Politics and puppets: The enduring appeal of 鈥�31 Minutos鈥�
| Mexico City
As the sun set in Mexico City on a recent evening, a mix of mostly adults flowed into the capital鈥檚 main Z贸calo 鈥� many wearing distinctive red bunny ears. They turned out to catch the most famous news program in Latin America,
鈥�31 Minutos.鈥� It happens to be a Chilean puppet show, dreamed up for children at the fall of the Pinochet dictatorship. But, it pulses so strongly with political satire and creativity that it has generated megafans of all ages, including the hundreds of thousands that turned out for the free show last month. And though the program has gained popularity throughout the Americas, Mexico lays claim to being home to some of its most devoted fans.
鈥淓ven though it鈥檚 Chilean, it connects with Mexico,鈥� says Adriana Solis, a filmmaker and professor who specializes in children鈥檚 media. She came out for the free show in Mexico City on April 30, which drew a crowd of more than 230,000 spectators. The ties to Mexico are in 鈥渢he irony, the absurdity, and the exaggerated personalities鈥� of the show鈥檚 characters, she says.
Why We Wrote This
The Chilean children鈥檚 show has gained an international following, but Mexico is home to some of the most ardent fans of its satirical humor.
The title 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� is a parody of the former Chilean news program 鈥�60 Minutos,鈥� a key propaganda tool in the 1970s and 鈥�80s during Augusto Pinochet鈥檚 rule. Once the country began the transition to democracy in the 1990s, two journalists, 脕lvaro D铆az Gonz谩lez and Pedro Peirano, set out to design a children鈥檚 show that they themselves would want to watch 鈥� steeped in humor and
political criticism, and where children wouldn鈥檛 be infantilized. They competed for government funding, and launched 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� in 2003. The edgy earworm soundtrack was crafted by musicians from the Chilean rock group Chancho en Piedra. Two years later, Mexican public television began broadcasting it, becoming one of the first national outlets outside Chile to air the show.
An ode to creativity
The April performance in Mexico City kicked off with Juan铆n Juan Harry, a workaholic puppet whose voluminous white fur covers his eyes beneath his emblematic orange headset, and Tulio Trivi帽o, a vain, mercurial, suit-clad newscaster in the form of a sock monkey. Juan铆n asked Tulio whether he knew what he was doing in Mexico, to which the monkey responded, 鈥淚 have absolutely no idea.鈥� Juan铆n turned to the cheering crowd and led them in singing 鈥淟a Desgracia Ajena,鈥� or 鈥淥ther People鈥檚 Misfortune,鈥� rattling off a list of current events and criticizing how the news makes a spectacle of everyday crises.
Celia Mart铆nez, who works for the education ministry, first started watching 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� when her son was small. She quickly realized she enjoyed the program even more than he did. 鈥淚 fell in love with 鈥榃here Does the Poop Go,鈥欌�� she says of the catchy explainer about the Chilean sewage system. The segment features Juan Carlos Bodoque, a red rabbit and 鈥渟tar journalist鈥� antihero who takes viewers on a very detailed journey about water treatment 鈥� signing off from his home bathroom.
The same sketch resonated with middle school Spanish teacher Mario Aguilar, who says the show 鈥渋nstills critical thinking in [children] instead of a moral pedagogy.鈥� Bodoque, the rabbit, is his favorite character because 鈥渉e is cynical and at the same time silly and critical of society.鈥� Mr. Aguilar says even his teenage students think the puppet show is cool, something he attributes to the dynamic format and how it touches on real-life themes other programs might avoid.
Nearby, actress M贸nica del Carmen is dressed in 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� garb 鈥� from her hoodie sweatshirt down to her socks 鈥� describing how she fell in love with the show as a theater student in the early 2000s. One of her favorite songs is 鈥淚 Never Watched Television,鈥� an ode to creativity, discovery, and living without technology. 鈥淥ne day, the television exploded. And I discovered a very complex world of imagination out there,鈥� the puppet chorus sings in that number.
She also appreciates the political commentary, particularly at this moment when tensions between Mexico and the United States are so high. Last October, when 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� played a Tiny Desk concert for NPR, the puppets joked that their work visas were going to expire in 31 minutes.
鈥淧olitical consciousness is what our countries鈥� present and future depend on,鈥� Ms. del Carmen says. 鈥淓specially as Latin Americans.鈥� Kids enjoy the show, too. Fourth grader Arami Fequiere鈥檚 mother turned her on to 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� last year. She and Bodoque have a shared love for the environment, she says of the rabbit.
鈥淲hat can we do about this cruel world?鈥�
Creativity, edutainment, and puppets? It might sound 鈥淪esame Street鈥� adjacent, but 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� goes a step further, says Ms. Solis, the children鈥檚 media professor. She believes the Latin American version of the PBS classic is removed from Mexico鈥檚 realities, while the Chilean program reflects children鈥檚 lived experiences. For example, in 鈥�31 Minutos,鈥� Bodoque once visited a beach that was contaminated by an oil spill 鈥� an ongoing reality in Mexico.
Ms. Solis became a fan of 鈥�31 Minutos鈥� as an adult. Growing up in Mexico in the 1970s and 鈥�80s, she was in 鈥渁n environment where children鈥檚 voices were very repressed, we were told 鈥榮tay quiet,鈥� or 鈥榶ou can鈥檛 have an opinion, you鈥檙e a child,鈥欌�� she recalls. 鈥溾��31 Minutos鈥� represents the kind of show many of us wish we had growing up 鈥� one that is more anarchic, irreverent, musical, and genuinely respectful of children鈥檚 voices.鈥�
Behind her, in the vast Z贸calo plaza, Cucho Lambretta, an adorable brown bear comes onstage. 鈥淲hat can we do about this cruel world?鈥� another puppet asks him. 鈥�搁铆别!鈥� or 鈥淟augh!,鈥� he responds, breaking into song with an upbeat circus-like tempo that belies its hard-knocks lyrics.
It鈥檚 an approach many in Mexico 鈥� and Latin America 鈥� are familiar with. For decades, political mistrust has been high. And more recent news here, from the U.S. indictment of a sitting Mexican state governor for drug trafficking to the education ministry announcing (then walking back) the last-minute cancellation of an entire month of school because of the World Cup, hammers home this 鈥測ou either have to laugh or else you鈥檒l cry鈥� approach to life. 鈥淟augh, laugh, laugh鈥� the little bear sings, 鈥渂ecause life will always break you. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. And tomorrow will still be cloudy.鈥�
Singing and laughing along, the crowd radiates with joy.
