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TikTok’s ‘Ojitos Mentirosos’ Trend Faces Backlash as ‘Chicuarotes’ Sees Streaming Surge

The viral format borrows Chicuarotes’ clown imagery to cast everyday inequality in a TikTok-ready cumbia tableau.

Overview

  • The trend features creators in clown makeup moving through markets, combis and other urban spaces to the cumbia ‘Ojitos mentirosos,’ and it continues to spread across Latin America.
  • The aesthetic is widely linked to a Chicuarotes scene of busking clowns, anchoring the format in the film’s portrayal of life in San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco.
  • Renewed interest has pushed viewers to the film on major services, with Chicuarotes available on Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play for streaming or rental.
  • Debate over representation intensified after a Spanish influencer posted a poolside version that drew criticism for stripping the format of its social context.
  • Coverage notes unresolved credit for the viral audio, with reports alternately attributing the recording to Tropicalísimo Fantasía or Tropicalísimo Apache.