Eric Ochoa
Eric Ochoa is a Mexican-American YouTube comedian who is famous for portraying "Ego the Cholo" in his Cholo Adventure Series and his “You Know You’re Mexican If…” series on his channel, SUPEReeeGO (“Learn about Eric Ochoa”). Currently, Ochoa has a total of 2,799,870 subscribers, making him the comedic Latino YouTuber with the second-highest number of subscribers (“SUPEReeeGO”). Ochoa expresses his latinidad in his content principally through the use of stereotypes and the use of language.
The use of stereotypes in Ochoa’s videos is blatantly obvious.
In “Cholo Adventures 1”, the outfits he and his friend, Sleepy Brown, dress in to be cholos exemplify the two basic outfits that stereotypical cholos wear: bandannas, a wife-beater by itself, or with a flannel shirt that only has the very top button buttoned, and low-riding, loose jeans. Their posture and movements are also stereotypical of cholos: threatening slouch, slow, swaggering walk with long strides, and other such characteristics. Finally, their language is specifically tailored to play to the stereotypes of cholos. They use vulgar language such as “faggot” in English and “pendejo” in Spanish, and overuse the word “ese”, which can be found in Ochoa’s other videos, but not with as much repetition. Additionally, their Mexican accents grow thicker and much more pronounced, which plays to the uneducated, immigrant cholo stereotype. (“SUPEReeeGO”)
In the “You Know You’re Mexican If…” video series, Ochoa and Sleepy Brown play with the stereotypes of typical Mexican households. This could be called “relatable” humor, or comedic content that is humorous because the audience can identify with it.
He includes more offensive stereotypes such as in “You Know You're Mexican If...(2) when he says, “You know you’re Mexican if you assume all Asians are Chinese,” but also includes more universal, and less provocative ones such as, “You know you’re Mexican if you’re afraid…of El Cucuy.” One of the most intriguing features of these videos, however, is a passage displayed before the commencement of the fourth video in the series, which reads:
The use of stereotypes in Ochoa’s videos is blatantly obvious.
In “Cholo Adventures 1”, the outfits he and his friend, Sleepy Brown, dress in to be cholos exemplify the two basic outfits that stereotypical cholos wear: bandannas, a wife-beater by itself, or with a flannel shirt that only has the very top button buttoned, and low-riding, loose jeans. Their posture and movements are also stereotypical of cholos: threatening slouch, slow, swaggering walk with long strides, and other such characteristics. Finally, their language is specifically tailored to play to the stereotypes of cholos. They use vulgar language such as “faggot” in English and “pendejo” in Spanish, and overuse the word “ese”, which can be found in Ochoa’s other videos, but not with as much repetition. Additionally, their Mexican accents grow thicker and much more pronounced, which plays to the uneducated, immigrant cholo stereotype. (“SUPEReeeGO”)
In the “You Know You’re Mexican If…” video series, Ochoa and Sleepy Brown play with the stereotypes of typical Mexican households. This could be called “relatable” humor, or comedic content that is humorous because the audience can identify with it.
He includes more offensive stereotypes such as in “You Know You're Mexican If...(2) when he says, “You know you’re Mexican if you assume all Asians are Chinese,” but also includes more universal, and less provocative ones such as, “You know you’re Mexican if you’re afraid…of El Cucuy.” One of the most intriguing features of these videos, however, is a passage displayed before the commencement of the fourth video in the series, which reads:
Mi intento en éste [sic] video no es de ofender a nadie de nuestra herencia Mexicána [sic]. Soy orgulloso de ser Mexicáno [sic]. Es pura comedia de lo que nos ha enseñado la primera generación de familias. No nos es vergonsozo [sic] el tema ya que lo hemos vivido y nos trae mucha alegría [sic] y recuerdos gratos. No lo tomen a pecho. [sic] Un abrazo Grande! [sic] Espero que lo Disfrutan! – eGO (“SUPEReeeGO”)
And roughly translates to:
My intent in this video is not to offend anyone of our Mexican heritage. I am proud to be Mexican. It is pure comedy of what the first generation of families has taught us. The topic is not embarrassing because we have lived it, and it brings us much joy and pleasant memories. Do not take it to heart. A big hug! I hope you all enjoy it! – eGO
Putting this message out there for his fans is a crucial step in order to make sure Ochoa does not cross that aforementioned fine line between reinforcing stereotypes and presenting the material humorously as an expression of his latinidad. (“SUPEReeeGO”)
Another intriguing element of the selected text is the language. Ochoa’s videos are all mainly in English, which implies that his primary audience is English-speaking Latinos. Yet, the message is in broken, but still decipherable, Spanish. This is an example of the use of language to express latinidad. He often uses Spanish slang (and, more specifically, Spanish slang common in Mexico) in his videos; words like “chale”, “orale”, “ese”, and “pinche guey” are often used every few seconds. The word “ese” in particular is used excessively by Ochoa in his videos, almost every other word. His accent also becomes more pronounced during his “You Know You’re Mexican If…” series and Cholo Adventure series, as does Sleepy Brown’s. Language is a powerful expression of latinidad in Ochoa’s videos.
NOTES:
- A “cholo” is one of the versions of the “Bandido” archetype for Mexican males. A Bandido (known in English as a bandit) is one of the three main archetypes for Mexican males: bandit, lover, and buffoon. The closest translation of cholo in English is “gangster” or "thug".
