[Texto en español abajo del texto en inglés]

Text in English
During the 1980s, most children television blocks had hosts in Mexico. Besides of the national host from channel 5, el Tío Gamboín, local tv markets had their local hosts. Maybe the most famous of these local host was Cepillín, a musical clown from Monterey who later went on to be on national television.

In my local market of Guadalajara, we had two competing channels: Channel 6, an independent station, and Channel 4, which was part of the national Televisa network. Sixto, a play on a real name and the number 6 in English, was the host of Channel 6's children's block.

Sixto was popular mainly in the 1980s. The format of the program was a live segment with Sixto, the blue muppet above, and a live host, first Aida and then Checo. There was a third host, an older man who was an engineer, but I haven't been able to find his name yet. Checo is the one co-host that lasted the longest, and the one that most of us associate with Sixto. There were often contests. Then they would introduce a cartoon, and there would be another short live segment until the block ended.

The stage was very spartan at first. If I remember correctly, it was nothing but a couch. Later on they created a stage where the muppeteer and voice of Sixto could hide. I hope that it was more comfortable than lying down behind the couch.

As the years went on, many characters where introduced. These were different roles of Sixto. Sixto was still on the air when I left Mexico in 1994. At some point after I left, Canal 6 ceased to exist.

Texto en español
Durante los ochentas la mayoria de los bloques de programacion de television en Mexico tenian conductores. Aparte del conductor del canal 5 nacional, el Tio Gamboin, tambien los programas locales tenian conductores. Probablemente uno de los conductores locales mas famosos era Cepillin, el payasito musical de la tele de Monterey termino en television nacional.

En el mercado local de Guadalajara, teniamos dos canales: el canal 6, que era independiente, y el canal 4, que era parte de la cadena de televisa. Sixto era el coductor del canal 6.

Sixto fue popular durante los ochentas. El formato del programa eran los segmentos en vivo con Sixto y un conductor. La primera conductora que recuerdo era Aida y despues Checo. Creo que habia un tercer conductor, un hombre major que era ingeniero, pero no puedo encontrar su nombre. Checo fue el conductor que mas duro en el programa, y el que mas se asocia con Sixto. Habian concursos tambien. Introducian caricaturas, y luego habia otro segmento en vivo, y asi hasta que terminara el segmento.

El ecenario era muy sencillo al principio. Creo que no habia nada pero un sillon. Creo que despues crearon un ecenario donde el titeretero podia esconderse. Espero que estaba mas confortable alli que atras del sillon.

Con el paso del tiempo se introdujeron muchos personajes. Tambian habian muchos roles de Sixto. Sixto todavia estaba al aire cuando deje el pais en 1994. En algun punto despues de que me fui, el canal 6 dejo de existir.

Sources, Fuentes:
A blog from Guadalajara where people from Guadalajara remember Sixto.
Un blog de Guadalajara donde la gente recuerda a Sixto. Probablemente la mejor pagina acerca de sixto en la internet.
www.desdegdl.com recuerda a Sixto

Cruce, Semario del ITESO, Mini entrevista a Checo
Cruces Iteso

Historia acerca del regreso de Sixto.
Guia tapatia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JHy1mmc2ho
English text below Spanish
Texto en espanol
La cultural popular camina mucho mas despacio en Mexico que en los Estados Unidos. Esto es algo que uno vera una y otra vez. Los Estados Unidos tenian conductores similares al tio Gamboin en la television americana en los cincuentas y sesentas, pero para finales de los setentas y principios de los ochentas, ya no estaban en el aire, o por lo menos no estaban en el aire en el mercado televiso del area del San Francisco. El tio gamboin siguio trabajando hasta a finales de los ochentas. Murio poco despues, en 1992.

En este comercial que parece de los ochentas esta anunciando lo juguetes playmobil.

Text in English
Mexican popular culture runs at a much slower pace than American popular culture. One will run into this again and again, and this is one example of it. El Tio Gamboin was a children's television host similar to those who worked in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. These hosts were gone by the time that I started watching TV and remembering it in the late 1970s and early 1980s in American television, or at least they were gone from the San Francisco TV market. El Tio Gambion, or uncle Gamboin, kept working until the late 1980s, when he retired. He died soon there after, in 1992.

This clip, which seems to be from the 1980s, he is making a live commercial for playmobil toys.

[English Text Below Spanish Text]
Texto En espanol
Puesto que estoy nostalgico, voy a dedicar los proximos dias a hablar acerca de programas infantiles de telivision en Mexico, especialmente de la television con la que creci durante los ochentas. Hablare de como veiamos a la television, que veiamos, y como programas extranjeros eran reinterpretados en Mexico.

Este us un buen lugar donde podre declarar cual es mi creencia acerca el "imperialismo cultural." Creo que su influencia ha sido muy exagerada. La idea es que paises desarrollados inpomen su cultura en otros paises. Aunque esto es cierto hasta un cierto punto, no es tan extremo como lo piensa mucha gente.

Muchos olvidan que para entender un programa Americano, uno tiene que entender mucho acerca de la cultural Americana. La mayoria de gente de otros paises no la entienden. Asi que cuando gente del mundo esta expuesta a programas americanos, japoneses, o mexicanos, tienen que reinterpretar los programas para entenderlos en su contexto cultural.

Asi que, por mucho que programas de los EEUU americanizan a Mexico, Mexico mexicaniza programas americanos para poder entenderlos. Esto empieza con el doblaje y termina con como los televidentes interpretan el programa. Mexico termina conquistando estos programas y los transforma y los hace propios.

English Text
Since I am in a nostalgic mood, I will spend a few days talking about Mexican children's television, specifically the television that I grew up with in the 1980s. I will talk about how people watched television, what they watched, and how foreign programs got re-interpreted in Mexico.

This seems to be a good place to say what my belief is about "cultural imperialism." Quite simply, it is over hyped. The basic belief is that it imposes Western cultural artifacts on other cultures. Although this is true to a large extent, it is not as extreme as most people think.

People often forget that to fully understand American culture one has to understand a lot of American culture. Most people in other countries don't understand it. So when people get exposed to American, or Japanese, or Mexican media, they re-interpret the shows in a way that makes sense in their culture.

So, as much as TV shows from the US Americanize Mexico, Mexicans Mexicanize American shows so that they will make sense. This begins with the dubbing works, and ends with how the viewers interpret the show. The end result is that, in my opinion, Mexico ends up taking over and making these imported cultural elements its own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A7rujOk9As

Si usted es de latinoamerica, usted sabe que es este programa. Disfrutelo.

If you are not from Latin America, let me briefly explain what this clip is. "El Chavo del Ocho" is a hugely popular sitcom from Mexico. The main character is a homeless child who lives in a barrel in a "vecindad," which is a low cost apartment building which often have a communal central patio. Vecindades are normally one or two stories high. They are often associated with the urban poor. Everyone in this vecindad is struggling economically, and poverty is a big subtext of the story.

The counterpart of el chavo es Don Ramon, the adult in the t-shirt and the floppy hat. He is underemployed or unemployed, and he is often trying to make a living in the gray market.

As dark as this sounds, this is a very funny sitcom. The U.S. has a very similar sitcom that its context is horrible: That 70s Show. Life gets worse and worse for the family, but the actual show is funny.

This segment is about how two children in the vecindad want to learn how to play the guitar.

If you understand Spanish, you may appreciate it. :)