HBO’s new biographical series “Chespirito: Not Really on Purpose” (“Sin Querer Queriendo”) has been received with delight by the many fans in the U.S. and Latin America who grew up watching the late Mexican comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños.
The eight-episode miniseries, which debuted Thursday, dramatizes the professional and personal journey of Gómez Bolaños, who transformed comedy in Latin America and whose characters defined a generation for millions of children. Known as “Chespirito,” he took his inspiration from Laurel and Hardy as well as another transcendent Mexican comedian who eventually made it to Hollywood, Cantinflas. Chespirito died in 2014 at age 85.
Pablo Cruz, who plays Chespirito in the series, told The Associated Press in an interview translated from Spanish that the show is a tribute that tells “a story that we know will connect with a very broad audience and give them an opportunity to further appreciate what they already admire and love.”
Chespirito’s two most famous characters were “El Chavo del Ocho” (“The Boy from Number Eight”) and “El Chapulin Colorado” (“The Crimson Grasshopper”). “El Chavo del Ocho” was an 8-year-old boy orphan living alone in a Mexican neighborhood with his barrel, freckles, striped shirt and grayed cap. “El Chapulin Colorado” was a naive superhero dressed in a red bodysuit and hood with antennae that helped him detect danger miles away (despite the name, his yellow shorts and boots gave him more the look of a red bumblebee).
Through his characters, Chespirito favored a clean comedy style far removed from the sexual innuendo and obscenity-laced jokes popular today. His morning shows were a staple for preschoolers, much like “Captain Kangaroo” was in the United States.
The HBO series “is a tribute to Chespirito’s importance as one of the key figures in Mexican television and highlights the enormous impact his television programs had throughout Latin America,” Fernando Cárdenas, digital manager for the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors, said in a statement to the AP.
The miniseries is a powerful act of cultural preservation, one that documents the impact Latinos have had on the global entertainment industry, said Sehila Mota Casper, director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation.
“For so many of us, his characters weren’t just entertainment,” Mota Casper said. “They shaped how we understand humor, how we face challenges and how we see ourselves as Latinxs. This series honors that impact. By telling his story in this way, we help make sure the cultural histories that shaped us are seen, respected and carried forwards to future generations.”
“El Chavo” proved so popular that reruns are still shown in multiple countries in Latin America and on Spanish-language television in the United States. Many Latin Americans, living under dictatorships during the height of the show, found his underdog triumphs heroic in the face of authority. In a 2005 interview with the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, Gómez Bolaños said he always wrote with working-class people in mind.
“During the 1970s, the program was produced to reflect the reality of working-class families in Mexico and enjoyed enormous impact in other Spanish-speaking countries because the situations portrayed in the stories were similar to those of all audiences, regardless of geographical boundaries,” Cárdenas said.
Alberto Lammers, who grew up watching “El Chavo” in Peru during the 1970s and ‘80s, was excited for the series and the childhood nostalgia it evokes. He was also excited to learn more about what was happening behind the scenes in Gómez Bolaños’ life.
“It really struck a chord with my childhood,” Lammers, who now lives in California, said after finishing the first episode. “It gives heart and context to his complexity and the characters he built. It’s also a very interesting look at how he became a TV personality. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes! It’s a real-life telenovela!”
Fans also took to social media to praise the episode and their awe at the uncanny similarities between the actors and the people they are playing.
For Lammers, after migrating to the U.S., “El Chavo del Ocho” served as a connection to his roots even if the show wasn’t based in Peru.
“Going to that show to me was actually very comforting,” Lammers said. “It built a sense of community across most of Latin America.”
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Associated Press journalist Berenice Bautista contributed reporting from Mexico City.
