¡Yo Quiero Taco Bell!

Recorder Music Meets Gidget

From the lost posts! Today, I stumbled upon the notes and scribbling of a story that somehow was overlooked from last spring. But, I like it enough to not toss it. So, I present it for your consideration today! Maybe get the earplugs out.

---

So there I am, one of a dozen or so parents, squatting on third grade chairs, listening to my daughter perform in a music class recorder concert. Now, many of you may instinctively recoil at the prospect of a recorder concert.

But what if I told you that Little Bean had a solo! Yeah, no, still not sure, huh?

Well, how about this - a careful listener can trace a direct line between the song they played and Taco Bell from the 1990s. How about that?

First things first! Here’s the two minute song. Listen carefully for Little Bean’s solo during the otherwise a cappella singing part.

The song the kids played is called Chi Chi the Chihuahua, published by the education music company, Plank Road Publishing. Located out of Wisconsin, Plank Road is a music teacher’s resource, full of original compositions, sheet music and magazines to help music teachers teach their students.

Paul and Teresa Jennings started Plank Road all the way back in 1990 to “help elementary and middle school music teachers change the world for themselves and their students.”

I reached out to them and it turns out, Chi Chi the Chihuahua was written by Paul and Teresa back in 1999.

I’ll let them explain!

“This song was originally published in our January/February issue of Music K-8 magazine in 1999. Teresa Jennings is a collector of the Taco Bell Chihuahuas. Back then, the commercials had cute little Chihuahuas exclaiming, ‘Yo quiero Taco Bell,’ which translates to ‘I want Taco Bell.’”

Not for nothing, the pup in those commercials became quite famous back in the day. Her name was Gidget and the campaign grew so popular that a whole line of merchandise, including the aforementioned stuffed animals, were released. The campaign came to a close around 2000 and Gidget went on to a long career, appearing in ads for Geico and even making an appearance in the movie Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Gidget passed away at 15 in 2009.

And as long as we’re in stream-of-consciousness mode here, did you know that famed voice actor Carlos Alazraqui voiced Gidget in the Taco Bell ads? You HAVE heard Carlos, I promise you. Squirrel Boy, Family Guy, Disney, Hanna Barbara cartoons, Nester in Happy Feet. He’s out there a ton.

Anyway, how about now? Recorder concert anyone? Anyone…!?