How does "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sound in Japanese?
The world is about to find out.
A video shot at Richmond's annual Christmas Parade on Saturday has become a global hit on YouTube, prompting news media from the United Kingdom to Japan to inquire about the fate of a famous reindeer snagged on a Broad Street traffic light.
Henrico County resident Lisa Salita captured the moment when Rudolph's head popped as balloon handlers tried to steer him around the light at Meadow Street early in the annual parade.
"No, don't go further this way!" Salita cries as her husband shouts, "You're tearing Rudolph!"
And so, the world's most famous reindeer gets a hole in the head and Richmond gets publicity from around the world for the mishap at Meadow.
"We'll take the credit for the brilliant PR move," joked Robert Kelly, chairman of the 2010 Christmas Parade.
Kelly has been involved with Richmond's annual Christmas parade, but he hadn't seen anything like this since Gumby got the same treatment from a traffic light in the 1992 parade.
That was before YouTube. Salita's video was shown first by WTVR-Channel 6 on Saturday night and picked up by CBS affiliates. Then, the Daily Mail in Britain published a story with a link to YouTube.
That's when Japanese news outlets starting calling Lisa Salita, a business consultant for Anthem/Blue Cross-Blue Shield and a divinity student.
"They were asking me to explain more about Rudolph and parades and balloons and American culture," she said.
By Wednesday afternoon, the video was showing 274,116 views on the website, down from its No. 3 ranking among shared videos earlier in the day.
For the Salitas, the video captured Rudolph's unfortunate head shot only because the Mills E. Godwin High School Marching Band happened to be directly behind the balloon. Their son, Michael, is a senior drummer in the band, and their daughter, Helen, is a sophomore clarinetist.
For the family, the video has become a subject of hilarity, but with a touch of pathos.
"It's really sad, but it really is funny," Lisa Salita said.
As for Rudolph, he made it to the parade finish, albeit with head bowed. His owner, Starbound Entertainment, should be able to patch the tear easily, Kelly said. "He will definitely ride again next year."
mmartz@timesdispatch.com
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