Your Go-To Bus Driver
During my Spanish lessons, I often attempt to derail the class by engaging our teacher in conversations about any and all things cultural relating to Peru. More times than not, I am unsuccessful.
One of the days where I hit the mark (and avoiding having to do the exercises in our study book) was when I asked about television shows from the United States that were popular in Peru.
Our teacher listed programs such as CSI, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The X-Files, and Star Trek (which, according to her, the more popular version of the program featuring the starship Enterprise is the original series…none of this NextGen stuff for Lima, I guess).
One program that she mentioned that caught me by surprise was The Simpsons. I would not have thought that the creations of Matt Groening would have much of an audience in Peru because a good deal of the humor contained in this animated series has to do with American culture and also contains a heavy dose of in-jokes.
Our teacher explained that the majority of Peruvian who enjoy the show like it for its low-brow humor (i.e., Barney’s burps, Homer in his underwear, anything that Bart does, etc.).
The Simpsons are apparently so well-known that an editorial cartoonist in El Otorongo, Peru 21’s Friday humor pull-out section, can use one of Groening’s characters and make the assumption that the audience will catch the reference.
On the previous day, August 17, independent bus and combi drivers staged a one-day strike to protest proposed reforms proposed by the city government.
Carlos Lavida used his pen to portray Springfield’s resident bus driver, Otto Mann, for his take on the work stoppage.
Matt’s creations are popular south of the Equator
Translation: I prefer a “Thursday of turkey [food]” to a “Thursday of strike”.
Then again, this is not the first time that a reference to character from a United States animated series has made it onto the pages of El Otorongo.
Periodically, Peru 