Rest in Peace, Vatito, Little Guy
Jul 22nd, 2009 | 8 responses
Gidget the Chihuahua, Taco Bell star, has died. She was 15 years old. The owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic says Gidget suffered a stroke late Tuesday and had to be put down.
This little dog caused controversy when she appeared in Taco Bell ads with a male voice-over, saying “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” in Spanish: “I want Taco Bell.”
It made my whole family laugh to see that cute little dog. But, some activists were critical for they felt the ad furthered Mexican stereotypes. As a Mexican American, I understood the concern that one more time, along with the sleeping Mexican lawn statue with the sombrero over his face, and the la cucaracha music being the only music seemingly ever played to denote things Mexican… that people would continue to get a one-sided view of us all. An issue for certain.
And, I loved this little cheery dog who looked like some kind of woodland sprite, and often thought of how fun it must have been to make the commercial with her. If there was a complaint, maybe the doggie union should have complained that they characterized Gidget in the commercial as a he instead of she. Canine discrimination. Call in the the big boss bulldog lawyers. right. now.
________
CODA
Vatito can be translated as ‘little street guy,’ little guy with street creds, ‘vato’ for long.
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8 Responses to “Rest in Peace, Vatito, Little Guy”
People always use the male pronoun for dogs and the female pronoun for cats. Really. I'm not sure why.
I always loved that little dog too and thought they where some of the best ads ever—-besides those little dogs are amazing, they have the reverse of distorted body image as in anorexia——they know they are BIG—-and they know it—–
Que en paz descanses, Gidget
In Memory of Gidget:
Please read:
The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog by
Eugene O'Neill
http://www.eoneill.com/texts/blemie/contents.htm
Rest in peace Gidget. You were a lovely little pup.
Ghosty
Gidget— like Midget– what a great name for chihuahua..
If she lived to 15, she obviously didn't eat at Taco Bell!
Of course she did kritt 11— with extra extra hot sauce—–
If Gidget could speak she would likely say that she was misunderstood. She would point out that she made her living being an actress, and that the roles she played were not representative of her real life………which we likely, most of us, knew nothing about. She might complain about a movie stars life, the loss of privacy, and the primary reason why her love life was so messed up. Loving someone of a different species as you an imagine is difficult in the best of times.
Okay Gidget. Right, we never met. But like Jacko, I got a lot of entertainment value for my time. Thanks! RIP!
Commercials get just 30 seconds to make you remember their product. Successful ones do, unsuccessful ones don't. So even if the commercial furthered stereotypes, it served Taco Bell's purpose, because here we are 15 years later still talking about it.
Any publicity is good publicity…