''
El Chavo del Ocho
''El Chavo'' ("The Kid/The Boy", Spanish also meaning " cent"), also known as ''El Chavo del Ocho'' ("The Kid/Boy from Number Eight") during its earliest episodes, is a Mexican television sitcom series created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Che ...
'', often shortened to ''El Chavo'', is a Mexican
television sitcom series created by
Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Chespirito). The show was based on a series of sketches performed on Gómez's eponymous sketch show, ''
Chespirito
Roberto Mario Gómez Bolaños (21 February 1929 – 28 November 2014), more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, or "Little William Shakespeare, Shakespeare", was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, humorist, director, produce ...
'', which were first performed in 1971. ''El Chavo'' became its own series in 1973 and aired until 1980, becoming one of the most popular television programs in the world. Following its cancellation and the relaunch of ''Chespirito'', the ''El Chavo'' sketches returned in 1980 and continued to be performed on ''Chespirito'' until 1992 when Gómez, by this point in his sixties, discontinued them due to his advancing age.
The show follows the life and tribulations of the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
, a poor orphan child (played by Gómez Bolaños) that lives on a Mexican housing complex, typically called a ''vecindad''. He is accompanied by a cast of neighbors, children, and other characters. All the characters, including the children, were played by adults on ''El Chavo''.
Summary
Main characters
El Chavo
*Portrayed by
Roberto Gómez Bolaños
Roberto Mario Gómez Bolaños (21 February 1929 – 28 November 2014), more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, or "Little William Shakespeare, Shakespeare", was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, humorist, director, produce ...
*Years: 1972–1992
El Chavo del Ocho is an 8-year-old (13 in the animated series) orphan and the main character of the series. "Chavo" is a Mexican Spanish slang for "kid" or "boy"; Chavo's real name is unknown, but is supposed to be ''Chente'', short for ''Vicente'', after a supposed friend that nobody has ever met and according to Chavo, looks a lot like himself. Generally Chavo is enthusiastic, creative and good-natured, but on the other hand he is also rather naïve and very gullible. He is not particularly bright (which Roberto Gómez Bolaños insinuated on the launch of the animated series may be a consequence of poor nutrition) and is remarkably clumsy, often hitting Quico, Don Ramón and Señor Barriga with balls, brooms, shoes, hammers, bricks, chairs and other objects. Chavo's typical attire consists of a green plaid baseball cap with ear flaps, a striped t-shirt, khaki shorts held up by a pair of orange suspenders he wears with both straps over one shoulder, and brown shoes without socks.
Chavo arrived at the neighborhood at the age of four and apparently lived in apartment #8 with an elderly woman (who is never seen, but is mentioned in the novel ''El diario de El Chavo del 8''). After her death, Chavo spends most of his time inside an abandoned barrel that he calls his "secret hideout". He has a craving for
ham sandwich
A ham sandwich is a common type of sandwich.
Ham sandwich may also refer to:
* Ham Sandwich (band), an Irish indie rock band
* Ham Sandwich (song), "Ham Sandwich" (song), by Getter, 2019
* "Ham Sandwich", a 1963 short story by James H. Schmitz
* ...
es, a popular kind of sandwich in Mexico. He has a crush on Paty, along with Quico (which is their first fight over their crush, although she kisses Chavo in the animated series). Despite being a hungry 8-year-old child, he seems to have an incredible physical strength, since his punches are able to stun or even topple a full-grown man, mostly Don Ramón.
In the English dub of the animated adaptation, he is voiced by
Mona Marshall
Mona Marshall is an American television and voice actress, known for her work in a number of cartoons, anime shows, films and video games. Her major credits include ''South Park'', where she voices many of the female characters on the show, '' .h ...
. Unlike in the original series and the Spanish version of the animated series, instead of being called "Chente" or "Chavito", he is called ''"Chavorino"'' by his friends sometimes. Also, the "El" part of his name was officially removed from his character's bios in the animated series, possibly to keep in with the show's English production on Americanizing the series. Instead of ham tortas, he has a craving for
ham sandwich
A ham sandwich is a common type of sandwich.
Ham sandwich may also refer to:
* Ham Sandwich (band), an Irish indie rock band
* Ham Sandwich (song), "Ham Sandwich" (song), by Getter, 2019
* "Ham Sandwich", a 1963 short story by James H. Schmitz
* ...
es, although the Christmas specials state that he also has cravings for
jelly sandwiches for mysterious reasons, but those jelly sandwiches are actually ham tortas (ham sandwiches) in the original Spanish version, called jelly sandwiches in the English version. Also, his friend "Vicente" (or Chente) is renamed as Chova (switching the A and the O around).
