Memes and Peruvian Wit Claim Cuzco’s Social Media

We have begun the new year in Peru with much wit and humor thanks to memes which race through our world. As last year ended these popular images with funny and often biting words on them took over our social media. In 2014 they were the hit of the moment, it seems, not just in Peru, but around the world.

Social media are what made them popular, of course, but the Peruvian sense of humor also claims its own: biting, ruthless, and funny. Every time there was a scandal in the world we call the farándula, which would be like among entertainment celebrities, memes imitated the scandal and gave it twists and sharp humor.

For example, when the recognized model

put herself in the middle of a relationship, memes rained from the skies in social networks. They even gave her a nickname, following the Peruvian tradition, and it stuck.

What was it? People started calling her the Candy Girl (la Chica Candy). Since Candy is a name in English as well as a word for sweets and not something we use all the time, people were asking themselves why. Why Candy? What does it refer to, because nicknames almost always have some reference in the background of the person or in their reality. They are most definitely not random.

Some people thought the nickname may have come from a cartoon, or maybe from the Candy Crush game that is very popular. But they were wrong. She was given this name because at the time there was a reggaetón song that was very popular from Plan B. In it they called all the girls who were easy to get Candy. That is why the beautiful model ended up with the name Candy. It was dismissive and admiring at the same time and all because of memes.

Someone thought it up in the way we do in Peru and then circulated it through social media where it took off. Now, thanks to memes, Milet Figueroa is commonly known as Candy.

Another example of memes that raced through our world this year: when Manuel Burga quit as the president of Peruvian sports because of problems with authority, it seemed, memes quickly jumped on the issue. They used lots of humor, biting and otherwise in a combination of words and images, to send him away in style.

These were just two of the seemingly infinite memes that ran through our world. Just as in 2014 they entertained us, in 2015 they will tie us to our world through humor and critique. New memes are on their way.