Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, known casually as Mario Moreno and professionally

as Cantinflas (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), was a Mexican film actor, producer, and
screenwriter. He is considered to have been the most accomplished Mexican comedian and is
celebrated throughout Latin America and in Spain. His humor, loaded with Mexican linguistic
features of intonation, vocabulary, and syntax, is beloved in all the Spanish-speaking countries
of Latin America and in Spain and has given rise to a range of expressions
including cantinflear, cantinflada, cantinflesco, and cantinflero.

Though some of his films were translated into English and French, the word games so
particular in Mexican Spanish were difficult to translate. He often portrayed impoverished
farmers or a peasant of pelado origin.[1] The character allowed Cantinflas to establish a long,
successful film career that included a foray into Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin once commented
that he was the best comedian alive,[2][3] and Moreno has been referred to as the "Charlie
Chaplin of Mexico".[4] To audiences in most of the world, he is best remembered as co-starring
with David Niven in the Academy Award winner for Best Picture film Around the World in 80
Days, for which Moreno won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy.

As a pioneer of the cinema of Mexico, Moreno helped usher in its golden era. In addition to

being a business leader, he also became involved in Mexico's tangled and often dangerous
labor politics. His reputation as a spokesperson for the downtrodden gave his actions
authenticity and became important in the early struggle against charrismo, the one-
party government's practice of co-opting and controlling unions.[citation needed]

Moreover, his character Cantinflas, whose identity became enmeshed with his own, was
examined by media critics, philosophers, and linguists, who saw him variously as a danger to
Mexican society, a bourgeois puppet, a verbal innovator, and a picaresque underdog.[citation needed]

Contents

1Early and personal life

2Death

3Origin of name

4Entertainment career

4.1Film career

5Theatre

6Hollywood and beyond

7Cultural impact

7.1Characterisations

8Critical response

9Filmography

10Awards and nominations

11See also
12References

13Sources

14External links

Early and personal life[edit]

Apartment building that occupies the premises of the "vecindad" where Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" was born,
former Sexta Calle de Santa María la Redonda (Sixth Street of Santa María la Redonda), today Eje Central
Lázaro Cardenas 182.

Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes was born in Santa María la

Redonda neighbourhood of Mexico City, and grew up in the tough neighbourhood of Tepito.
He was one of eight children born to Pedro Moreno Esquivel, an impoverished mail carrier,
and María de la Soledad Reyes Guízar (from Cotija, Michoacan). The others were Pedro, José
("Pepe"), Eduardo, Esperanza, Catalina, Enrique, and Roberto. [5]

He made it through difficult situations with the quick wit and street smarts that he would later
apply in his films. His comic personality led him to a circus tent show, and from there to
legitimate theatre and film.

He married Valentina Ivanova Zubareff, of Russian ethnicity, on 27 October 1936 and remained

with her until her death in January 1966. A son was born to Moreno in 1961 by another
woman;[6] the child was adopted by Valentina Ivanova and was named Mario Arturo Moreno
Ivanova, causing some references to erroneously refer to him as "Cantinflas' adopted son".
[7]
 Moreno Ivanova died on 15 May 2017, of a presumed heart attack. [8]

He served as president of one of the Mexican actors' guilds known as Asociación Nacional de

Actores (ANDA, "National Association of Actors") and as first secretary general of the
independent filmworkers' union Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Producción
Cinematográfica (STPC).[citation needed] Following his retirement, Moreno devoted his life to helping
others through charity and humanitarian organizations, especially those dedicated to helping
children. His contributions to the Roman Catholic Church and orphanages made him a folk
hero in Mexico.[citation needed]

He was a Freemason, initiated at Chilam Balam Lodge.[9][10]

In 1961, Cantinflas appeared with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson at shopping

centers and supermarkets in San Antonio, Texas, to support the
successful Democratic nominee to the United States House of Representatives for Texas' 20th
congressional district, Henry B. Gonzalez, who defeated his Republican challenger, John W.
Goode. Gonzalez was the first Hispanic elected to the Texas State Senate and as a U.S.
congressman from Texas.[11]

Death[edit]
A life long smoker, Cantinflas died of lung cancer on 20 April 1993 in Mexico City. Thousands
appeared on a rainy day for his funeral. The ceremony was a national event, lasting three days.
His body lay in state in the Rotonda de Las Personas Ilustres (The Rotunda of Illustrious
Persons, formerly known as Rotunda of Illustrious Men) [12] and he was honored by many heads
of state and the United States Senate, which held a moment of silence for him.

