Chespirito - King of Popular Comedy

Nimbler than a turtle, stronger than a mouse, nobler than a lettuce, his shield is a heart... If you lived in a Spanish-speaking country in the last 50 years, you may probably recognize this familiar introduction.

Chespirito’s fertile imagination was the originator of some of the most beloved and iconic characters on Spanish-speaking television, as well as some of the most remembered phrases, many of which were incorporated into the colloquial lexicon of the countries where his programs were broadcasted.

Learn here more about the great screenwriter, actor, director and creator Roberto Gómez Bolaños, better known as Chespirito.

Video: El Chapulín Colorado opening (1977) (1:07)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIyLNcxx_s

Roberto Gómez Bolaños was born in Mexico City on February 21st, 1929, the second son of bilingual secretary Elisa Bolaños Cacho and the illustrator and painter Francisco Gómez Linares, who designed for newspapers and magazines and was considered one of the most sought-after portraitists at the start of the 20th century. 

Roberto inherited his father’s taste for show business, but unfortunately, he died when Roberto was still a child, leaving his wife and three children in a complex financial situation. 

In spite of this, Roberto continued his education, and his high grades allowed him to enter the Autonomous University of Mexico to study engineering. However, his destiny would be a different one. 

In 1951, at the age of 22, Gómez Bolaños took a job as a copyist in an advertising agency, but his fine ear for dialogue and puns made him a natural talent for writing comedy scripts. 

Thus, within a few years, Bolaños transitioned to writing scripts for radio, television and movies full time. 

Between 1960 and 1965, Gómez Bolaños wrote for the most important comedy programs of Mexican television, such as Comedies and Songs and Pedro Vargas' Studio, as well as for several films starring the famous comedy duo of Viruta and Capulina. 

But his definitive take-off to success came with the program "Los Supergenios de la Mesa Cuadrada", where Bolaños shared the screen with María Antonieta de las Nieves, Rubén Aguirre and Ramón Valdés, who would later be an integral part of the cast of his programs.

It was at this time that the filmmaker Agustín Delgado gave him the nickname with which Bolaños would become famous. 

Delgado saw so much creativity in the young Roberto that he said it was like a Shakespeare, but in miniature size due to short stature (1.60m/ 5'3"). 

The nickname "Chespirito" stuck and never left him again.

In 1968 Chespirito was hired by the newly opened TIM network (Televisión Independiente de México). As part of his contract, Bolaños got a half-hour slot on Saturday afternoons, broadcast as part of the variety show, Sábados de la Fortuna. 

Chespirito had absolute autonomy in this space and he used it to the maximum, creating hilarious comedy shorts that soon earned him a one-hour prime-time slot. 

His show, simply called "Chespirito", saw the birth of two of his most popular and memorable characters: “El Chapulín Colorado” (The Crimson Grasshopper) in 1970, and a year later “El Chavo  del Ocho” (The Kid on #8). 

These two characters became immensely popular through a wide range of audiences, so after a while the network decided to give each their own half-hour time slot.

As other examples of Latin American humor, such as Cantinflas and Condorito, much of Chespirito’s humor is verbal and it’s intrinsically associated to the local culture, so that a knowledge of this one and of the Spanish language is necessary in order to understand it and enjoy it.

However, the reach of his humor is universal, and proof of this was its success in the Brazilian market, where Chespirito’s series were effectively translated into Portuguese.

La cultural baggage of the phrases created by Chespirito is so precise that many of them are still in use, assimilated into the colloquialisms of each country, and are understood without need for referential explanations.

“-Tell me, your honor.

-Your honor.

-Thank you, thank you very much...”

--Los Chifladitos (The Loonies)

Part of the success of these programs is due its accessible humor of effortless interpretation. 

Mixing physical and verbal humor, the Chapulín Colorado was weak, clumsy and scaredy, but he fought for the good guys with his arsenal of tools: the squeaky bosom, vinyl antennae, the paralyzing honk, and the ‘Chiquitolin’ pills to reduce his size. 

Created as a farce to the superheroes of the American comic strips, the Chapulín Colorado is an unlikely hero and represents the unattainability of the American dream for the humble Latin Americans who, however, always push through thanks to their cunning and kind heart.

Based on circus routines and vaudeville clowns, the sketches included absurd situations of physical comedy with blows and slaps notoriously marked by sound bells, double-meaning jokes, puns and witticisms that made laughter erupt from the audience.

In fact, the cheap props and low-budget style were part of the jokey style of Chespirito’s comedies. Chairs and stools made of balsa wood, papier mache stones, rubber hammers, vinyl antennas... it was all part of his benign humor.

But if "El Chapulín Colorado" was based on a character that defied the archetype of the superhero, the characters of "El Chavo del Ocho" fit faithfully to the archetypes of the characters that could be found in the slums of Latin America, which are in turn based on the Commedia dell'Arte. 

Like his counterparts Cantinflas or Charlie Chaplin, Chespirito was inspired by the common man to create his characters and addressed the humblest people with respect and appreciation, telling their stories with a candid and optimistic view of life. 

This made people feel reflected in their characters and welcomed them as their own.

Thus, the Chavo emerges, an orphan boy who lives in a barrel and is adopted by the humble community where he lives, Don Ramón, the eternal jobless man of bad luck who flees every time that Mr.Barriga (Mr. Paunch) comes to collect his rent, and whose daughter, Chilindrina, is Chavo’s best friend. 

