Edgar's fall
Encyclopedia
Edgar's fall is a video that was uploaded to YouTube
in March 2006 from Mexico
. This internet meme
has been one of the most popular videos in YouTube
, with 21,872,668 viewings as of December 24, 2010.
boy named Edgar and his cousin Fernando hiking in a ranch near their home town of Monterrey
with Raúl as the cameraman and the tour companion. The video starts with Edgar being afraid of trying to cross a small stream
using two long branches as a bridge when Fernando taunts him of pushing him off. Fernando assumes him that nothing bad will happen which Edgar hesitates but after he is at the middle of the bridge, Fernando starts moving one of the branches, causing Edgar to curse angrily with a Mexican "norteño" (northern) accent. After Edgar calls Fernando "idiota" (idiot) when begging him to stop, Fernando drops the branch and Edgar finally loses his balance and plunges into the stream. He curses even more as he emerges from the water even though Fernando asks for forgiveness.
There are ringtones, games, parodies, remixes and even a web page where Edgar is proposed for Mexico's presidency. There are over 20 versions of the video including Star Wars
, Mario Bros, Street Fighter
, Counter Strike, Naruto
and Pokémon
. Some publicity campaigns have made use of the video without worries of copyright issues, for example Nike
's Joga Bonito campaign. Edgar has also gained other media exposure, appearing on TV shows and in newspapers because he was sussing he was really mad.
. The commercial, which also became a viral video, parodies the situation seen in the original video. The curse words Edgar utters are beeped out. Instead of Edgar falling in the river, he screams "Guardias!", and suddenly Roman soldiers appear, to the shock of Fernando. Edgar orders the Roman guards to throw Fernando in the water by saying, "Al río, güey", and despite Fernando's protests they do so. At Edgar's command, Raúl is also thrown into the water. The video was made by Gamesa's ad agency in Mexico, Olabuenaga Chemistri and was aired for a short period of time.
This series of commercials advertises a brand of cookies called Emperador (Emperor); they show people acting like they were a Roman Emperor
, calling their guards to turn things in their favor.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
in March 2006 from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. This internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
has been one of the most popular videos in YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, with 21,872,668 viewings as of December 24, 2010.
History
The video features a young MexicanMexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
boy named Edgar and his cousin Fernando hiking in a ranch near their home town of Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
with Raúl as the cameraman and the tour companion. The video starts with Edgar being afraid of trying to cross a small stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
using two long branches as a bridge when Fernando taunts him of pushing him off. Fernando assumes him that nothing bad will happen which Edgar hesitates but after he is at the middle of the bridge, Fernando starts moving one of the branches, causing Edgar to curse angrily with a Mexican "norteño" (northern) accent. After Edgar calls Fernando "idiota" (idiot) when begging him to stop, Fernando drops the branch and Edgar finally loses his balance and plunges into the stream. He curses even more as he emerges from the water even though Fernando asks for forgiveness.
Impact on Mexico's popular media
Edgar's fall was the subject of much media exposure in México which included newspapers and the clip being shown on the TV news.There are ringtones, games, parodies, remixes and even a web page where Edgar is proposed for Mexico's presidency. There are over 20 versions of the video including Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Mario Bros, Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
, Counter Strike, Naruto
Naruto
is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
and Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
. Some publicity campaigns have made use of the video without worries of copyright issues, for example Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
's Joga Bonito campaign. Edgar has also gained other media exposure, appearing on TV shows and in newspapers because he was sussing he was really mad.
Edgar's Revenge
In 2007, Edgar, Fernando and Raúl that participated in this video made a commercial called La Venganza de Edgar (Edgar's Revenge) for a Mexican cookie company, GamesaGamesa
Gamesa is Mexico's largest manufacturer of cookies . The company also makes pasta, flour, ready to eat cereals and other related products. It is headquartered in San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, and have production facilities in eight states across Mexico and one in Colombia...
. The commercial, which also became a viral video, parodies the situation seen in the original video. The curse words Edgar utters are beeped out. Instead of Edgar falling in the river, he screams "Guardias!", and suddenly Roman soldiers appear, to the shock of Fernando. Edgar orders the Roman guards to throw Fernando in the water by saying, "Al río, güey", and despite Fernando's protests they do so. At Edgar's command, Raúl is also thrown into the water. The video was made by Gamesa's ad agency in Mexico, Olabuenaga Chemistri and was aired for a short period of time.
This series of commercials advertises a brand of cookies called Emperador (Emperor); they show people acting like they were a Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
, calling their guards to turn things in their favor.
YouTube México
In 2007, YouTube launched the Mexican version of its website, with content oriented to Mexicans. During the launch, Edgar was present with Coyoacán Joe where he filmed a welcome video for YouTube México.External links
- Edgar's fall - The original video
- Edgar's fall Star Wars - Star Wars version
- Edgar's Interview - an interview with Edgar
- Edgar's fall in Hechos Edgar's fall in the Mexican news
- Unofficial webpage - A web page with all the versions
- Edgar: The Emperor - Edgar's revenge