A 20-year legal battle followed between Mario Moreno Ivanova, Cantinflas' son and heir to his
estate, and the actor's blood nephew Eduardo Moreno Laparade over the control of 34 films
made by Cantinflas. The nephew claimed his uncle gave him a written notice [clarification needed] to the
rights for movies on his deathbed. Moreno Ivanova argued that he was the direct heir of
Cantinflas and that the rights belonged to him. Moreno Laparade won the lawsuit twice, [13] but
Moreno Ivanova eventually triumphed after two appeals. [14] In 2005, Mario Moreno Ivanova, Jr.
won the rights to 39 films and the name. [citation needed]

At the same time, there was another legal battle between Columbia Pictures and Moreno
Ivanova over control of these films. Columbia claimed that it had bought the rights to the 34
films four decades earlier, although the court noted several discrepancies in the papers.
Moreno Ivanova wanted the rights to the films to remain his, and more generally Mexico's, as
a national treasure. On 2 June 2001 the eight-year battle was resolved with Columbia retaining
ownership over the 34 disputed films.[15]

Origin of name[edit]
As a young man, Cantinflas performed a variety of acts in travelling tents, and it was here that
he acquired the nickname "Cantinflas". According to one obituary, "Cantinflas" is a
meaningless name invented to prevent his parents from knowing he was in the entertainment
business, which they considered a shameful occupation. Cantinflas confirmed it in 1992, in his
last television interview.[16]

Entertainment career[edit]
Before starting his professional life in entertainment, he explored a number of possible
careers, such as medicine and professional boxing, before joining the entertainment world as
a dancer. By 1930 he was involved in Mexico City's carpa (travelling tent) circuit, performing in
succession with the Ofelia, Sotelo of Azcapotzalco, and finally the Valentina carpa, where he
met his future wife. At first he tried to imitate Al Jolson by smearing his face with black paint,
but later separated himself to form his own identity as an impoverished slum dweller with
baggy pants, a rope for a belt, and a distinctive mustache. [17] In the tents, he danced, performed
acrobatics, and performed roles related to several different professions.

Film career[edit]
In the mid-1930s, Cantinflas met publicist and producer Santiago Reachi and subsequently
partnered with him to form their own film production venture. Reachi produced, directed, and
distributed, while Cantinflas acted. Cantinflas made his film debut in 1936 with No te engañes
corazón (Don't Fool Yourself Dear) before meeting Reachi, but the film received little attention.
Reachi established Posa Films in 1939 with two partners: Cantinflas and Fernandez. Before
this, Reachi produced short films that allowed him to develop the Cantinflas character, but it
was in 1940 that he finally became a movie star, after shooting Ahí está el detalle ("There's the
rub", literally "There lies the detail"), with Sofía Álvarez, Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García,
and Dolores Camarillo. The phrase that gave that movie its name became a "Cantinflas"
(or catchphrase) for the remainder of his career. The film was a breakthrough in Latin America
and was later recognized by Somos magazine as the 10th greatest film produced largely in
Mexico.[18]

In 1941, Moreno first played the role of a police officer on film in El gendarme
desconocido ("The Unknown Police Officer" a play on words on "The Unknown Soldier). By this
time, he had sufficiently distinguished the peladito character from the 1920s-era pelado, and
his character flowed comfortably from the disenfranchised, marginalized, underclassman to
the empowered public servant. The rhetoric of cantinflismo facilitated this fluidity.[citation needed] He
would reprise the role of Agent 777 and be honored by police forces throughout Latin America
for his positive portrayal of law enforcement.

