Tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of comedian, actor, writer, and producer, Cantinflas.
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes was born in the Santa María la Redonda neighbourhood of Mexico City, and grew up in the tough neighborhood of Tepito. [4] He made it through difficult situations with the quick wit and street smarts that he would later apply in his films. After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the United States through California, he became a prizefighter in his teens as a source of income.[5] His comic personality led him to a circus tent show, and from there to legitimate theatre and film. [Read full Wikipedia entry]
Reading the following article recalled fond memories of watching Cantinflas on the big screen in the films, Pepe and Around the World in Eighty Days and, on our black and white TV, in old Mexican-made movies. Like Charlie Chaplin’s little tramp character, even as a child, I “got” and identified with the everyman characters Cantinflas portrayed and understood he was often the smartest character in the story.
Mexico Marks Century Of Comic Cantinflas’ Birth
MEXICO CITY August 11, 2011, 05:23 am ET
It is hard to think of a Mexican Everyman without turning to Cantinflas, the tattered, droopy-pants character created by comic Mario Moreno in the “tent theaters” of Mexico’s slums in the 1930s.
With the approach of Friday’s centenary of his birth, he has been celebrated as a touchstone of Mexican national identity, fondly remembered for his convoluted doublespeak and clever underdog persona he portrayed for nearly six decades until his death in 1993.
He is best known in the rest of the world for his turn as David Niven’s resourceful valet in “Around the World in Eighty Days,” but the pencil-mustached Cantinflas contributed something much deeper in Mexico… Cantinflas reflected the poorer side of Mexico that gets by on its wits… Wise behind his seeming illiteracy, able to snowball the pompous with a stream of clever but meaningless verbiage, Cantinflas was able to make the transition to movies, where he can still be seen winning out over snobs, bureaucrats and corrupt politicos…. [Read full article]
(ps) Update: from the NPR program, All Things Considered: The Chaos And Comedy Of Mexico’s Cantinflas. h/t gg
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