El Kabong

Because I'm a technology nerd, Jack has his very own Tivo (well, it was our pre-kid Tivo which migrated upstairs just before Jack was born). My attractive wife and I use it to record all manner of kid's shows. Poor Jack will never understand the concept of waiting to see a show when it actually airs. He thinks all shows are on demand.

We have the suggestions feature turned on and the Tivo thought Jack might like the Pink Pather cartoons which originally aired back in the late 1960s. At the end of the show, which we recorded off Cartoon Network, there was an animated short called, "El Kabong Rides Again," which Jack and I really liked.

El Kabong is the alter ego of Quck Draw McGraw, a horse sherrif character from Hanna Barbera which debuted in 1959. Occasionally, he dresses up as Zorro and fights villains in the southwestern town of El Pueblo using a guitar as a club. Once I saw an example of the original Hanna Barbera cartoons on YouTube I remembered him completely.

The Cartoon Network short from Wild Brain, Inc., features El Kabong (El Hero de Los Todos de Cartoonistas*) and his trusty sidekick Babalouie, riding into a southwestern town populated by Mexican Day of the Dead inhabitants. The townsfolk are tormented by a ruthless blue-eyed villain, "El Honcho Macho" and his Mexican wrestler gang who hang out at "El Cantina de Bad Guy." (I can't help but wonder if the blue-eyed villain is homage to Robert Rodgriguez's villain from "El Mariachi.") There is no dialog, just a wonderful soundtrack, a tune called, "Minas de Cobre," (iTunes link) from the indie group, Calexico.



Jack wanted to see it again and again by saying, "Honcho Moncho Bad GUY!" I tried to get him to say "El Kabong" but he liked the bad guy better, I'm afraid. The animated short and its music are great. Check it out.

*Yes, this is incredibly incorrect Spanish. It's a cartoon after all...