Ni sangre, ni arena ("Neither Blood, nor Sand" a play on words on the bullfighter/gladiator

phrase Blood and Sand), the 1941 bullfighting film, broke box-office records for Mexican-made
films throughout Spanish-speaking countries. In 1942, Moreno teamed up with Reachi, Miguel
M. Delgado, and Jaime Salvador to produce a series of low-quality parodies, including an
interpretation of Chaplin's The Circus.[citation needed]

The 1940s and 1950s were Cantinflas' heyday. In 1941, Reachi, the Producer rejected Mexican
Studios companies and instead paid Columbia Pictures to produce the films in its Studios in
Hollywood.[17] By this time, Cantinflas' popularity was such that he was able to lend his prestige
to the cause of Mexican labor, representing the National Association of Actors in talks
with President Manuel Ávila Camacho. The talks did not go well, however, and, in the resulting
scandal, Moreno took his act back to the theatre. [citation needed]

Theatre[edit]
On 30 August 1953, Cantinflas began performing his theatrical work Yo Colón ("I, Columbus") in
the Teatro de los Insurgentes, the same theatre that had earlier been embroiled in a
controversy over a Diego Rivera mural incorporating Cantinflas and the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Critics, including the PAN and archbishop Luis María Martínez, called the mural blasphemous,
and it was eventually painted without the image of the Virgin.

Yo Colón placed Cantinflas in the character of Christopher Columbus, who, while continually

"discovering America", made comedic historical and contemporary observations from fresh
perspectives. For the first few months, he persuaded the King and Queen of Spain to fund his
voyage so that he could let his wife "drive" so she could make a wrong turn and discover
Mexico instead, allowing him to also discover Jorge Negrete so that the Queen – an ardent fan
– could meet him. When Negrete died just before Christmas of 1953, he changed it first
to Pedro Infante until his death four years later, and then finally to Javier Solis until his death in
1966.

Hollywood and beyond[edit]

In 1956, Around the World in 80 Days, Cantinflas' American debut, earned him a Golden
Globe for Best Actor in a musical or comedy.[19] Variety magazine said in 1956 that his
Chaplinesque quality made a big contribution to the success of the film. [20] The film ultimately
made an unadjusted $42 million at the box office[21] (over $678 million in 2018 dollars).
While David Niven was billed as the lead in English-speaking nations, Cantinflas was billed as
the lead elsewhere. As a result of the film, Cantinflas became the world's highest-paid actor. [22]

Moreno's second Hollywood feature, Pepe, attempted to replicate the success of his first. The
film had cameo appearances by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and other stars. His humor, deeply
rooted in the Spanish language, did not translate well for the American audience and the
movie was a notorious box office disappointment. He still earned a Golden Globe nomination
for his part. Later in a 1992 American interview, Moreno cited the language barrier as the
biggest impediment to his making it big in the United States. [23]

After returning to Mexico, Cantinflas starred in the comic drama El bolero de Raquel (1957),
the first Cantinflas film to be distributed to the United States by Columbia Pictures. The film
was followed by more Cantinflas-Reachi-Columbia productions: El analfabeto (1961), El
padrecito (1963), and Su excelencia (1967). After Su excelencia, Cantinflas began to appear in a
series of very low-budget comedies directed by Miguel M. Delgado, which were produced by
his own company "Cantinflas Films". These films lasted until El Barrendero, in 1982.

Like Charlie Chaplin, Cantinflas was a social satirist. He played el pelado, an impoverished

Everyman, with hopes to succeed. With mutual admiration, Cantinflas was influenced by
Chaplin's earlier films and ideology. El Circo (the circus) was a "shadow" of Chaplin's silent
film, The Circus and Si yo fuera diputado ("If I Were a Congressman") had many similarities
with the 1940 film, The Great Dictator. Cantinflas' films, to this day, still generate revenue for
Columbia Pictures. In 2000, Columbia reported in an estimated US$4 million in foreign
distribution from the films.[17]

Cultural impact[edit]

Cantinflas' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles

Hand and Foot Prints at Graumanns Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, CA. USA.

Among the things that endeared him to his public was his comic use of language in his films;
his characters (all of which were really variations of the main "Cantinflas" persona but cast in
different social roles and circumstances) would strike up a normal conversation and then
complicate it to the point where no one understood what they were talking about. The
Cantinflas c