Fourteen years ago, Edgar Martínez was pushed off a log by his primo, Fernando. The incident was filmed and posted on YouTube, amassing nearly 70 million views. So, what has he been up to lately? Let’s catch up.
“I think sometimes things happen that suddenly change your life, but it all depends on one just taking things in the best way, and always with a smile,” he said.
Now 25 years old, Edgar is a communications student and has big dreams of becoming a TV presenter.
“Um, Ms. Rowling, I’m not really sure about this character,” he says, his voice full of trepidation. In the video, the imaginary “Ms. Rowling” responds by telling him to “read the bloody script before I call immigration.”
The video continues to be more outrageous from there. His tongue firmly in his cheek, Munchy_Monk runs through the gambit of stereotypes that the media typically portrays Latinos as doing.
With an exaggerated semi-Spanish-sounding accent (one that is all-too familiar for people who watch TV), the TikTok star pretends to be a gardener (“I’m-gardening-leviosa”), a line-cook (“Accio tacos and burritos!”), and a trouble-making student (“I ain’t take no potions. I ain’t even in potions class, foo.”).
The video is also littered with punny jokes that play on Rowling’s whimsical word-choice. For example, Munchy_Monk pronounces the spell “stupify” as “estupify” and claims he comes from the Hogwarts house “Gryffindor-a the Explor-a”.
via munchy_monks/TikTok
The TikTok video perfectly illustrates the way Rowling has depicted BIPOC characters in the past, as well as how the media generally portrays characters who have identities outside of what the media considers to be “standard” (i.e. white and straight).
For a few years now, there have been subsets of the internet who have taken issue with Rowling’s portrayals of BIPOC and queer characters in the the Harry Potter universe. Many consider these characters to be tokenized depictions of what real non-white, non-straight people are actually like.
Some fans have also grown frustrated to her public statement about Harry Potter characters–specifically how she publicly and retroactively “changed” theirbackstories to “gain inclusivity points” without doing the the more meaningful work of writing inclusive characters in the first place.
Although some fans celebrate Rowling’s fluid approach to the culture and identity of her characters, some claim that the post-publication changes feel inauthentic.
“The problem is we never see those elements of characterisation in the books themselves,” writer Kayleigh Anne wrote in The Independent. “The faith, race and sexuality of her characters has been shoe-horned in retroactively, and it can’t help but ring hollow.”
Of course, the icing on the problematic cake has been the recent transphobic comments and forthcoming book JK Rowling has made about and against trans people. All of these circumstances put into question JK Rowling’s status as an ally to queer and BIPOC people–if she ever was one in the first place.
But one thing is worth admitting: all of the above make Munchy_Monk’s TikTok video especially poignant and darkly hilarious.
This summer’s top song, “WAP”, is showing up all over the place. Sometimes, given its explicit lyrics, even in the most unlikely of places – like school district Facebook pages.
That’s exactly where one teacher’s now viral remix of the hit song by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion ended up. The middle school teacher from Virginia wanted to continue her annual tradition of a back-to-school rap and decided to tackle one of this year’s biggest tracks.
The results have left many celebrating the new lyrics, with WAP standing for “We are going to work and progress.”
A Virginia teacher used the summer anthem of “WAP” to get her students motivated for the school year.
WATCH THIS: Some teachers at Lucy Addison Middle created a music video to get students excited for a new school year. Ms. Harrington wrote and performed the lyrics. The William Fleming High School Cheerleaders also add to the excitement. Watch and enjoy! Have a great school year Bulldogs.
Despite classes being cancelled amid a global pandemic, this Virginia teacher’s passion for education has not diminished. In fact, Eboni Harrington – a teacher in from Roanoke, VA – continued her annual tradition of creating a back-to-school rap to get her students pumped up for school (in previous years, she recreated Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj hits).
“Teaching gives me purpose,” Harrington, a middle school teacher, told Yahoo Life. “I truly enjoy inspiring and encouraging our future leaders of tomorrow. Their ‘aha’ moments are always worth the long hours and commitment.”
Harrington says she was “devastated” when school ended early this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but she was determined to engage with her students, most of whom re-started the school year with remote learning.
“To be unable to have my passion fuel my purpose in a traditional way was tough,” she says. “I found ways to reach my students and had to get creative in doing so. From [using] the Remind [app] with parents and students to downloading a Google Voice number for direct contact, I was there.”
After posting the video to the school district’s official Facebook page, it’s racked up thousands of views.
In addition to recording the song, this year Harrington decided to put together a music video, a process she says took two weeks. Since releasing the track, she’s also posted the video to the Roanoke Public Schools Facebook page, where it has been shared 2,000 times.
“I was super excited to commit to changing the words of today’s most popular song. I got feedback from my family almost every day and even asked the cheerleaders and coaching staff [for] their thoughts. I knew if the cheerleaders were feeling it, then the community would be just as excited, if not more,” she told Yahoo Life.
The middle school teacher adds that she is overwhelmed by the response she has gotten from the music video and was happy to see that parents and students felt less stress when they saw that she, along with other teachers, were excited about the upcoming school year.
Meanwhile, the hit song has inspired countless viral remakes and unique choreography.
If you’ve been on the internet within the past month or so, it’s likely that you have seen people on TikTok twerking with their hands on the ground, humping the floor, and spreading their hoo-has to the sky — all for the sole purpose of following a dance challenge set to “WAP,” the record-breaking No. 1 hit from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.
“WAP” seems to naturally welcome a more queer, fluid form of sexuality, and that’s perhaps one reason why a new dance video set to the song, starring a troupe of insanely talented queer men, has gone viral. Created by choreographer Nicole Kirkland and beauty influencer Angel Merino (better known as Mac Daddyy), the “WAP” dance cover has racked up over 100,000 likes and nearly 50,000 retweets on Twitter, as well as over 460,000 views on YouTube, since its release last Wednesday
One choreographer from Guam even had his dance routine shared by Cardi B herself.
Just a day after Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion broke records with “WAP”, Esperon – a dancer from Guam – posted a challenge that went viral.
Huge TikTok stars such as Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae replicated the energetic dance, which features high kicks, booty popping, twerking, and splits, according to the tutorial with 28 million viewers. Cardi B even performed Esperon’s challenge on Instagram Live.
Once WAP became viral, Esperon’s social media flooded with comments. Some congratulated Esperon for making it to Cardi B’s Instagram live story; others said he achieved overnight fame. Since publishing his dance, over 100,000 users have posted videos of them trying Esperon’s dance challenge, according to Esperon.
