About

Edgar's Fall (La caída de Edgar) is a viral video featuring a young boy named Edgar and his cousin Fernando hiking in a ranch near their hometown of Monterrey, Mexico.

Origin

The original clip of Edgar's fall was posted on YouTube in May 2006^[1]. The video begins with Edgar looking hesitant to cross a small stream using tree branches as a bridge. As soon as Edgar inches towards it, Fernando starts shaking one of the thick branches, causing Edgar to curse wildly in northern Mexican accent before losing balance and plunging into the water. For notable derivatives and remixes of the video clip, please refer to the video gallery. As of May 2011, Edgar's Fall still remains one of the most viewed videos on YouTube in Latin America with nearly 24 million views in aggregate.

Spread

The video quickly gained momentum throughout the first half of 2006, appealing to both English and Spanish-speaking viewers. Further boosted by media coverage, the viral video quickly developed into a frenzy of user-generated media, ranging from mobile ringtones^[2] and Flash games to parodies and remix videos featuring Star Wars, Mario Bros, Street Fighter, Pokémon and others. For more examples of notable parodies, please refer to the video gallery. Edgar has also made numerous appearances on television and mainstream media in Mexico; there was even a presidential campaign site devoted to the boy^[3]. In 2007, YouTube Mexico invited Edgar to its launch party, where he filmed a welcome video specifically geared towards Mexican audiences.

Return of Edgar

In 2007, Edgardo, Fernando and the cameraman that participated in this video made a commercial called La Venganza de Edgardo (Edgardo's Revenge) for a Mexican cookie company, Gamesa. In the commercial, which has become a viral video, Edgar screams "Guardias!" and suddenly Roman soldiers enter the scene, who carry out his order by throwing Fernando in the water. Upon Edgar's request, the cameraman is also tossed into the stream before it ends.

Notable Examples

Search Interest

External References

^[1] YouTube – La Caida de Edgar

^[2] Mad Ringtones – La Caida de Edgar

^[3] Terra Noticias – Youtube lanza versión de su portal exclusiva para México / 11-18-2008