About
“Gratata” is an onomatopoeia for the sound produced by a fully automatic firearm which is often mocked by users of the video-sharing site Vine.
Origin
On April 10th, 2014, Viner Bryan Silva posted a mirror-shot selfie video in which he recites threatening rap lyrics that ends with the “gratata” sound effect while standing in the bathroom in his underwear (shown below, left). On the following day, Silva posted a second video featuring the onomatopoeia accompanied by a gun shot hand gesture (shown below, right). Within 20 days, the videos gained over 49,000 and 146,000 revines respectively.
Spread
On April 16th, the @GratataEdits Twitter feed was launched, featuring photoshopped pictures of Silva.
Gratata san Andreas pic.twitter.com/Tc96ER7oQk
— Gratata Edits (@GratataEdits) April 17, 2014
On April 18th, Viner Nam Tran posted a parody mocking Silva’s gratata videos, which gathered more than 23,000 revines and 17,000 likes in the next two weeks (shown below).
On April 20th, YouTuber Vines Compilations posted a compilation of notable “gratata” Vine videos, garnering upwards of 197,000 views and 90 comments in the next 10 days. (shown below).
On April 24th, Soundcloud user WhoIsSizzle posted a rap song titled "#Gratata (part 1), featuring vocals by Silva (shown below). In one week, the track accumulated more than 22,600 plays and 1,000 likes in one week.
On April 26th, a post questioning the meaning of “gratata” was submitted to the /r/OutOfTheLoop[1] subreddit, where several users cited Silva’s gratata Vine videos as the original of the phrase. On the same day, Urban Dictionary user Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak submitted an entry for “gratata,” defining it as “a term used to represent gunshots.” On April 28th, Viner Klarity posted a parody video containing several short sketches mocking the “gratata” onomatopoeia, which gained over 135,000 revines and 92,000 likes in the first 48 hours (shown below).
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]Reddit – What does gratata mean?