The streaming giant Netflix released 'Moria' last weekend, a biographical series about the life of Moria Casán, the 80-year-old Argentine actress and TV personality who has been a cultural icon for decades. The show revisits many pivotal moments in her career, but one scene has already become a viral sensation: the night she exploded at a restaurant in the seaside city of Mar del Plata for offering her 'japaleta' and warm cider.
What Happened That Night?
In the series, the sequence takes place after a theatrical performance by actress Sofía Gala at the bar-theater 'La Subasta' with Fernando Peña. But in reality, the incident occurred in November 2011, when Casán was in Mar del Plata for the premiere of her show “La revista de Buenos Aires” and went out for dinner with her cast to a restaurant at the corner of Rodríguez Peña and Güemes.
The diva arrived expecting to eat and also do interviews with the press, but the service did not meet her standards. Her fury was captured on a TV segment that became legendary in Argentina:
“How can you be so tacky?” she began, then continued: “People who host artists need to understand that after a show we are hungry and we don’t want to be talking in front of a banner.”
The restaurant owner, a woman named Analía, defended her side: the deal was a free dinner for 100 people in exchange for Casán promoting the venue in her interviews. According to her, “there was disorganization with the press,” and Casán refused to get up for interviews or even mention the restaurant’s name.
The Infamous 'Todo Berreta' Rant
Casán’s tirade became part of Argentine pop culture:
“All I saw was a crazy owner who only cared about her banner. When we arrived, there were these tiny square sandwiches that weren’t even real ham—it was japaleta (a cheap ham substitute). Everything was tacky, everything tacky. How can they give us flour after a show? Are you a cow?”
She also complained about the drinks: “The owner came over with a crown on her head and I thought, what is this? Get out of here, ridiculous, stingy. My friend asked for a glass of champagne to toast, and they brought her something that wasn’t champagne—it was warm cider.”
According to Casán, the bill was “a fortune” for something that “wasn’t worth 100 pesos.”
Context for International Readers
For those unfamiliar with Argentine culture, “berreta” is slang for something cheap, tacky, or of poor quality. “Japaleta” is a low-quality processed ham often used in budget sandwiches. Mar del Plata is Argentina’s most famous beach resort, located about 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires, and it’s a common destination for theater and entertainment during the summer season.
The series “Moria” is now streaming on Netflix and continues to spark conversations across the country. This anecdote, which had already become a meme and a cultural reference, is just one of many stories the production portrays.
Source: 0223.com.ar