Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

marked limp and when Eufemio sees him he calls him ‘rumbero’. This is rude since it
refers to his disability: he appears to be dancing the rumba while walking because of the
movement of his hips. Eufemio also offends the other man and when the driver asks
Eufemio to stop the insults, Eufemio replies: ‘Me canso, me fatigo y me extenúo,
porque para eso soy muy hombre. Y usted es un méndigo infeliz que ni existe’. 149 If we
find the scene funny, Eufemio’s reply offers us absolution. It is the belief in his
superiority which makes him offensive. But this feeling of superiority makes Eufemio
look ridiculous. His grotesque behaviour is laughable. Thus, our laughter is not directed
at the ice seller but the ridiculous attitude of Eufemio, and indeed, through our laughter
we are condemning it. Humour then is a corrective.
Another reason for finding this situation comical is because of the combination
of frames of reference. Eufemio labels the man a ‘rumbero’ (combining the man’s hip
movement with the movement of a rumba dancer). To join separate frames of reference
and embody them in the ice seller highlights his difference. ‘The sudden change in the
expected meaning of certain words leads to a sudden restructuring and interpretation of
the whole’ 150 and that is what gives place to the joke. Thus, the mix of frames of
reference, and the politically incorrect nickname are the elements that generate laughter.
We are not laughing at the man’s disability but at the overlapping frames of reference.
A different example comes from Calzonzin Inspector. Calzonzin is enjoying a
parade in his honour, along with the village grandees. Suddenly, the journalist notices
that someone in the parade, who is supposedly part of the football team, is missing a leg
and walks with crutches. The journalist runs out and takes him from the line, saying:
‘No, tú no. Nada de malas impresiones. Además no llevas bien el paso’. 151 The
journalist claims the man’s disability gives a bad impression, a comment that someone
149 Alcoriza, Mecánica Nacional, 1971.
150 Gestalt Theory quoted by McGhee, Humor. Its Origin… p.11.
151 Arau, Calzonzin Inspector, 1973.
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