Today I'd like to pay tribute to Chespirito author and creator of of my childhood's heroes: el Chavo del Ocho and Chapulin Colorado and who passed away recently at 85 years of age.
I was born in Lima, Peru and remember growing up watching el Chavo del Ocho every day after school and in the weekends we will watch more of Chespirito's brilliant sketches. It's not an exaggeration if I say that I probably watched all episodes ever produced more than a few times and I still laugh every time even though I now have the lines memorized and of course I always know what to expect every time. My favourite movie was when el Chavo went to Cancun and it was a true dream to go there when I met my wife. The characters are very predictable and they always use catchy phrases over and over to the point that have become part of the Spanish lexicon. It's beautiful how simple they are but how full-filling in nature. As a kid you identify with one of the characters, you have a favourite you cheer for all the time. Mine was Kiko who was a spoiled kid who will tell on his mother Dona Florinda who happened to be Chespirito's second wife in real life and now his widow.
I have so many memories when watching this show, but there are three that stick to my mind. The first one is an unfortunate one but is something I will not forget even though I was very young of age. The broadcast of the Chavo del Ocho was interrupted to go live on a prison riot that really went very bad to the point there were burning people alive. It was horrible and I don't understand why it was not censored at the time. My mom was shocked and immediately turned off the television but not in time I guess. Why do I mention this as part of a tribute to Chespirito? My answer is simple, my mother felt safe when my sister and myself were watching Chavo del Ocho and will go about doing something else. She will listen to us laughing and will never understand why we like it so much but she will let us watch it. It was the prize after doing your homework and being good. Chespirito created a safe heaven for kids where the humour was pure and never relied on innuendos violence or flashiness. Simple a few kids playing in "el patio" and being kids. And parents trusted it was safe to watch. That's how I grew up playing with the silliest things outside and laughing at innocent humour. Chespirito is part of a beautiful childhood and I'd be eternally grateful for that.
The second memory that sticks to my mind, is my uncle Lener who was perhaps the biggest fan of the show. I never met someone who loved Chespirito so much, my uncle was a beautiful person despite having some rough episodes on his own life. He will escape for hours at the time watching el Chavo then he will laugh so hard at every joke. I enjoyed it so much watching with him but I knew I had to stay quiet so not to miss any of the jokes. Were the shows addictive? I will argue they were not but you will enjoy them over and over once you realize how genius the comedy sketches were. The show is about the human spirit when having temptations doing the right thing, about using humour in the most difficult situations one can face like not having money to pay the rent, platonic love and above all true friendship. When I see some of the actors like Chilindrina chocking when talking about Chespirito it touches my heart. You can feel their true love and how their friendship have lasted decades.
And the last memory I would like to share is when I went to Mexico to visit my now wife Yara in the mid 90s. As young lovers, we enjoyed just being with each other and the simple things in life such as eating tacos in the street, walking and shopping for bargains. We happened to come across a chipote chillon the famous weapon of Chapulin Colorado.I immediately bought it, I was so happy to have found a real one and made in Mexico where Chespirito is from. I carry it around and perhaps that is one of the most beautiful memories of my life. I felt like a kid again. It was a few years since I watched el Chavo del Ocho as I was living in Canada and it was not available at the time. My mother in law bought me the dvds which I enjoyed a lot and now we have Televisa channel and my kids now enjoy the inspired cartoons of el Chavo del Ocho, they are fantastic and will keep Chespirito's legacy going for a long time.
Yesterday's Chespirito's body was taken to the biggest stadium in Mexico City that was packed with kids dressed as Chapulin simultaneously a stadium in Brazil was also packed of people participating on the public mass to say goodbye to Chespirito. The Peruvian congress stop debating to pay their honours as well and every newspaper around the world has covered the event. It was full of colour and very touching. I think it was beautiful gesture that the Mexican people did this for Chespirito. The eternal gratitude of his fans and true love was demonstrated yesterday. That can't be faked or bought not matter how much publicity is spent. Chespirito which is a nickname that means little Shakespeare is well deserved. Chespirito a true genius who was made the Spanish language more beautiful and like Shakespeare "To be or not to be" there are countless of phrases we can use to express our feelings of Chespirito's departure. We know he will go to heaven and meet Don Ramon, Dona Clotilde and Don Jaimito. I am also sure when he meets my uncle Lener he will make him laugh again. And my mom who is up there to will smile to but not understanding why we like it so much. Bye Chespirito, Pipipi.
