MARIO MORENO CANTINFLAS (August 12, 1911 – April 20, 1993)

Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes was a comedian of the Mexican theatre and film industry. The character who he interprated was associated with the national identity of Mexico, his character Cantinflas, was examined by media critics, who saw that it was as a danger to Mexican society.

He married Valentina Ivanova Zubareff, on October 27, 1936, but she died in January, 1966. Mario Moreno had a son in 1961 and he was adopted by his wife Valentina Ivanova and named him Mario Arturo Moreno Ivanova.

Origin of name

As a young man, Cantinflas performed a variety of acts. It was in the circus that he earned the nickname "Cantinflas"; however, the origin of the name is a legend. Maybe, "Cantinflas" is a name invented to prevent his parents from knowing he was in the entertainment business.

Film career

Cantinflas in Águila o sol (1937)
In the mid-1930s, Cantinflas met a Russian producer Jacques Gelman. Gelman produced, directed, and distributed, while Cantinflas acted. Cantinflas made his film debut in 1936 with No te engañes corazón but the film received little attention. He established Posa Films in 1939, producing short films, but it was in 1940 that he finally became a movie star with Ahí está el detalle.

In 1956, "Cantinflas" American debut earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a musical or comedy.

After returning to Mexico, Cantinflas created his own company, Cantinflas Films and continued making movies until his last, El Barrendero, in 1982.

"Cantinflas" films, to this day, still generate money for Columbia Pictures. In 2000, Columbia reported in an estimated USD$4 million in foreign distribution from the films.

He have made a lot of movies along his life, around 34. But the most important movie for me in "El Padrecito" for all the comic situation that happend. I think it's so funny.

Nowadays he is a legend and even he was mexican, every latin people feel proud of him.