Consuela from 'Family Guy'
Honestly! I’m not sure whether I should be offended or just plain tickled with the increasing popularity of this crazy little cartoon character named Consuela I’ve only recently discovered.
According to her creators on Family Guy, she is the leader of the Quahog Maids’ Union and Consuela is every bit the typical stereotype of a Latina housemaid… of Mexican descent according to the undercurrent of mostly young people who’ve taken her on as a “champion” of sorts for housemaids everywhere.
On the one hand, she’s definitely got the sarcasm and sass of many an abuelita down packed! Her broken English – she calls everyone Misser regardless of their gender - and seemingly on purpose way of getting out of everything by saying “NOOOOOO!!” - her signature line by the way – is pretty hilarious and seems all too familiar to me for some reason.
También es medio cabrona La Consuela
On the other hand, though, her appearance on episodes like Are You Smarter Than a Hispanic Maid? just make me cringe.
Episode: Are You Smarter Than a Hispanic Maid?
Outside of the show there’s also an info-graphic circulating the web calling her the “grown up” version of Dora the Explorer, or what Dora will look like in a few decades.
Is this really Dora's future?
Come on people! We Mexicans are capable of so much more than just cleaning houses – and NO, Dorita is not going to be a housemaid when she grows up! She’s into science people!
While Consuela has become more than just another character on Family Guy - she’s one of the few that was created as a one time character and turned into a regular part of the show - the question for me is do we really need Consuela in the world? It’s bad enough the Urban Dictionary already defines Consuela as “the universal name for a hotel maid.” Really!?
I don’t know, what do you think?
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uhmmmm… can you say RACIST??
When I saw your tweet that said something about “Consuela” being made up by Americans, I was intrigued. I mean, there is nobody out there named Consuela, right? Consuelo, sure, but Consuela? Come on. Then you told me about Urban Dictionary’s definition. I thought, what the eff?! Since when do racist white people define anything on “urban” dictionary. Or is it internalized-racist brown people? I am almost 40 and I wonder how much longer we’ll keep perpetuating our own stereotypes. I wonder when the words – internalized oppression – will be a part of our consciousness and when that knowledge will propel our growth. And lastly, there are many, many reasons not to watch The Family Guy. As a Chicana feminist I urge you to stop consuming any form of entertainment that espouses the hatred under the guise of comedy. c/s
@mexicanwoman definitely agree on several points here. I’ve met many Consuelos… very few Consuelas in my life, but I guess that doesn’t necessarily mean much. There are much crazier names out there than Consuela. And as far as the show, I rarely ever watch it just because it’s not the style of humor that catches my attention. That’s why I didn’t even know who this character was, but after seeing her increasingly all over the web I had to do a little more digging… la verdad I still can’t make up my mind. Some of the clips made me laugh, others just kind of angered me. I mean La India Maria was totally making dun of herself. This feels a little like Consuela is just being made fun of.
Don’t know if you know this but Consuela is based on Zoila from Bravo TV’s Flipping Out. She’s actually not Mexican, I believe she’s from Honduras. My kids and I LOVE her and can’t get enough of her and Jeff on Flipping Out. You should take a look. I hadn’t seen this cartoon but it certainly does sound and act like her. By the way I am hispanic, I’m not offended, it makes me laugh and I can’t wait until the new season of Flipping Out starts!
Anonymous, had no idea about Zoila or the show you mentioned… mucho menos that Consuela is Honduran? What I found online said that she was created by the person who voices her based on previous housemaids he had hired in his own home?? But then again he could have modeled her after Zoila anyway??? And as far as being Mexican, they never really specified officially on the show… but for some reason kids on the net have claimed her as Mexican. Quien sabe, but thank yo for stopping by
Zoila is from Nicaragua and Family Guy is tongue and cheek comedy that makes fun of everyone. The writers are Jewish, well lots of the writers are not all and they bash Jews more than anyone else. It’s a stereotype for a reason. They don’t get started from completely unfounded actions.
I hate the Consuela character. So much. When she refused to leave the Griffin house cause of a rain storm… I was just like, CALL THE COPS TO HAUL THAT BITCH OUT, GODDAMN!