Guillermo López Langarica
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Guillermo López Langarica (died 2008) was a Mexican YouTube celebrity who accidentally rose to fame in 2007. Prior to his death he was mostly known as 'El Canaca', (the Canaca guy). More recently he is remembered as 'Don Memo'.
Rise to fame
López Langarica came to the public spotlight when he was detained in Guadalajara, Jalisco, for speed-driving under the influence of alcohol in 2007. He was interviewed and featured in a TV show titled 'El Show de la Barandilla', which mostly aired comical police interventions against drunkards. Shortly after, his video was uploaded to YouTube and quickly gained nation-wide fame.
In the video, López Langarica explains to the reporter how he was wrongly detained, as he was drunk-driving but had not 'crashed yet'. He also claimed the police officers robbed him of $ 50,000.00 Mexican pesos he carried along, explaining he had a pack of a hundred $ 500.00 pesos bills. When asked about his income's origins he claimed to work at Promotora Mexicana Gaytán, a commerce located at 6-6-30-6-71-3-3-3-3 street. He identified himself as the owner's son, a man named Miguel Ángel Gaytán Uribe, who served as President of an organization called 'CANACA', acronym which, he said, stands for 'Centrales de Abastos de la República Mexicana'. Finally, he asks the cameraman to tape his right ankle, angrily accusing the officers of restraining him like a pig.
The YouTube video was an instant phenomenon, having recived over six million views to date. López Langarica rose to national fame because of his comical explanation of events, places, and his catch-phrases '¿Y qué? No he chocado' (So what? I haven't crashed yet), 'Apúntele bien' (Write this down), 'Soy hijo del papá' (I'm son of the father), 'Me amarraron como puerco' (They tied me like a pig), and his definition of the acronym CANACA (there is no such organization in Mexico, the closest in name would be the Cámara Nacional de Comercio - CANACO).
Death
On the night of September 25, 2008, López Langarica was ran over in Guadalajara by a Dodge Neon, driven by a heavily intoxicated woman named Silvia Teresa Borboa. He was totally sober. When the police arrived, the woman claimed someone had put the body under her car. The fact immediately made it to national news and was featured in Mexico's most prominent news reports and newspapers. [1]
Legacy
Numerous parodies and tributes spawned after the original video's popularity, such as imitations, animated versions, musical remixes, and even religious prayers. Also, other Mexican and Latinamerican drunken celebrities gained fame, such as Dios Eolo (God Eolo), the 'Ni Merga' guy, and the Sicarios de Montemorelos (Montemorelos killers). After López Langarica's death numerous tribute and farewell videos appeared in YouTube. T-shirts imprinted with his famous phrases or the Mexican soccer team Atlas's logo are for sale in some street markets. Also, YouTube users posted several in memoriam comments in his famous video, while some users encourage fans to call and dennounce Silvia Teresa Borboa, even providing suppossed personal data, such as her home address, and her cell phone number.
External Links
YouTube: López Langarica's death in the late news with Joaquín López Dóriga.