In Brazil, his name was changed to Chaves, because the word ''chavo'' wouldn't make sense in this language. "Chaves" is a
Portuguese language
Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...
surname, with a
Spanish language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
version, spelled
Chávez.
La Chilindrina
*Portrayed by
María Antonieta de las Nieves
María Antonieta Gómez Rodríguez (born 4 December 1949), more commonly known by her stage name María Antonieta de las Nieves, is a Mexican actress, comedian, singer, and author. Her best remembered role is that of La Chilindrina, one of th ...
*Years: 1972–1973, 1975–1980, 1980–1992
La Chilindrina is the daughter of Don Ramón. "Precocious" is the best way to describe Don Ramón's intelligent and mischievous daughter, who likes to take advantage of her slow-witted friends to play pranks on them and take their toys or snacks. She usually wears a green dress, white shorts, and a red sweater that is always twisted on the back. She has freckles, horn-rimmed glasses, a missing front tooth, and two pigtails that are always uneven, one significantly higher than the other one, just like her socks. "Chilindrina" is the name of a typical Mexican bun, with brown sugar sparkles on top, reminiscent of the character's freckles. In early episodes, La Chilindrina used to have longer pigtails which were cut by El Chavo. In most episodes, she is seen to have a crush on Chavo, and is very jealous of his crush on Paty.
La Chilindrina was cut from the El Chavo animated series due to disputes with Roberto Gomez Bolaños (creator of all El Chavo characters) and Maria Antonieta de las Nieves (Chilindrina's portrayer) about who owned the rights to the character and if the character was allowed to be used publicly outside of El Chavo. María Antonieta de las Nieves was able to win a legal battle over Chespirito in 2003, which gave her permission to act as La Chilindrina in public, and granted her rights over the character so that character is separated from the cast but still be on it by the fans. For old episode remakes, Chilindrina's role in the animated version was primarily taken over by either La Popis (Phoebe) or Ñoño (Junior), the latter of whom came to have her same mischievous personality.
In Brazil, her name was changed to Chiquinha, a diminutive for ''Chica'', which in turn is a nickname for ''Francisca'', while in English, her name was changed to Cheryl.
Quico
*Portrayed by
Carlos Villagrán
*Years: 1972–1978
Federico Matalascallando Corcuera ( Frederiko Strumkiller Jr.) known as Quico, is a spoiled, greedy, overprotected 8-year-old boy (14 in the animated series), son of Doña Florinda and a late naval captain (also named Federico), who reportedly died when his vessel was attacked and, according to Quico, was eaten by a
white shark
The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is the ...
. Arrogant, manipulative, and envious, Quico always wants to draw everyone's attention to himself, either by screaming loudly or by showing off his newest toy. Because of this, he usually gets El Chavo in trouble when he does something wrong, especially to Don Ramón, after which Don Ramón hits El Chavo angrily on the head. Partially due to his mother's influence (and former wealth and status as the wife of a naval officer), he believes that he and his mother are superior to everyone else in the neighborhood. He still finds time to play with—as he and his mother call them – ''chusma'' ("rabble" or "
riffraff"), namely Chavo, Chilindrina, and Don Ramón. However, Quico has proved many times to be Chavo's best friend, often assisting him in Chavo's mischievous acts, as seen due to the fact that they are mostly seen playing together in the front yard, and that he was genuinely hurt when El Chavo left La Vecindad in the episodes "El Ratero de la Vecindad" and "El Billete de Loteria". Moreover, Quico is a good kid deep inside, even though there are several occasions in which he acts self-centered. Quico wears a rainbow-colored beanie cap, a dark blue naval officer's shirt with a red ascot, bright yellow socks he pulls all the way up to his knees, and white low-top shoes. He is also widely identified by his enormous cheeks, which he can puff out quite largely, and his minuscule intelligence, often responding to the Spanish words for idiot, stupid, dummy, etc. (he even displays delight about being called such things, oblivious to the fact that all these words are insults). Despite his stupidity, Quico displays more deceptive abilities and common sense than Chavo, and is the most likely to break the
fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
(especially regarding that four of his quotes do this so). Often in the series Quico mentions that he has or that his mom will buy him a "square ball" and in "Termina el Romance" he and El Chavo refused to help Profesor Jirafales reconcile with his mother due to Profesor Jirafales having promised to them a square ball. In 1979, when Carlos Villagran quit the show, Quico is said (in the episode named "Vámonos al Cinema?") to have gone off to live with his rich godmother, reportedly "unable to stand the riffraff anymore." No one in the show ever talked about him afterwards, or said anything about his absence, as if he had never existed. Villagran's character, Quico, starred in a rather short-lived
spin-off
Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media
*Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine
* ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
series, ''
¡Ah qué Kiko!'' in the late 1980s, which attempted to revive the series using a "hip-hop" twist and gave Villagran's character a slight wardrobe make-over.
