Bolivia Might Have the World's Most Devoted ‘Simpsons’ Fans

A protester holds up a Bart Simpson head during a rally calling for Unitel to bring back "The Simpsons". Screenshot from YouTube.

A protester holds up a Bart Simpson head during a rally calling for Unitel to bring back “The Simpsons”. Screenshot from YouTube.

Bolivian TV channel Unitel probably didn't imagine that a decision some weeks ago to move “The Simpsons” out of its usual time slot to make room for reality show “Calle 7” would provoke demonstrations in several cities in Bolivia.

March organized on Facebook against Calle 7 asking for The Simpsons in La Paz and Santa Cruz. D'oh!

Marches were held on February 6 in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, and they drew hundreds of noisy fans of the popular series.

I liked a YouTube video: Chanting “Death to Calle 7″ The Simpsons march Bolivia

But demonstrators also protested against so-called “trash TV” and asked for more cultural programs on local television.

March for The Simpsons, against Calle 7 program that airs on Unitel and against Trash TV #SantaCruz

As could be expected, not everyone agreed that protesting for a television program was the best use of time when there are more important issues:

 We believe that this is a joke…. Where did “cultural decolonization” end up. Ha ha ha.

Local people will march for The Simpsons, but nobody says anything about crime.. Good Santa Cruz..Good

The demonstration succeeded in convincing Unitel, the station airing “The Simpsons”, to return the series to Bolivian screens on March 9.

The Simpsons are back after a massive and unprecedented demonstration in three cities (And Delius no longer on TV, great achievements)

However, some people were suspicious about the whole thing:

@jcpereirasta why? Rather shows something that always occurs in Bolivia: if you do not like something, protest, I love it.

@juanjosebolivia the problem is just that: organizing demonstrations (Simpson) for commercial purposes (Unitel) = manipulation

Even “The Simpsons” themselves showed their appreciation for Bolivian fans’ loyalty on their Facebook account:

 

1 comment

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.