Does Uruguay have the happiest news show in the world?

The weekly Uruguayan news show is an "antidote to depressing TV news" and an internet sensation. #gottaloveUruguay

By Karen A Higgs

Last updated on March 30, 2014

Last night I introduced a friend to the Uruguayan YouTube phenomenon—a weekly news show entirely dedicated to events that happen to any Joe Bloggs—which has almost as many views as the country has citizens.

Yes, the population of Uruguay is just over 3 million and the show, called Tiranos Temblad, has been viewed over 2,600,000 times.

Tiranos Temblad is such an internet sensation that articles about it have even appeared in the US. The public radio station NPR featured it last year and there was a great write-up about the show and its creator Agustín Ferrando on Ozy.com in its Rising Stars section.

So I was kind of surprised that my friend Sonia, being Montevideo born-and-bred, had never heard of Tiranos Temblad and more than happy to get the show another well-deserved viewer.

Soooo… given that about 60% of Guruguay visitors currently are from Uruguay (hello, Uruguay!), if you haven’t checked out Tiranos Temblad – what are you waiting for??

And if you are from elsewhere, treat yourself to 10 minutes of the happiest news show around—direct from Uruguay.

What is Tiranos Temblad?

A weekly internet show which collects together a selection of YouTube videos uploaded the previous week which are from or mention Uruguay.
The creators started the programme as an antidote to depressing TV news. “After watching (TV news), I am afraid to leave my house, I think of humanity as horrible, and I feel like I’m fighting against the human race. People are actually doing fascinating things. I want to watch something that makes me feel happiness and love toward humanity,” said Ferrando in an interview.
A single episode can feature a grandmother being interviewed by a relative at an 18th birthday party about how much she’s planning to drink, someone kicking a can of soda into a bin and a turtle being rescued.
Episodes feature the “crack” of the week (the coolest thing that has happened in the week), a WTF moment, the “enigma of the week” and awkward encounters.
It has an unofficial theme tune which has since become a phenomenon in its own right throughout Uruguay.
One of my favourite segments are snipped from videos uploaded by high-school students from Montevideo, Minnesota who are learning Spanish.
The creators have rejected advertising offers and continue to produce the show as an labour of love. (#gottaloveUruguay)
You are SO LUCKY! Episodes are now available with English translation. You just need to turn “captions” in English on.

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