Puerto Rican actor Carlos Ponce lends voice to animated sitcom ‘Los Lopeggs’

By David Villafranca

Los Angeles, Jun 17 (EFE).- The zany day-to-day lives of the egg-shaped members of a Hispanic family are the focus of “Los Lopeggs,” a new animated, Spanish-language television series on the Pantaya platform whose voice actors include Puerto Rico’s Carlos Ponce.

“It has an irreverent sense of humor – a little bit dark but kind-hearted,” he said in an interview with Efe.

The Puerto Rican actor, whose voice-over cast members include Mexican-American actress Angelica Vale, said that despite some adult-targeted jokes the series is appropriate for all ages.

“The children won’t understand the things that are a little bit risque. So this is something that will be really enjoyable family” viewing, he said.

“Los Lopeggs,” a series that will be streamed starting Thursday on Pantaya, is the creation of brothers Gabriel and Rodolfo Riva Palacio and their Huevocartoon studio.

It adds to a growing list of animated content by the Mexican duo that also features egg-shaped characters, including “Una pelicula de huevos” (2006), “Otra pelicula de huevos y un pollo” (2009), “Un gallo con muchos huevos” (2015) and “Un rescate de huevitos” (2020).

That peculiar obsession continues with “Los Lopeggs,” whose protagonists are a family of eggs headed by a dad named Yema (Yolk) and a mom named Clara (Egg-White), voiced by Ponce and Vale, respectively.

Consisting of six 12-minute episodes, “Los Lopeggs” begins with the absent-minded and slow-witted Yema being laid off from his job and then making the rash decision to use all of his family’s savings to launch a taco-truck business.

“He says, ‘I’m going to invest here because I’ll do super well.’ Uh, things don’t necessarily turn out the way Yema thought they would,” Ponce joked.

The actor said he identifies in many ways with the blundering Yema, adding that his character’s wife is “very clever and a bit more intuitive” that he is.

But he said he especially relates to the amusing eccentricity of the Lopeggs residence, which also is home to a young misunderstood musician, a teenage girl with dreams of becoming a social media influencer and a couple of unruly babies.

“I come from a big family and I have four children. I understand all the dynamics of the series, all that craziness that happens when everyone in the family has a project and all those projects coincide,” said Ponce, who has plenty of experience with voice acting but until now had never done this work in Spanish.

“Los Lopeggs” clearly appeals to a Hispanic audience with its numerous references to Latin culture, but Ponce said the series’ sharp and unpredictable humor will give it broader appeal.

“I like intelligent humor, no matter where it comes from or what language it’s in. The humor in ‘Los Lopeggs’ is very visual, but at the same time if you’re not paying attention you’ll miss a joke,” he said.

“I don’t think that because it’s a Mexican family the series has Mexican humor. That’s not the case. It’s universal,” Ponce added.

The actor also expressed excitement about the growing presence in the United States of Pantaya, a premium Spanish-language platform that is entirely focused on the Hispanic market and, according to Ponce, is helping to further diversify that country’s film and television content. EFE

dvp/mc