Enchufe.tv

''Enchufe.tv'' is an Ecuadorian web series produced by ''Touché Films''. Based in Quito, Ecuador, it consists of comedic sketches viewed primarily on its YouTube channels as well as on Ecuadorian television channel Ecuavisa.

As of August 2018, the series' channel on YouTube has over 18 million subscribers.

As of February 2020, the show has now become a staple series on the Spanish language network “Estrella TV”.

History

In 2011, Ecuadorian filmmakers Leonardo Robalino, Christian Moya, Martín Domínguez and Jorge Ulloa discussed the current state of audiovisual production in Ecuador in the back of a pickup truck. As a result, they decided to begin production of short videos, using the internet as their primary medium of diffusion with fewer restrictions than traditional media outlets.

Shortly thereafter, the audiovisual project commenced as a product of their company, ''Touché Films'', and on November 13, 2011, the ''Enchufe.tv'' YouTube channel was created, publishing various comedy sketches, ''El peor casting'' (The Worst Casting) being their first.

During their first season, sketches lasting 4 to 5 minutes were uploaded every Sunday, while shorts known as "microYAPA" (between 10 and 60 seconds) were uploaded on Tuesdays. Every Thursday a "Promo" was released, providing a preview of the upcoming Sunday sketch.

By July 2012, the Enchufe.tv YouTube channel reached 71,000 subscribers and their videos received over 78 million views, racking up 500,000 hits per day making them the most popular Ecuadorian YouTube channel on the web. Until mid-2012, viewership came primarily from Ecuador, followed by Mexico. On April 16, 2012, the protagonist of Pescador, Andrés Crespo, made a guest appearance in the skit with ''Las Amigas de Camilo con Blanquito''. On May 13, 2012, the Mothers Day video ''Mami, mami, mami'', reached a record of 3.2 million visitors. On July 23, 2012 Enchufe.tv published a video called ''ME GUSTA'', reaching 1.5 million views in less than 48 hours and inspiring approximately 100 video responses, becoming a trending video from Russia to the United States. On October 8, 2012 the ''Compra Condones'' sketch was released, eventually becoming the most viral video they had released, reaching over 10 million views to date.

On September 14, 2013 at 10 PM, ''Enchufe.tv'' released their first season videos to a broader Ecuadorian public on Ecuavisa, an Ecuadorian television station. By then they already had more than seven million subscribers and 1 million daily visits, as well as 1 million "likes" on Facebook. Currently, they are ranked globally as the 49th most subscribed-to channel on YouTube. According to statistics taken up to mid-2013, their largest online audience is from Mexico, followed by Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

On November 3, 2013, YouTube awarded ''Enchufe.tv'' a ''Golden Play Award'', attributed to YouTube channels with over 1 million subscribers on the occasion of the first YouTube Music Awards.

On September 7, 2014, ''Enchufe.tv'' wins the "Audience Choice Show of the Year" award at the Streamy Awards.

On December 9, 2015, ''Enchufe.tv'' made a cameo in Youtube Rewind 2015.

On December 7, 2016, ''Encufe.tv'' made their second YouTube Rewind appearance in YouTube Rewind 2016.

Genre and Style

The skits feature Ecuadorian idiosyncrasies, reflecting on everyday life while leaving aside stereotypes and discrimination. Their stories are based on the ironies of personal experiences, popular sayings, Ecuadorian traditions, and even family relationships, resulting in a very comical mix that appeals to a wide audience.

Notable sketches

#''The Worst Casting'': The first sketch Touché Films ever made for Enchufe.tv. It is about the goings on and unique situations that casting presents.
#''Mission: Carnaval (Ecuadorian FPS)'': In this parody of the first person shooter video game Call of Duty using the national celebration of carnaval as the backdrop, water balloons, eggs, flour and water pistols are used in place of firearms to attack the passers by.
#''Mommy mommy mommy (Mother’s Day)'': This sketch is about a mother who can’t tolerate the constant bother her son causes her with his non-stop questioning about any and everything, in addition to his bad grades. During an attempt to trap and punish him, he gives her a Mother’s Day card reminding her that he loves her. The sketch ends with a hug between mother and son.
#''Camilo’s amigas with Blanquito'': Three rowdy teenage girls try to socialize with local celebrity Andrés Crespo, who plays the protagonist Blanquito of the Ecuadorian film “Pescador” while riding in his car. They get him into trouble with the authorities by having alcohol in his car and drinking underage. The sketch ends with a session of selfies during Crespo’s arrest.
#''ME GUSTA'': This is the first video to step outside of the normal structure of the average Enchufe.tv sketch. In this video whenever someone likes a particular thing or situation they are ambushed by a character with the well-known meme rage comic ME GUSTA face in place of their head. This character is always accompanied by the same song, and after spitting on a normal person’s face with the rage comic LOL face, the normal person is transformed into the same kind of ME GUSTA character as the original one from the beginning of the video. After the transformation they both dance in the same peculiar manner. At the end a lady who happens to be cooking hits the ME GUSTA guy on the head with a pan after she expresses her liking of what she was doing. The ME GUSTA guy is left on the floor with blood on his face.
#''Buying Condoms'': Chichico, a young man who goes to the pharmacy somewhat shamefully, needs to buy condoms for the first time. Although he attempts to do so cautiously, it seems as if everyone around him becomes aware of and involved in what he is attempting to buy, including his uncle who happens to be there too. It turns out that he is the millionth customer that day, and a camera crew broadcasts his purchase nationwide. His girlfriend’s father sees the broadcast, and forbids his daughter from seeing Chichico further. When he shamefully returns to the car to give his friend the condoms he had asked for, the friend replies that he asked not for condoms, or “condones” in Spanish, but for “cordones” (Spanish for shoelaces), thus the entire affair could have been averted if not for a tragic misunderstanding.
#''Trailer, Chavo the Movie'': This sketch is a parody trailer for a fake movie spinoff based on the Mexican sitcom ''El Chavo''. It is also a tribute to the show's star/creator Chespirito (Roberto Gómez Bolaños). It has a similar plot to ''The Da Vinci Code''. The sketch features two agents, one American and the other Middle Eastern. The agents are searching for the real name of El Chavo. The trailer also briefly explores the darker and perhaps more sexual sides of the beloved sitcom characters. The trailer ends with the American agent discovering Gómez Bolaños' other character El Chapulín Colorado's classic squeaky hammer in the desert.

Production

''Enchufe.tv´s'' general manager is Leonardo Robalino, the creative director is Jorge Ulloa, general producer Martín Domínguez, Andrés Centeno executive producer and cinematographer Christian Moya, all co-owners of the production company ''Touché Films''.

Awards

*Golden Play from YouTube Music Awards 2013 for became reach to the 1 million subscribers.
*Audience Choice Show of the Year from Streamy Awards 2014 for audience vote.

Cast

*Orlando Herrera
*Carolina Pérez
*Raúl Santana
*Jorge Ulloa
*Leonardo Robalino
*Nataly Valencia
*Daniel Paez
*Andrés Arteaga
*Carla Yépez
*Esteban Jaramillo
*Francisco Viñachi
*Jorge Alejandro Fegan
*Maya Villacreses
*Mosquito Mosquera
*Christoph Baumann
*Erika Russo
*Alejandro Lalaleo (screenwriter)

References

External links

YouTube Channel
{{Streamy Awards Audience Choice Winners

Internet memes
Black comedy
Comedy-related YouTube channels
Ecuadorian entertainment websites
Streamy Award-winning channels, series or shows
Surreal comedy
Ecuadorian comedy
Spanish-language YouTubers