#TBT Growing Up Watching Los Chicharrines

With the trailer to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood dropping earlier this week, it got a lot of us in our feelings. While many of us consider Mister Rogers a treasure, actress Ellen Barkin warns that other kid show hosts like Captain Kangaroo and Shari Lewis do not deserve the spotlight. This prompted all of us to remember the kids shows we all grew up watching.

Buzz, who grew up in Oklahoma, used to see a local show called "Uncle Zeb's Cartoon Camp" which was kind of like a "Ranger Joe" (you know, from Full House?). Brandon, who is from Portland, grew up watching "Ramblin' Rod," who Brandon says he was not a nice guy off air. I grew up in El Paso, and while I'm sure the 915 had a local kids show, I actually watched the one from Juarez, "El Circo de Los Chicharrines"

The Chicharrines were brothers aptly named Chicharrin and Chicharin. It was a huge hit back in the day. Although clowns kind of creeped me out, I could not stop watching it! They were hilarious and super entertaining!

It was such a big deal if you could get these guys to perform at your birthday party, and one year in 1996, my cousin got them at his birthday party. As creeped out as I was, I was still laughing and enjoying myself until those dreaded words came out: "We need a volunteer." My mother volunteered me and said I needed to show that El Pasoans could party with everyone in Juarez. At seven years old I was the El Paso representative. I don't really remember the trick, just that involved a handkerchief and Chicharrin's hair.

I never heard a bad thing about these guys, some say they used a lot of bad words when not working, but other than that they were great people. I eventually outgrew watching "El Circo de Los Chicharrines." Throughout the years I noticed they were broadcast on bigger stations. After a bit of research, I'm glad to find that these guys are still out there, performing and putting a smile on children's (and even adults) faces. They're very active on Twitter, and lots of comments on YouTube videos express just how near and dear they are to the hearts of many.