In the early 1970’s, Roberto Gómez Bolaños (aka Chespirito) came up with the idea for El Chavo, with his trademark tattered plaid hat and dirty clothes held up by an old pair of suspenders, a poor orphaned boy who lives in “La Vecindad”, a typical Mexican townhouse neighborhood, owned by Señor Barriga who constantly comes to collect the rent (especially from Don Ramon!).
But strangely enough, those are part of the reasons that this Mexican sitcom has been such a long-lived success. I guess the idea of a group of adults playing the parts of children living in a lower-middle class housing complex….just doesn’t sound too appealing. I’m watching and listening to an episode of El Chavo del Ocho as I write this….the voices and faces are such a part of my childhood, they are as familiar to me as members of my own family!! I’ve been trying to think of a show in English that I could compare this to…and I can’t. The show is the most translated Latin-American show in history. I mentioned that these programs hold the world record for 40 years of uninterrupted air time!! This Mexican phenomenon has circled the globe and become a part of Latin culture. The other day I was posting about Chespirito, the famous Mexican actor, director and creator of El Chapulín Colorando and El Chavo del Ocho.
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