In the English dub version of the animated version, the main role is sometimes as the antagonist, he is voiced by
Doug Erholtz
Doug Erholtz is an American voice actor. He is known for his performances as Inspector Zenigata in ''Lupin the Third'', Gin Ichimaru in ''Bleach'', TK Takaishi in ''Digimon Adventure 02'', Squall Leonhart in the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''Kingdom He ...
. Instead of being called "Tesoro" (treasure/darling), he is called "Muffin". His name was also retained in said dub, as well as in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original.
Don Ramón
*Portrayed by
Ramón Valdés
Ramón Esteban Gómez-Valdés y Castillo (2 September 1924 – 9 August 1988) was a Mexican actor and comedian. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Don Ramón. He is also recognized as one of Mexico's best comedians.
Born in Mexico City ...
*Years: 1972–1979, 1981.
Don Ramón is an unemployed widower with an extremely lanky, nearly
emaciated
Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. It is often seen as the opposite of obesity.
Characteristics
Emaciation manifests physically as thin limbs, pr ...
build. Sometime before the series started he was married to his wife and lived in the neighborhood together. As a result of the marriage they had their daughter, Chilindrina. But unfortunately, his wife died giving birth so Don Ramón was forced to raise his daughter alone the best he could. He has black wiry hair and a moustache and is usually seen wearing a sun hat, a T-shirt, and jeans. His greatest aspiration seems to be living an uncomplicated life, but in the ''vecindad'', this seems impossible. He is constantly hounded for the rent which he has neglected to pay for fourteen months (a figure that seems to be static since Señor Barriga forgives several months of his rent in several episodes) – however, in some episode, he did pay at least one month of rent while on the verge of eviction from Señor Barriga. His daughter (Chilindrina) is a perennial headache and his neighbor Doña Florinda's response to any imposition on her lifestyle is a loud slap on his face, which causes him to spin in a circle. He eventually became something of a scapegoat for Florinda's wrath, with her ending up slapping him when he wasn't even present when something went wrong. Although rather high-strung and quick-tempered, Don Ramón manages to keep a fairly upbeat attitude and to (just barely) make a living doing odd jobs. He's also a fan of all sports and is somewhat knowledgeable in them (having demonstrated
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
bowling
Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...
,
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
and even
bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
– with a dummy bull – to the kids), but due to the kids' own shortcomings, he always comes up short. Chavo often mispronounces his name as Ron Damón, that is a common way of spelling by children, though it seems that Don Ramón tolerates the mispronunciation as long as Chavo and other children don't give out several insults. One quote popularized by himself is "There is no bad work, the downside is having to work". He hails from
Chihuahua and is a fan of
Club Necaxa
Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...
, which in the day was generally known as a perennial mid-table also-ran, per Don Ramón's quote "Yo le voy al Necaxa", meaning that he neither wished for glory nor suffering. His personality of being a good-hearted and (not always) noble man, as well as acting as a surrogate father to El Chavo made Don Ramón one of the most cherished characters in the history of the show.
In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, he is known as Seu Madruga (literally "Mr. Dawn") and is considered to be the most popular character, with some of his quotes used under many circumstances, not only the funny ones. An example is during the 2000s that was considered the peak of success of the character in the country, Don Ramón was often used heavily as an
internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
to the point of having several
Orkut
Orkut was a social networking service owned and operated by Google. The service was designed to help users meet new and old friends and maintain existing relationships. The website was named after its creator, Google employee Orkut Büyükkö ...
communities related to him and even fangames with him being the protagonist. In 2010 a book entitled "Seu Madruga: Vila e Obra" was published exclusively in Brazil in honor of the character and his actor showing curiosities, interviews and unpublished photos about Ramón Valdés.
In the English dub of the animated version, as well as in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, he was known as Mr. Raymond or nicknamed Rister Maymond by El Chavo and was voiced by
Doug Erholtz
Doug Erholtz is an American voice actor. He is known for his performances as Inspector Zenigata in ''Lupin the Third'', Gin Ichimaru in ''Bleach'', TK Takaishi in ''Digimon Adventure 02'', Squall Leonhart in the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''Kingdom He ...
