Watching “Los Simpsons” in Mexico City Is Fun

So, just like back in NYC, we get to watch the Simpsons on Fox on Sunday nights. The show is dubbed in Spanish, but the voices are similar — Marge still has her strangled whine and Ned’s got his nasal singsong — yet the whole thing feels slightly off kilter, like watching a pirated DVD, albeit a very funny one.

The show, in some ways, is better for me in Mexico; the antics of Homer (who is called Homero here) seem so perfectly random because I can’t fully understand what he’s saying, and I notice far more of the physical humor from all the characters. I also never realized how often Maggie is shown clinging desperately to Marge.

But, lo and behold, I feel infinitely cool when I do understand a joke. Ahem, por ejemplo, tonight they showed Bart playing a video game that pitted Rocky the boxer against the woman in the old ’80s Wendy’s commercial who said “Where’s the Beef?”

Or, “Donde es la carne?”

I know that seems really basic, but two months ago, I would have taken pause at that, translated it in my head, and then laughed. Tonight, it didn’t even take me a split-second to get it. Poco a poco, I’m able to do that more these days. (But we’re talking very, very poco a poco.)

Also, the Mundo Fox web site has a great Simpsons section, complete with pretty awesome e-postcards, or estampitas.