Amores Perros

Lost in all of Ugly Betty's attaboys regarding the show's Emmy nominations is the OTHER Latino star and TV program to get the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences prestigious seal of approval: Cesar Milan, the rollerbladin' canine trainer and his National Geographic show, The Dog Whisperer, nominated for Best Reality Series, second year in a row.

Ignoring, of course, the obvious question of how a reality show could be called Best of Anything, props to ol' Cesar -- one-time illegal immigrant, present-day dog trainer to Hollywood stars -- and his weekly documentaries showcasing white liberal guilt. For those of you unfamiliar with the popular cable series, a typical episode consists of the Mexican-accented Mestizo swooping into some upper class white dog owner's idea of tragedy: Rover barks too much at the nice miniature schnauzer down at the Silverlake dog run (how embarrassing!), or else Lulu, the basset hound, keeps tinkling on the Persian rug the maid just cleaned (how infuriating!).

Cesar sets the owners straight. Quickly. Usually with practical advice like stop treating your coddled dog like a pampered substitute child and discipline the mutt. Since Cesar's guiding principle is not to discipline the dog, but "re-train" the owner, a weird, cross-cultural sadomasochistic relationship develops as the stern Mexican scolds the hapless American dog owner with tough love admonissions and lectures about "the pack mentality," whatever that means.

Born in Mexico, Cesar hung out on his abuelo's rancho and learned his formative dog whispering skills observing the pack of Sinaloan dogs roaming the land. And while Cesar's official National Geographic online bio says homeboy "moved" to the U.S., it neglects to go into full detail and mention the fact that Milan illegally crossed the Tijuana border, eluded the migra, and lived homeless on the streets of San Diego before getting a job at a dog grooming parlor.

Cesar Milan, the first ex-illegal Mexican to be nominated for an Emmy. Badass.

Comments

[caro]

Actually, my favorite dog whisperer epis are the ones where Cesar goes to the 'hood to get a sweet African-American family to not have their pit bull maul other dogs. Thinking a dog is a baby is not unique to clueless white folks.

[Shizu]

being the "calm assertive pack leader" is useful in many situations. big ups.

[jojo]

Cesar rules.