.
Doña Florinda
*Portrayed by
Florinda Meza
*Years: 1972–1990; 1992
Florinda Corcuera y Villalpando, Viuda de Matalas Cayando, commonly referred to as Doña Florinda ( Florence Worthmore), is the mother of Quico and love interest of Profesor Jirafales. Before the series started she was married to a naval officer and was rich. As a result of their marriage, she gave birth to Quico. She became a widow when Quico was still young. Her late husband, after whom Quico was named, was a naval officer who died at sea. It is often said by Quico that he ''descansa en pez'' (a pun on "rest in peace", literally meaning "rests in fish", indicating that he was swallowed by a shark). Her full name is Florinda Corcuera y Villalpando, viuda de (widow of) La Regueira. Doña Florinda sees herself as being socially, morally and economically superior to her neighbors (and, according to the book ''El Diario del Chavo del Ocho'', she was indeed rich until the death of her husband, leaving her without a way to obtain money and eventually waste it, forcing her to move to the ''vecindad''), and while not misanthropic, snobbish, or bully-like, she tends to give orders to the others, such as putting signs that ban animals and infants from the ''vecindad'' (much to Barriga's chagrin, because she does it without his authorization). She is so fiercely protective of Quico that whenever he is upset, she'll beat up Don Ramón without seeking explanation. In fact, a recurring gag in the series is that she unfairly accuses him of "attacking" Quico and goes to
slap him, even when he is not present in the scene. When Villagran left the show – thus concluding Quico's presence in the vecindad – she still slaps Don Ramón, but less often. This is due to Don Ramón laughing loudly whenever a rude comment is directed towards her (mostly coming from El Chavo). She likes cleanliness and order and also likes to cook and for that reason becomes famous among her neighbours. Once she accepted a partnership selling
churro
A churro (, ) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape. They are also found in Latin American cuisine, Philipp ...
s (a fried pastry originating from
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
) with Don Ramón. She is easily recognized by the fact that she always keeps her hair in curlers (except in some early episodes), even at work or on vacation in Acapulco. In later episodes, she opens a restaurant called "Restaurante Doña Florinda". Derisively, the kids call her "Vieja Chancluda" ("vieja" being "old lady", and "chancluda" as someone who uses "chanclas", sandals).
In the English dub of the animated version, as well as in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, she is known as Mrs. Worthmore (a pun on worth more), and voiced by
Kate Higgins
Catherine Davis Higgins is an American voice actress, singer and jazz pianist. She is best known for her voice-acting roles of Sakura Haruno in ''Naruto'', Miles "Tails" Prower in the video game series ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', Frankie Stein i ...
(S1-2) and
Laura Post
Laura Post is an American voice actress and voice director known for her works in anime dubbed in English by Bang Zoom! Entertainment and Studiopolis like portraying Aria Lieze in ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's'', Ragyo Kiryuin in ''Kill la ...
(S3-7). Her restaurant was renamed "Mrs. Worthmore's Cafe" as well. In Brazil, her name was translated to Dona Florinda.
Profesor Jirafales
*Portrayed by
Rubén Aguirre
Rubén Aguirre Fuentes (; 15 June 1934 – 17 June 2016) was a Mexican actor and comedian. He was best known for his character Professor Jirafales in Televisa's 1970s television show ''El Chavo del Ocho''. Aguirre also participated in another we ...
*Years: 1973–1992
Profesor Inocencio Jirafales (Isaac Girafalde) is the schoolteacher. He is highly educated but naïve, although he carries on a ludicrously innocent relationship with Doña Florinda and patiently teaches way above the heads of his students. He is patient and professionally ethical. When angered, he shouts "Ta-ta-ta-taaaaa-TAH!!!". His last name is a reference to the very tall Aguirre, who stands at a height of 1.98 m or 6 ft 6 in ("jirafa" is Spanish for giraffe; the closest English equivalent would be Giraffald). The children (and sometimes adults, most notably Don Ramón) refer to him as "Maistro Longaniza" (being "maistro" a mispronounced form of "maestro", an alternative for "profesor", both meaning "teacher", and "
longaniza
Longaniza (, or ) is a Spanish sausage ( embutido) similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. It is popular in the cuisines ...
