Hablando en plata, Baby!
Jun26
on June 26, 2012
at 5:00 am
Move over Arnie. Google tells me that “Hablando en plata” translates as “Talk in Silver”. OK, so it doesn’t have the ring of “Hasta La Vista, Baby!“, let alone the dramatic impact, but it’s now become part of my pidgin-Spanish vernacular.
Why? Watch this video–and pay close attention at about the 1 minute 15 second mark.
Amazingly, this has had over 400,000 views: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09YSNOsVebM.
Discussion (11) ¬
People the world over are not buying the stimulus v. austerity false dichotomy. The time is ripe for truth to spread.
Cute, funny and entertaining.
Yes, very funny. I liked that one!
How does it feel to become an Internet meme, mate?
I grew up in Spain, so in case you didn’t get it, the women start out speaking in a southern Spanish accent & manner associated with low literacy (and congruent w the images) and all of a sudden switch to complicate economics talk.
Thanks Jonathan!
Weird! But fortunately I have the sense of humor needed to cope with it.
Hi. My name is Antonio Gil. I wrote the script for this short film, which was in turn shot by my youngest brother Miguel Angel. We were so pleased to see that it reached Steve’s attention and so glad you liked it enough to post it on your site. I decided to include you in the film after an interview with Max Keiser (the man who opened my eyes and changed my financial life forever) and hope you didn’t mind
Surprisingly, an despite the limited technical means, the film has seen an incredible success right after being posted online. It has been broadcast in all major TV channels in Spain and radio stations. It even appeared on the Le Monde website! As Jonathan pointed out, the Spanish accent is extremely southern. For that we’ve had our fair share of criticism. However, that was the whole point of the film. We thought that it’d be funny to hear the financial jargon out of the mouths of humble people.
By the way, Steve. “Hablando en plata” is a very common idiom in Spain. It could be equivalent to “speaking crystal clear” when someone wants to stress that is talking in a very explicit way. Of course we chose this title for the ambiguous meaning – plata = silver
Finally, we would like to know how it came to you!
Best wishes
Hi Antonio,
Lovely to hear from you!
Of course, I was delighted–if somewhat bemused–to find my name featuring there. I didn’t undertake the crusade I’ve now been on for over 7 years for the sake of fame, but I knew that to succeed in raising the alarm about private debt, I’d have to become “famous”–though of course I’m nowhere near as well known as Max & Stacy. Hearing my name raised in Spanish conversation in your little movie was confirmation that the expected side-effect has happened.
I heard about it on Twitter from Beate Reszat, who blogs at:
http://reszatonline.wordpress.com/
She in turn had found it here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-spain-banks-protests-idUSBRE85L0WO20120622
Keep up the good work–I look forward to your next satirical effort (whether I’m mentioned or not).
Steve,
You´d be surprised to know how many independent financial analysts mention you in the main Spanish podcasts. They are listened by thousands of people in Spain. Please feel free to join Carlos Barba´s Facebook group Colectivo Burbuja. We’d be honored to have you there!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/284455334936933/
Regards
Antonio