When TV Commercials Ruled American Culture
We open on a Chihuahua. Salsa music blares in the background. Where are we? Juárez, Havana, or Fort Worth, it doesn’t matter—this is a land of yearning and appetite. The dog sees something in the distance: a pink collar. A potential mate. We keep pace as he runs, risking it all for love.
But when he finally reaches her, he blows right past, barely registering her presence. He parks himself in front of a taco-wielding teen as the music trails off uncertainly. Then the dog speaks. “Yo quiero Taco Bell.”
According to corporate canon, the slogan is exclamatory, but that does the line reading a disservice. The actor Carlos Alazraqui, who voiced the Chihuahua, reportedly drew inspiration from the morose Hungarian film star Peter Lorre and from Ren, Stimpy’s psychotic other half. You can tell: The dog states his desire for Taco Bell with more than a tinge of menace.