", a long kind of
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
). Although he appears throughout all the series (almost 20 years) having a romance with Doña Florinda, by the time it finished, neither one suggested the possibility of going beyond that idyllic relation – there's an
in-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke with humour that is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest ...
among the series production that statizes his full name to be "Inocencio Jirafales", being "Inocencio" both a real-life name in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries and a play on "innocence", thus adding to the "innocent" way he treats his relationship towards Doña Florinda. Even though he claims to have a strong
hatred of violence, Jirafales is more than willing to beat up those whom he feels insult him or Doña Florinda. (in the episode in which Don Ramón teaches El Chavo some basic
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
classes and even lends his boxing gloves to the kid, Jirafales has beaten him so violently that even Doña Florinda displays disgust over it).
In the English dub version, and on the subtitles of the Netflix print of the original, he is known as Professor Girafalde (a pun on the word
giraffe
The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
) or nicknamed Professor Sausage (Maistro Longaniza) or Professor Firehose (in the Fireman episode) and even Professor Drainpipe by El Chavo (sometimes called "Professor Girafalges" by non-marketing teams) and is voiced by
Bob Buchholz.. In Brazil his name is written Professor Girafales ("girafa" is Portuguese for giraffe) and nicknamed by the children as Professor Linguiça or Mestre Linguiça (being "mestre" an alternative for "professor" and "linguiça" meaning "sausage").
Doña Clotilde
*Portrayed by
Angelines Fernández
María de los Ángeles Fernández Abad (30 July 1924 – 25 March 1994), known professionally as Angelines Fernández, was a Spanish-born Mexican actress. She is best remembered for playing Doña Clotilde "La Bruja del 71" in the sitcom ''El ...
*Years: 1972–1990; 1992
Doña Clotilde, sometimes referred to as "La bruja del 71", is a retired woman who chases after Don Ramón. Because she is old and somewhat eccentric, the kids think she is a witch, and refer to her as "The Witch from (Apartment) 71". Some of the adults also refer to her as that, often by mistake, due to the kids frequently calling her a "witch". She refers to herself as ''señorita'' (Miss) because she has never been married, which also she gets upset by when called ''señora'' (Mrs.), meaning that she is a married woman. In one episode of the series, Chavo stated that "She's not a witch because if she were, she would use her magic to turn herself into a young, beautiful woman." She is a single woman, thirsty for love, and frequently seeks it with Don Ramón, who is a widower. Because she never wants people to know her real age, she is always saying the number of candles (40 candles) she had to use in her "last" birthday's cake (she never says to have more than 49) – even then, people never believe her, mostly because she also acts like a senior woman. She has always been in love with Don Ramón, her neighbor, but he finds her highly unappealing, so Doña Clotilde tries and does everything she can to conquer him like bringing him food from the store, buying him medicine when he can't sleep, making cakes and other foods for him, or lending him luggage. In fact, all the times that Don Ramón is "interested" in her is when she faints in the middle of the yard and was going to bring him something from the store or just when being polite with her is his only choice. When Ramón Valdés left the show, her affections turned towards Jaimito el cartero (the mailman). She is always dressed with a blue or pink hat (1950s style) with "leaves", blue gown, and black shoes. At times she had also a black sweater. Regarding her income, the source is unknown. Some might suggest she receives a pension, or maybe gets her money out of an inheritance, otherwise it would be impossible for her to pay the rent to Señor Barriga, pay her own expenses and buy all the things she gives to Don Ramón.
In the English dub of the animated version, and the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, she was renamed Miss Pinster (a pun on the word
spinster
Spinster or old maid is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term origin ...
) or nicknamed The Witch of 71 by the children and is voiced in the animated series by
Mona Marshall
Mona Marshall is an American television and voice actress, known for her work in a number of cartoons, anime shows, films and video games. Her major credits include ''South Park'', where she voices many of the female characters on the show, '' .h ...
.
In Brazil her name is Dona Clotilde or Bruxa do 71. Some sources in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
misspell her name as ''Cleotilde'' (Don Ramón called her this way).
Señor Barriga
* Portrayed by
Edgar Vivar
* Years: 1972–1973, 1973–1979, 1980–1990; 1992
Zenón Barriga y Pesado is the landlord of the ''vecindad''. Bolaños states that Señor Barriga prefers going personally to receive the residents' rents in order to save up his own time or a rent collector's salary. He rarely succeeds in collecting rent from Don Ramón and is greeted upon his every arrival by being (accidentally) kicked, tripped, beaten, or hit by a flying object thrown by El Chavo. His last name is a reference to his
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...
