¡D’oh! Spanish-language cast of ‘Los Simpsons’ on strike

Five actors who provide dubbed Spanish voices for Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Mr. Burns on “The Simpsons” are heading into the show’s 16th season on strike, leaving some Latin American fans worried about the fate of their favorite show.

The five have refused to sign a new contract with their Mex- ico City-based production com- pany.

The company is assuring fans that the dispute is not holding up distribution of the show’s 16th season, which began airing in the U.S. last fall. The voice actors went on strike Oct. 13, but Latin American viewers were unaware until the dispute was publicized this week in newspapers and on television.

The dubbing company, Grabaciones y Doblajes Internacionales, wants to allow the hiring of nonunion voice workers to dub the voices of other characters on the show. But the actors object, saying that if too many voice jobs are given to independents, their union -- National Actors Assn. (ANDA) -- will be weakened and benefits will dry up.

Humberto Velez, who’s been the Spanish voice of Homer (known as Homero to Spanish-speaking viewers) for 15 years, says his salary of $60 an episode doesn’t begin to meet the needs of his family. That’s where ANDA comes in, he says.

“Doctors, medicine, funerals, the birth of my children -- all of the services that I need as a professional are covered” by the union, Velez said. His two children attend an ANDA-run preschool, which “the company doesn’t offer.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, the dubbing company said that being pressured into signing an exclusive contract with union workers would unfairly take jobs away from independent actors and members of another Mexican actors union.

Striking actors say fans are showing up at the company’s offices to show support, and that they are receiving personal e-mails and phone calls from fans who say they will boycott the show if the actors’ voices are replaced.

Twentieth Century Fox, owner of “The Simpsons,” is staying clear of the dispute for now, saying only that it hopes both sides come to a friendly agreement soon.

Raymundo Capetillo, labor secretary for ANDA, partly blames globalization for the current conflict. He believes the dubbing company is trying to cut labor costs to compete with cheaper productions in South America.

“Other Latin American countries have offered to perform the work at less than half of what we charge in Mexico,” said Capetillo, who believes it’s more important to maintain the quality of the Mexican product, which has always been prized for its flat, unaccented Spanish.

Many U.S. television shows are dubbed into Spanish for rebroadcast in Latin America. And “Los Simpson,” as the series is known to its 250 million Spanish-speaking viewers, is America’s biggest export hit.

“ ‘The Simpsons’ is the highest-rated series on any cable network in Latin America,” said Hernan Lopez, senior vice president and managing director of Fox Latin America. When new episodes are given their premieres on the Fox Channel in countries such as Argentina and Mexico, the network’s rating is nearly double its closest competition, according to numbers from IBOPE Media, a company headquartered in Brazil that tracks ratings for Latin America.

Representatives of the voice actors and the dubbing company are scheduled to meet with an arbitration panel Tuesday.

“Those characters are part of us now,” said Nancy Mackenzie, the Spanish-language voice of Marge. “If they cancel the series, fine. But to change the voices after 15 years, that’s not fair. We’re ready to fight tooth and nail to defend this.”