What is a long-time vegetarian doing sharing a holiday message from a Spanish ham company, you might ask?
“Become a Foreigner” is a festive, funny and poignant use of original content, which has gone viral across Spanish social media channels, garnering hundreds of thousands of views. In best original content form, this piece has nothing to do with the ham company. Instead it’s all about something that the Campofrío’s audience cares deeply about: their “Spanishness.” And this touching message is simply and powerfully “brought to you by” Campofrío.
The short film refers to the difficult economic times the Spanish have seen in recent years and the need of many to emigrate from their country or to “wish to be from somewhere else.”
Given the current state of Venezuela, I have experienced this firsthand with friends and family. Things can sometimes get so bad – in your country, your city, your work, your family, your tribe – that you just want to leave and “become a foreigner.”
This piece reflects beautifully and with humor about gratitude and appreciation for your “nationality” and making the point that while you can always leave, you can’t become a foreigner.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays – Spanish style.
natasha
ps – Here’s the translation of the film:
TV announcer: Tired of being from here? Sick of your country of tambourine? Become a foreigner!
Woman: What is this all about, Chus?
Chus Lampreave: Well, it’s about being able to say you are from an awesome country. I’ll become Jamaican! All the research shows us at the bottom of the rankings.
Man Readin: Which ones?
Chus Lampreave: Well, almost all of them.
Chiquito de La Calzada: Chu, it’s this way!
Chus Lampreave: Chiquito, you’re English now?
Chiquito de La Calzada: Unintelligible comment
Chus Lampreave: Very good.
Chiquito de la Calzada: See you later my dear.
Chus Lampreave: With things the way they are, it makes you want to disappear, to quit. Make me a foreigner!
Verónica Foqué: Look Chus, now I’m French-Russian like that French actor, the really fat one!
Chus Lampreave: It must be amazing to be from a superpower and say that I’m part of the G-8. That’s it, I’ll be Swedish!
Javier Sard: International waters! It’s a bit far from Canaletas.
Chus Lampreave: But of course, if you switch, you’ll switch to a different set of consequences. Will it affect my personality? Well, that would be unfortunate. I mean, The Beatles are great but I fell in love with my Eusebio listening to Los Brincos.”
The technology from those places is the best, but what about all the hugging and touching we do all the time?
Maintain your personal distance.
But why? Move over there, I’ll stay here.
Chus Lampreave: And what about talking loudly as if we were deaf, and the sense of humor… What do we do with that?
Really, you chose to be German, Quique? There aren’t any comedians there.
Quique San Francisco: I’ll know what it feels like to have the whole world owe you money. It’s the opposite for me.
Chus Lampreave: And what about how we invite people over even if we don’t have a dime?
Rosario Flores: Cooking for 3 and 15 show up.
El Langui: And to fight even if you’re out of strength.
Chus Lampreave: How do we deal with all of that?
Hey, what are you doing?
We wanted to celebrate that we’re now foreigners.
But they kicked us out of the neighborhood.
Supposedly we should be sleeping by now.
Ok, bring whatever you’ve got. Let’s go.
What do you have?
It’s fried bugs.
Come on, have this instead.
Chus Lampreave: Some call it personality or who we are, but not all the world has it, no, no, no. It’s our way of being and feeling that you can’t renounce because it always stays with you.
Pau Gasol: Wherever you’re from and wherever you are.
Chus Lampreave: No, I can’t do it. You can leave but you can’t change who you are.
Don’t let anything or anybody take away our way of enjoying life.