I was born in Lima, Peru and remember growing up watching el Chavo del Ocho every day after school and in the weekends we will watch more of Chespirito's brilliant sketches. It's not an exaggeration if I say that I probably watched all episodes ever produced more than a few times and I still laugh every time even though I now have the lines memorized and of course I always know what to expect every time. My favourite movie was when el Chavo went to Cancun and it was a true dream to go there when I met my wife. The characters are very predictable and they always use catchy phrases over and over to the point that have become part of the Spanish lexicon. It's beautiful how simple they are but how full-filling in nature. As a kid you identify with one of the characters, you have a favourite you cheer for all the time. Mine was Kiko who was a spoiled kid who will tell on his mother Dona Florinda who happened to be Chespirito's second wife in real life and now his widow.
I have so many memories when watching this show, but there are three that stick to my mind. The first one is an unfortunate one but is something I will not forget even though I was very young of age. The broadcast of the Chavo del Ocho was interrupted to go live on a prison riot that really went very bad to the point there were burning people alive. It was horrible and I don't understand why it was not censored at the time. My mom was shocked and immediately turned off the television but not in time I guess. Why do I mention this as part of a tribute to Chespirito? My answer is simple, my mother felt safe when my sister and myself were watching Chavo del Ocho and will go about doing something else. She will listen to us laughing and will never understand why we like it so much but she will let us watch it. It was the prize after doing your homework and being good. Chespirito created a safe heaven for kids where the humour was pure and never relied on innuendos violence or flashiness. Simple a few kids playing in "el patio" and being kids. And parents trusted it was safe to watch. That's how I grew up playing with the silliest things outside and laughing at innocent humour. Chespirito is part of a beautiful childhood and I'd be eternally grateful for that.
The second memory that sticks to my mind, is my uncle Lener who was perhaps the biggest fan of the show. I never met someone who loved Chespirito so much, my uncle was a beautiful person despite having some rough episodes on his own life. He will escape for hours at the time watching el Chavo then he will laugh so hard at every joke. I enjoyed it so much watching with him but I knew I had to stay quiet so not to miss any of the jokes. Were the shows addictive? I will argue they were not but you will enjoy them over and over once you realize how genius the comedy sketches were. The show is about the human spirit when having temptations doing the right thing, about using humour in the most difficult situations one can face like not having money to pay the rent, platonic love and above all true friendship. When I see some of the actors like Chilindrina chocking when talking about Chespirito it touches my heart. You can feel their true love and how their friendship have lasted decades.
And the last memory I would like to share is when I went to Mexico to visit my now wife Yara in the mid 90s. As young lovers, we enjoyed just being with each other and the simple things in life such as eating tacos in the street, walking and shopping for bargains. We happened to come across a chipote chillon the famous weapon of Chapulin Colorado.I immediately bought it, I was so happy to have found a real one and made in Mexico where Chespirito is from. I carry it around and perhaps that is one of the most beautiful memories of my life. I felt like a kid again. It was a few years since I watched el Chavo del Ocho as I was living in Canada and it was not available at the time. My mother in law bought me the dvds which I enjoyed a lot and now we have Televisa channel and my kids now enjoy the inspired cartoons of el Chavo del Ocho, they are fantastic and will keep Chespirito's legacy going for a long time.
Yesterday's Chespirito's body was taken to the biggest stadium in Mexico City that was packed with kids dressed as Chapulin simultaneously a stadium in Brazil was also packed of people participating on the public mass to say goodbye to Chespirito. The Peruvian congress stop debating to pay their honours as well and every newspaper around the world has covered the event. It was full of colour and very touching. I think it was beautiful gesture that the Mexican people did this for Chespirito. The eternal gratitude of his fans and true love was demonstrated yesterday. That can't be faked or bought not matter how much publicity is spent. Chespirito which is a nickname that means little Shakespeare is well deserved. Chespirito a true genius who was made the Spanish language more beautiful and like Shakespeare "To be or not to be" there are countless of phrases we can use to express our feelings of Chespirito's departure. We know he will go to heaven and meet Don Ramon, Dona Clotilde and Don Jaimito. I am also sure when he meets my uncle Lener he will make him laugh again. And my mom who is up there to will smile to but not understanding why we like it so much. Bye Chespirito, Pipipi.