Say it with me: Chee-wah-wah

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Some stereotypes are true: I’m Hispanic and I own two Chihuahuas.

It is also true that: "Yo Quiero Taco Bell!"

Back in the late 90’s, before point and click tags were created, I taught myself how to write HTML code by setting up a website in which my two darlings masqueraded as Daisy, the Taco Bell Chihuahua. They answered fan mail via a "question of the day" and I got a lot of foot traffic to the site by including several photo galleries of "wet, naked Chihuahuas."

And so it is with great, great pleasure that I welcome you to countdown with me the seventy-three days left until what will surely be the highlight of my month. Three words: Beverly. Hills. Chihuahua.

Oh, yes – I wouldn’t joke about a thing like that.

Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua "50% Warrior. 50% Lover. 100% Chihuahua" (they totally lifted that off of my bio!) comes out September 26. This is a, ahem, tale of an oxymoronically spoiled Chihuahua named Chloe whose ancestors, according to the trailer, "went into battle alongside Aztec warriors, today move within the inner circles of the wealthiest and most powerful people on the planet" gets lost on a trip to Mexico.

The creamy-white Chloe, inimitably lisped by Drew Barrymore, then must rely on the kindness of a colorful cast of strangers to get back to Beverly Hills and along with the romantic lead – a luxuriously tan Chihuahua named Papi voiced by George Lopez – runs into dogs voiced by a line-up of Hollywood’s Hispanic elite: Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Edward James Olmos, Andy Garcia, and Placido Domingo.

If you’re going to email me about the victimization of Latinos because of the Mexican stereotypes in this movie, just click away now and leave me and my Speedy Gonzalez lunchbox alone.

Alternately if you’re going to complain about "the man" casting one of the whitest white girls in Hollywood, Drew Barrymore, rather than Salma Hayek or Jennifer Lopez in the lead role, thereby creating an all-Latino affair, then I say to you: It’s called "crossover appeal," get some.

If you’re looking for a politically correct movie, look much further. Heck its historical correctness is a little sketchy; the movie trailer has already been criticized for setting up a story based on the Aztec warriors of Mexico in Machu Picchu, an Inca city located in Peru.

But I’ll not let anyone deny me or my two lovely’s moment in the sun, and I can’t spend any more time writing today, I only have seventy-three days in which to craft two wildly-colored, beaded, feathery headdresses for the big night. And where did I leave those copper lip plugs…

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

Leave the accuracy-meter at home, this is merely a flat-out fiesta for a Chihuahua-lovin’ nation! We’re talkin’ a cast of thousands of feathery head-dressed boogeying Chihuahuas punctuated by a cadre of well-choreographed, blinged-out rapping Chihuahuas bustin’ rhymes such as "we’re tiny, we’re mighty, we’re number one, we’re the real ‘hot dog’ yo- hold da bun!" Priceless.

Alas, not everyone is anticipating this flick by setting their atomic clocks to the opening of what will surely be an Academy Award-winning film in the category of "Best Supporting Mexican Dog."

I’m envisioning certain types decrying it for glorifying the illegal passage of unlicensed Chihuahuas from Mexico to the United States. Others are already reacting by posting videos of themselves and their non-Chihuahua canine friends cringing while viewing a trailer of the movie, as reported in Tuesday’s New York Times article

"Chihuahuas in headdresses? I cringe, YouCringe."

Comments

[tadera]

For those who are looking for a downloading link, here it is - http://file.sh/beverly+hills+chihuahua+torrent.html

[daisysmom]

MY Daisy (we might have a fight over whose Daisy chihuahua was the better) and I wrote a blog about BH Chihuahua a couple of weeks ago and have to agree with you 100%. We are anxiously awaiting its arrival as well.
The only difference is MY Daisy has her own website at www.daisyandus.com - top THAT, Esther!! lol

[A.R. Hoek]

I've been waiting my entire life for this movie! It's about time! And.. I'm overjoyed to see that you, Esther J. Cepeda, are a Chihuahua fan too.

Oh, and just let me say, "Wooooonderful column!"