(Reading time: approx. 5 minutes)
Hola, bienvenido de nuevo!
Great to have you back! Maybe was last topic that awoke your hunger for Mexico? *wink, wink*
Whatever the reason, I’m glad you are here! Last time, you learned how many of your life’s aspects are marked by my country. So, I hope that by this point you feel a little bit more mexicano.
Anyway, today’s topic leaves many speechless, but why? You might wonder.
Well when talking about speech, leaving aside the fact that Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, exceeding twice as many speakers as in any country in the world!
The Mexicans’ parlance and intonation (the way of talking and the rise and fall of the voice in speaking) have a “I don’t know what” that many love and that has been imprinted in many people’s cultural DNA, without them even knowing!
Anyhow let me elaborate a bit more for those who don’t have the privilege of having Spanish as their mother thong (well, also excluding the Spanish who speak Castellano, which is what we all call Spanish but that is spoken differently in Spain, but what the heck that’s not the topic).
Anyway, many of the ones who grew up watching Spanish Disney movies, didn’t know that these versions were beautifully crafted by Edmundo Santos. What happened was that in 1943 on his radio station down in Tijuana Mexico, Mr. Santos paid bad critiques to the Spanish version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, stating that
“not only the music lyrics’ translation was bad, but also the difference in accents between actors and actresses dubbing the movie were terrible, ruining the whole experience”
Surprisingly, his radio critique earned him a job in Disney as the “Spanish-Dubbing Supervisor” of all movies dubbed to this language; until 1977, the year he passed away.
So, now you know that for over seven decades the neutral Spanish you have come to know comes from Mexico, de nada muchachos!
“Fue sin querer queriendo” (was unwilling wanting) – El Chavo del 8
If you are a Millennial and a Latino Americano like me, you know who I’m talking about! You most likely grew up watching Roberto Gómez Bolaños as Chespirito or as El Chavo del 8 and I believe that you still use some of his lingo *your brain: eso, eso, eso, eso*.
Shows like El Chavo del 8 (which was surprisingly translated into over 50 languages) helped Mexican TV to break a major cultural clash: Humour.
El Chavo spread the Mexican lingo to our southern neighbours who did not only found the acting fun but the use of words playful, like el Chavo’s saying “es que no me tienen paciencia” (it’s just that they do not have patience with me) when he would drive some crazy ʘ‿ʘ.
Qué? Cómo? Cuándo?
So, one of the things that I realized in the years I lived in the Caribbean was that many (if not most) of the Israelis and some eastern European ladies traveling through Latin America I met, could speak perfect Spanish!
But I mean like “not only perfect but also without an accent”, I was in shock! Like how could these women speak such great Spanish?
The answer: Telenovelas!
Between the 80’s and early 2000’s the Telenovela industry in Mexico was a hit! Everyone was watching them: kids, moms, grandmas, grandpas, E-VE-RY-ONE got a Telenovela tailored to them! (yes, also the kids, check the list here).
So, the thing got so big that it naturally went viral and Mexico began to export its Telenovelas to Russia, Israel, US and China. And now you know that Mexican Telenovelas taught these girls Spanish! Say what?!
Jennifer Lopez brought to you by Selena Quintanilla
In the early 90’s the Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla aka “the Queen of Tejano music” became the Symbol and Icon to many Mexicans (both, the ones living in Mexico and in the US).
Tragically, in 1995 Selena was fatally shot by her manager and fan-club president. Two years after her death, Jennifer Lopez a fly girl dancer at the time, was casted to play Selena’s life for the big screen.
Long story short, when the movie was out, Mexican fans marched to the ticket boxes in Mexico and around the US resulting in a big fuzz around the actress who played Selena! This earned JLo the status that she holds today. Last month, JLo crowned herself as a Latin Queen in the Super Bowl LIV.
So, now you know that if there was no Queen of Tejano music, JLo would probably still be the same (but broke) Jenny from the block.
Wow that was a long post! So here you have a photo of JLo as Selena <3
Hasta la próxima!
Fernanda