His neighbor, Doña Florinda, is a high-ranking woman down on her luck whose only son, Quico, is pampered and spoiled with toys inaccessible to the other children. 

The group is completed with the schoolteacher and eternal suitor of Doña Florinda, Professor Jirafales (Mr. Giraffles), as well as the so-called Witch of #71, a spinster who tries to conquer a reluctant Don Ramón.

Counting with a wider variety of characters in one continuous story, El Chavo del Ocho also allowed Bolaños to deepen his stories, even going as far as to perform veiled social criticism framed within the comedy. 

Each character created by Bolaños was developed down to its smallest details, which were inextricably linked to their personalities - for example the unbridled howling of Chilindrina, the purring cry of Quico, or the choked and sharp whimper of Chavo.

In addition, the enormous popularity of Chespirito’s programs in Latin America extended and familiarized to other cultures the use of Mexican terms such as "chavo" (kid), "menso" (fool), "chapulín" (grasshopper), etc.

The international success of El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado gave way to musical records, books, magazines, albums, toys, and live presentations in theatres and stadiums, where Chespirito and the full cast performed comic sketches and songs inspired in their characters.

A lifelong sports fan, in his youth Roberto Gómez Bolaños tried his luck in amateur boxing, where he even took part in the famous Mexican championship “Golden Gloves”. 

This hobby of his is frequently reflected in the buffoonish fights played in all his comedies.

The Chapulín Colorado, the Chipote Chillón, chiquitolina pills, the Chavo del Ocho, the Chilindrina, Chimoltrufia, the Chómpiras, the chifladitos, Chaparrón Bonaparte, chiripiolca, Doctor Chapatín... 

Asked why so many of his characters' names and words started with "Ch", Chespirito replied that in addition to its comic potential, this sound was very Latin American, as it is present in native words from Mexico to Argentina. 

Through the emphasis in its use, his purpose was to connect more closely with the Latin American public.

In addition to his declared admiration for Cantinflas and his obvious influence of circus comedy, Chespirito was also inspired by the humorous genius of silent cinema stars Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, whom he honored in several re-enactments in his program. 

But time was unstoppable. 

Suffering from ever-growing health complications, Bolaños found himself unable to continue to perform his beloved characters. 

By the time his program ended in 1995, Chespirito, his full cast (Florinda Meza, María Antonieta de las Nieves, Rubén Aguirre, Edgar Vivar, etc...) and their characters had become familiar names throughout continents.

Video: Qué bonita vecindad (1982) (3:16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKfa2cM7IiY

As an actor, Chespirito appeared in over 20 films and made hundreds of stage appearances, often doubling in roles as writer and director. 

He also appeared on stage, both in independent theatrical productions and with the full cast of "Chespirito" in international tours to recreate his famous characters with enormous success. 

Chespirito also wrote several film scripts, notably, "The Queen Mother" (1992), about Charlie Chaplin’s mother, and "11 & 12" (1992) in addition to several novels. 

He was also the author of a book of poetry (2003), and an autobiography (2006), entitled "Sin Querer Queriendo" (Unintentionally deliberate), one of his most remembered phrases. 

Although he started composing as a hobby, Chespirito wrote the songs for his programs, some of which include "Qué Bonita Vecindad"(What a pretty neighborhood), "El Chapulín Colorado", and "Churín Churín Chun Flais”, editing several LPs, as well as composing the songs for several Mexican novels of great success.

Chespirito received many awards during his lifetime, such as the keys to the city of Cicero, Illinois, in 2003, the ACE Awards in 2008, the Legend Award at the Hispanic Heritage Awards in 2011, the Ondas Iberoamericano Awards in 2013, and a series of stamps issued in 2006 by the Mexican Postal Service in his honor. 

In 2006, El Chapulín Colorado and El Chavo were revived as animated cartoons by Televisa, along with video games, toys and board games among other marketing items. 

And after an extensive legal battle over broadcast rights, the replays of classic episodes have been re-aired this year to the delight of a new generation of viewers

Always eager to connect with his audience, Chespirito opened a Twitter account in 2011 to be in touch with his fans. 

At the time of his death, he had more than 6 million followers, which accounts for his immense popularity through different generations. 

After his death in 2014, Gómez Bolaños was given a massive farewell mass at the Estadio Azteca de México, where thousands of fans came to pay him tribute and a last goodbye. 

But his characters and series are still alive today, to the delight of those who grew up with them and those who discover them for the first time.

Sometimes criticized for his humor being too candid, the purpose of Chespirito’s creations was simple: to make people laugh with clean humor and provide them a moment of relax and escapism from all of life’s problems. 

Probably because of this, in spite of the simplicity of his routines and despite them being more than half a century old, they still make us laugh, reminding us that laughter unites all human beings and knows no frontiers.

Did you know that...?

- Initially, Chespirito created the character of Chapulín Colorado to be played by someone else, but after several actors passed on the role, he decided to play it himself.

- In 2021, María Antonieta de las Nieves achieved a Guinness World Record when she became the actress to portray a single character (Chilindrina) for the longest time: 48 years and 261 days at the moment of receiving her certificate. 

Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Thought.co, Guinness World Records, IMDB, La Tercera, El Mercurio, Wikipedia.

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