When I arrived home I was browsing through some videos on youtube and I somehow ended up watching "El Chavo del Ocho". For those of you who are not familiar with El Chavo, it was a show (a very old comedy show) that aired and continues to air in many countries, especially in Latin America. The show of El Chavo is know for its "innocent" and witty sense of humor.
To me that show brings back memories of my childhood. It is definitely something that my parents passed down to me, and that perhaps, I hope I will pass to my own children. My mother still remembers how everyone in her small town would flock to her uncle's house to watch El Chavo because he was the only one in her town that owned a tv set.
Like I said, sometimes even something that isn't really all that "deep" such as a comedic tv show can carry a very special meaning. To me it means being a child in Mexico, it means gathering with my family to watch it on Saturday mornings when I was growing up. It definitely brings back a sort of nostalgia for my childhood.
And watching those things now...years later, they seem totally different but also totally familiar. The gender play in El Chavo is pretty interesting, and part of a larger tradition--think Cantinflas.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that El Chavo del Ocho brings back certain memories that it reminds me of my childhood as well. Growing up in Peru it was a very big part of my weekends. Interestingly my dad still watches El Chavo and he tried to pass it on to my brothers who are U.S. born kids, born into the technology era, they do no accept that as a hobby as I did when I was little. This to me represent the difference and it reminds me of how our discussion touched based on how there are different notions of how to raise kids (ie. parents playing with their kids) I see that with my dad and his kids who are now 6 and 3 and they are so involved into these notions of playing with the kids and technology based games that in my perspectives takes away from the family conviviencia I experienced watching El Chavo with my dad.
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