MovieChat Forums > El Chavo del Ocho (1972) Discussion > Any Non-Spanish Speaking Fans of This Sh...

Any Non-Spanish Speaking Fans of This Show?

posted 18 years ago by huntonpeck-1
23 replies | jump to latest

I'm a typical heinz 57 variety American with a small fraction of Spanish ancestry. Alas, the only Spanish I know is to be found on the menu at Taco Bell.

However, I discovered El Chavo del Ocho a couple of years ago whilst channel surfing and was immediately drawn in by it's charming blend of wacky slapsticky humor and very 1970's production values. It seemed somehow both strange (in a good way) and familiar to me.

Since then I've sat through countless episodes without understanding a single word (apart from a few obvious exceptions), and yet, I find the show very funny and charming. I even purchased a couple of DVDs of El Chavo so that I can enjoy the antics of Chavo, Quico, Don Ramón, Doña Florinda and La Chilindrina again and again.

With its very broad and exaggerated physical humor, El Chavo reminds me somewhat of the silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Perhaps because of this, and my fondness for silent films, I find El Chavo very easy to follow.

I've always believed that good comedy can transcend language barriers, and El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado prove this to be true. I can certainly see why Roberto Gómez Bolaños is a Mexican national treasure and is still popular throughout Latin America and the rest of the world.

[–] grrdsantana 18 years ago

I could not have said it better myself.

[–] ileranerak 18 years ago

ok...you make me admit it...It's a good show..
but watching it almost every day since I can remember(even if I visit some of my parents aqquitances where I think TV will not be turned on....)...every single day....
watching Televisa(bradcaster) totally deleting from the map my favorite shows to put El Chavo instead..for 19 years..the same humor every day over and over.....now it's only natural I have to Hate it, isn't it?

[–] digucker 18 years ago

now it's only natural I have to Hate it, isn't it?

lol

You don't HAVE to watch it...just change the damn channel. The show is pretty funny and I've been watching it since I was a little kid (not every day like you though) I'm 22 now and I don't hate it - neither does my mom and she's been watching it for longer than me. I'm watching an ep on tv right now that I've seen at least 5 times before and it still is *beep* funny.

Sunday morning is everyday for all I care

[–] karito8816 17 years ago

I think that it is one of the best shows.

haha A mi m gusta

[–] jrpc-208-184270 8 years ago

I watch it almost every day and I don't hate it. It helps me to relax after a stressful day at work.

[–] lenlacat 17 years ago

Like you, I have a fraction of Spanish Heritage of which I love and claim. However, my laguage skills are severely diminished. Yet, I grew up on El Chavo. Every morning while my grandmother did my hair El Chavo and Chilindrina were there to start my day. I've recently come across them again, and it was like seeing an old friend. I've tuned in everyday since. My question is to those who have purchased the DVD's....... Can you set the subtitles to English? I can figure out some of what they are saying, and I must admit a few things I've put through a translater to figure them out. But, it would be nice to truly know what was being said as to making my own assumptions.

[–] Gus-69 17 years ago

I'm Brazilian and a CHAVO fanboy since my tender childhood.

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[–] livingdreams 17 years ago

i´m brazilian too. and i looove chavo.
i cant remember when i start to watch the show ( many many years)

i dont believe there´s someone in brazil that doesn´t know chavo. is really a icon here.

[–] ynkeesfn82 17 years ago

I'm 100% Caucasian (I'm part French Canadian, Part German, and Part British) and I love this show. I have lived in Connecticut all my like and began watching El Chavo when our cable company added Univsion in 1995. I was almost 13 back then. My parents never understood how I could watch something that I didn't know what they were saying. I told them you don't need to understnad Spanish to follow what's going on. Of course they're the same way now when I listen to Reggaeton Music. (Spanish Hip-Hop).

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] morenoquinteiro 17 years ago

Here from Brazil too.
About this show: it is worth studing it seriously in order to know why it makes a huge success every place in the world it is showed. Characters' charisma? Universal situations? The physical humor, like Chaplin and others did before?
I have my own theory. El Chavo ("Chaves" in Brazil) because two main reasons: the plots of episodes are easy to follow, at the same timing being genious in how developing situations in a original way; and the other reason is its specifical humor, making jokes so stupid and so obvious that it is imposible not to laugh.
On this show, every character is at least once so stupid that makes situations a bit surreal and that's so funny.

[–] Benedict_Cumberbatch 17 years ago

Same here, I'm Brazilian and I grew up watching "Chaves" (who didn't? everyone from my generation did).

"When you die, everybody wants to be your friend".

[–] lucad_99 17 years ago

I don´t speak Spanish, well, I mean I do at an intermediate level, and I speak Portuguese very well. I love this show. I´ve watched it in Canada, where I live, ever since I discovered it in Brazil. IT NEVER GETS BORING!

[–] insomniac_rod 17 years ago

It's good to see that non Mexicans recognize how good this show is.
The only truth is that "El Chavo" has created more than just a cult of followers.

"Hate is baggage, life's too short to be pissed off all the time".

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] asia_06-1 17 years ago

the show is hilarious
my 1 yr old son watches it,hes half white half mexican,ofcourse enlgish is prolly his "best"language but he does sit thru the whole episodes n laughs(ofcourse he hears the laugh track and he laughs along)and i gotta tell you,the theme song is very catchy
im a 20 year old mexican,and i remember waking up at 6am when i was younger just to watch this show.i hope they replay the show over and over so my children and grandchildren watch it

[–] aigoth 12 years ago

It's a big hit here in Brazil - people from generations X and Y grew up watching this show everyday...

[–] RussianBlue 11 years ago

Yes, I'm one. While I am Hispanic I do not speak nor understand Spanish (with the exception of a few words). I recently started caring for my elderly mother who watches the Spanish novellas as well as El Chavo. Since she is hard of hearing, her TV is constantly blarring. Curiosity got the best of me since I was constantly hearing the wails of the little girl, or the crying of El Chavo. Even the shows opening and closing music is not etched in my memory. I must say I am indeed a fan now and again, do not understand Spanish, the slapstick is hilarious. I was surprised that how old it is and yet still a riot!

[–] FireMinstrel 9 years ago

My Spanish leaves a bit to be desired. Thankfully I don't speak it with a very heavy "gringo" accent due to hearing it all my life. I understand about 50% of the jokes on the show, which for me, is enough to enjoy myself. I'm sure if I had a better grasp on conditional verbs, I'd understand 75% or more, but thankfully, I'll be taking some more Spanish classes for school when I get my programming degree. In the meantime, Chespirito's works are a great way for me to improve, even though I'm Puerto Rican- not Mexican. Whatever, though. My parents dropped the ball by not teaching me Spanish, so they'll just have to deal with my increasingly Mexican vocabulary. :P

[–] helderuto 11 years ago

By the way, the capital of Brazil isn't Buenos Aires and we speak portuguese, so you may count 200 million non-spanish speaking fans of El Chavo

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] BulmaPunkRocker 8 years ago

El Chavo was HUGE (and the whole Chespirito show, but mainly el Chavo) years before I was born here in my home country. The cast visited Estadio Nacional in the 70's.
Years later, of course I grew up with El Chavo, and it's funy how I spoke some "mexican" slang sometimes, just like El Chavo, and everyone here understand those terms, but not regular mexican slang.

It amazes me how big El Chavo is in Brasil. I would like to hear the portuguese dubb. I can't imagine those terms in another language.

Please excuse my terrible redaction, english is not my native language