Sin duda, William Hung ain’t got nothin’ on Ecuador’s latest YouTuboSensación — Delfin Quishpe.

I learned of Delfin via an Ecuadorian blogger named Jaime, who after seeing my own post (or two) on the subject, pointed me to a piece he had himself written recently about the ol’ Perreo Chacalonero. Here’s how Jaime put me on to Delfin:

Now, I’m not sure about “most watched” (except maybe in Ecuador) but the version of the video to which Jamie pointed me had indeed been viewed SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND times, and it was but one of many, many copies floating around (and generating mucho discusión).

Here’s the original video which caused quite a stir. Seeming at once exploitative and naive — perhaps not unlike our own prez’s response — it mashes up 9/11 images of the Twin Towers (“Torres Gemelas”) as well as news footage of related events as it superimposes Delfin — along with contact information for bookings, naturalmente — singing a “tecnofolklore” tribute to the day that cannot be forgotten®. Among other details, you might note — as Jaime pointed out to me — that Delfin seems to go to clutch his head toward the beginning of the video, only to smooth back his hair in an apparently characteristically-local gesture of vanity. (Warning: although disturbing in any number of ways, one of the video’s most insidious qualities is that the song actually will get stuck in one’s head. I’m humming it right now, and there’s no making it go away.)

More interesting than the song/video itself, “Torres Gemelas” has inspired a rash of tributes, most of which have been reposted — that’s right — directly on Delfin’s blog. (Smart dude.) To wit:

Moreover, some talented mashup video artists have clearly taken Delfin’s aesthetic and run with it, hilariously —

Here’s one of Delfin in concert:

And another, wherein Delfin duets with MC Hammer:

I’m still working to make sense of all of this, to the extent that there is sense to make. (And indeed, working on an article on the LatinAmerican YouTubosphere more generally. See also. And.) But, in short, it seems to me that el phenomeno Delfin offers but a glimpse of la punta del iceberg for DIY media in an increasingly wired world. Really, who needs American Idols when you got the global YouTubosphere to watch and remix?

Delfin hasta el fin !!