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 'Gringolandia' is the brainchild of 33-year-old Chilean
Cristobal Ross, who drew on his experiences living in the United
States to create a story about the bemused Peter, played by Koke
Santa Ana, who introduces Americans to streams of Chilean slang
(subtitles provided) and the 'completo', a popular snack that
consists of a hotdog drowned in mayonnaise, avocado and tomato.
The six-minute-long episodes debuted on YouTube in 2013, and
were later consolidated into longer episodes for two mini-series
on Internet streaming service Netflix. A third series is due out
on November 25 and a spin-off is in the works.
As well as North America and much of Europe, Netflix is
available throughout South America. That has encouraged the
development of programming based in Latin America, such as 'Narcos',
a series about Colombian drug-lord Pablo Escobar, and upcoming
dystopian show '3%', shot in Brazil.
Ross, who trained as an industrial engineer and is from Punta
Arenas in the cold Patagonian steppe, does not perhaps have a
conventional film-making background.
A passionate movie lover, he decided to leave his job managing
fuel at an airline, move to New York, and cobble together enough
savings to make a "fish out of water" story that appeals to
Latin Americans at home and in the United States.
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"If you make good content you can grow something," Ross told Reuters
in Santiago, where he is currently based. "You don't need a network
of people, just good ideas."
Storytelling for the web is a greater challenge in many ways than
more conventional forms, he said, as people engage with it via
mobile devices and the pace needs to be fast and relentless.
"There's an unsatisfied demand for web content created specifically
for the digital medium," said Ross.
"TV doesn't get that and I see huge opportunity in that."
(Reporting by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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