare”, was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, humorist, director, producer, and author. He is widely regarded as one of the icons of Spanish-speaking humor and entertainment and one of the greatest comedians of all time. He is also one of the most loved and respected comedians in Latin America. He is mostly known by his acting role Chavo from the sitcom El Chavo del Ocho.
This explanation on Instagram (in English) is spot on, and provides much better context. I don’t need to explain more than this.
What I can add is the effect that I had seeing this sketch. Nostalgia. A longing for a time of innocence. Laughter. Respect. This show was watched by literal hundreds of millions of little kids every evening, from Argentina to Mexico and even in Spain. You have no idea how much of a fan I was, of Chespirito and all the characters he created: El Chavo, El Chapulín Colorado, El Doctor Chapatín, El Chómpiras…
Among all these, El Chapulín Colorado (“The Red Grasshopper”) was a favorite of mine. It was a literal superhero, with various super weapons and capabilities, but it was the clumsiest of them all. It was absolutely hilarious, a long sequence of catchphrases and slapstick comedy that entertained my childhood to no end.
The character would be “invoked” by a damsel-in-distress-type of character with the famous phrase:
– “Oh! Y ahora, quién podrá defenderme!” (“Oh! And now, who’s going to help me!”)
– “Yo!” (“Me!”, says the Chapulín, popping up from seemingly nowhere, with his signature heroic music in the background)
– “El Chapulín Colorado!” (would claim the damsel)
– “No contaban con mi astucia! Síganme los buenos.” (“They didn’t count on my cunning! Follow me, the good ones.”, would claim the Chapulín before entering into action.)
The man would almost always, by definition, fail to accomplish his mission or save the damsel, but he would always try, give it the max it could, and always with the best intentions. But he wasn’t particularly strong or fast, and in many cases he had to be saved himself.
As the title credits of the show said,
Más ágil que una tortuga! Más fuerte que un ratón! Más noble que una lechuga! Su escudo es un corazón!
(Translated) Faster than a turtle! Stronger than a mouse! More noble than a lettuce! His shield is a heart!
PS: You might have noticed the amount of “CH” in the names of these characters (and even on the chest of the Chapulín Colorado), just like in the stage name of the actor, “Chespirito”. This “CH” used to be considered a full letter in the Spanish alphabet until a few decades ago; at least when I was a kid (or so I was told in primary school, anyway), it was still considered a single letter in and of itself, and there was a whole section in most Spanish dictionaries for all words starting with it, between the “C” and the “D”.