Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”

It is impossible not to remember his waddling gait and his way of speaking, with that sweet, so genuine, so Mexican accent and that fast, confident diction, full of self-confidence. They were unmistakable hallmarks, like those eternally fallen pants and that mustache blade that looked more like two simple specks of hair on each side. His features are undoubtedly reminiscent of the great comic creation of Yankee cinema, Charlot, and it could well be that Cantinflas was the Latino version of his North American neighbor. What is clear is that his success was spectacular. And curiously, Charles Chaplin himself defined him as “the greatest comedian in the world”.

Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes –full name of Cantinflas– was born in Mexico City on August 12, 1911. Throughout his long career he shot more than fifty films, many of them in the same style and with similar plots, the one about a guy with a simple job –porter, sweeper, postman, movie extra, teacher, bellboy, clown, shoemaker– who is pushed to go on an adventure almost always in favor of the most destitute. This meant that with Cantinflas the spectator already knew what he was going to see, he knew that he was going to laugh for sure and that good would end up triumphing, even though many times a realistic residue would remain in the denouement, far from fairy tales.

Cantinflas was the sixth of twelve children, born to Pedro Moreno and María Reyes. His father was a postman, so his origins were very humble, something that always influenced his cinema. He reportedly tried unsuccessfully to sneak into the United States, and then began boxing for a living. But young Mario had a gift for making people laugh and that ended up leading him to the theater and then to the cinema. After running around various theater companies and assuming small comedic roles in the Jalapa circus, he gradually became a more or less recognized comedian. In 1934 he met a girl from Moscow, Valentina Ivanova, whom he married in 1936 and with whom he adopted a son in 1961.

About the origin of his nickname, “Cantinflas”, several stories are told. One of them is that he changed his name so as not to embarrass his family, since work in show business had the label of disreputable. The other origin of the term is funnier. It seems that while he was drinking happily in a bar, a person snapped at him “in the canteen you inflate!”. Mario Moreno was amused by such mockery and decided to adopt it, wisely modified, for his professional life.

Cantinflas made his debut on the big screen in 1937, with Don’t fool yourself, my heart and ¡Así es mi tierra! From that moment on, and with a few exceptions such as El signo de la muerte , Cantinflas only shot pure comedies, most of which were directed by Miguel M. Delgado . The two formed a very durable duo, with a total of 33 collaborations, which would lead to some of the actor’s best roles.

Among his best-remembered films are Ni sangre ni arena , inspired by the bullfighting novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez ; The super wise man , where as a scientist he is involved in a criminal plot; The goalkeeper (1949) , where he is accompanied by Silvia Pinal ; Raquel’s bolero , a very musical romantic comedy; The illiterate , about a humble man who receives a millionaire inheritance; His Excellency of him, satire on the world of politicians; Don Quixote rides again , in the role of Sancho Panza, with Fernando Fernán Gómez as Don Quixote; the little father, his first color film; or El barrendero , Cantinflas’s last role, in which he has to deal with a gang of criminals.

In the first years of his career, Cantinflas tried with little success to succeed in Hollywood through his own production company, Posa Films, but the projects for this purpose did not prosper. However, in one of the few jobs for Hollywood, Cantinflas left through the front door. The Mexican comedian gave life to Passepartout in 1956, the companion of Phileas Fogg ( David Niven ) in Around the World in 80 Days . His interpretation earned him the award from American critics with the Golden Globe award. Years later, Mecca of Cinema would reward all of his work when he was awarded his star on the Walk of Fame.

Cantinflas died rich, but he always had a big heart, which fame did not shrink. Throughout his life he donated a lot of money to the poor and built low-cost housing for the most disadvantaged in his country. That and the fact that he remained with her wife for 30 years (until her death in 1966) clearly speaks of the fact that Cantinflas did not let himself be misled by show business and continued to be a humble, friendly and grateful man. He was greatly loved in Mexico, to the point that when he died in 1993 as a result of lung cancer, several days of official mourning were declared in his country.