;MADRID, Spain (AP) – Many Spaniards were so amused when their king told Venezuela’s president to “shut up” they want to hear the words every time their phone rings.
About half a million people have downloaded a mobile phone ringtone featuring the phrase “Por que no te callas?” or “Why don’t you shut up?” leading Madrid daily El Pais reported on its Web site Monday.
That’s what King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a heated confrontation at a summit in Chile last week.
The ringtone is thought to have generated around $2.2 million for the companies selling it, El Pais said.
“The king said what Venezuelans have wanted to say to Chavez’s face for a long time,” said Jenny Romero, 21, a student sporting one of the T-shirts in Caracas. “I’m wearing this T-shirt to protest everything bad that has happened in the country.”
The spat last week began when Chavez repeatedly called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a “fascist.”