("barriga" is both Spanish and Portuguese for "belly", but the surname actually exists). In two episodes throughout the series (the first when Don Ramón buys a
bowling ball
A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling.
Balls used in ten-pin bowling and American nine-pin bowling traditionally have holes for two fingers and the thumb. Balls used in five-pin bowlin ...
while working as a buyer/salesman of home antiques; the second when Doña Florinda first sets up a restaurant) his full name is revealed to be "Zenón Barriga y Pesado" ("Zenón" being a pun on "Cenón" ("dining man" or "big dinner"); while "Barriga y Pesado" literally means "Belly and Heavy", although Pesado is a real surname as well); Zenón is also the Spanish form of Zeno. He is also well known because of his patience with Don Ramón and his unpunctual rent payments and all the kids' (mostly Chavo's) misbehavior like punching him or nicknaming him (always making fun of his obesity).
In one episode, he follows through on his eviction threat to Don Ramón, but while he is packing his belongings, Chavo and Quico come across an old scrapbook with pictures of Don Ramón as a boxer in his younger years. Barriga is overcome with emotion; as it turns out, he was heavily in debt and was about to go to jail when he desperately bet ''against'' Don Ramón in a boxing match, and won back enough money to clear his debts.
Even though he is the victim of Chavo's various pranks, he cares very deeply about him, even offering to take him to Acapulco instead of his son Ňoño, who is off on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts.
In the English dub of the animated version, as well as in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, he is renamed Mr. Beliarge (pun on the word
belly
Belly may refer to:
Anatomy
* The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach
** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking
** Belly dance
* The fleshy, ce ...
and
large
Large means of great size.
Large may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics
* Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers
* Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...
) and is voiced by
Dave Mallow
Dave Mallow (October 19, 1948 – March 11, 2025) was an American voice actor.
Life and career
Mallow was born on October 19, 1948. His father worked in radio and television and was a 30-year on-air veteran at Chicago's WGN. After graduating ...
. In Brazil, his name translates to Seu Barriga (literally "Mr. Belly") or Senhor Barriga.
La Popis
* Portrayed by
Florinda Meza
Doña Florinda's niece and Quico's cousin. Cutesy and dumb, Popis was usually only present in schoolroom scenes until after Quico left the series, when she filled in for his character in remakes of old episodes.
She would frequently say "Acúsalo con tu mamá" ("Tell on him with your mom") sometimes at inappropriate moments, known in the English dub of the animated series as "I'm telling...", such as when Profesor Jirafales told Quico that he gave the wrong answer. Whenever she says or does something wrong, she blames it on her doll, Serafina, which she loved as a daughter. Her attire was originally a pink dress with spotted blue dots, later changed to a green and pink dress.
In the English dub version of the series, and in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, she is renamed as Phoebe, her doll is renamed as Stephanie. She is voiced by
Kate Higgins
Catherine Davis Higgins is an American voice actress, singer and jazz pianist. She is best known for her voice-acting roles of Sakura Haruno in ''Naruto'', Miles "Tails" Prower in the video game series ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', Frankie Stein i ...
(S1-2) and
Erin Fitzgerald
Erin Fitzgerald is a Canadian voice actress who provides voice-overs for a number of cartoons, video games and English language dubs of Japanese anime. In animation, she voices Raven Queen in '' Ever After High'' and C.A. Cupid in both ''Monster ...
(S3-7) in the animated.
She fills in for Chilindrina in the animated series, as Chilindrina never appears or is mentioned in the series.
Ñoño
* Portrayed by
Edgar Vivar
Pronounced NYO-NYO, as in ''yo-yo'', Señor Barriga's son, he is as fat as his father, and thus is always the butt of the classroom's fat jokes. Ñoño was another classmate, but often appeared around the neighborhood if any scenes needed an extra kid. He is well-studied and good-hearted, but like most of the other kids, naïve to say the very least, so he is often taken advantage of. He also substituted for Quico in the later years. Ñoño usually gets teased by his peers due to his weight.
A hard joke on him over his weight was one where Quico and Chilindrina have several balloons and Chavo, hidden in his barrel, burst the balloons first to make his friends angry at each other and then to make them cry. When Ñoño arrives, with balloons too, Chavo confuses him with a balloon and burst his belly making Ñoño to "burst" leaving only his clothes visible.
In the English dub for the animated series, as well as in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, he is renamed as Junior and is voiced by
Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal (born March 5, 1971) is an American voice actor known for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. Some of his prominent voice roles in video games include Peter Parker / Spider-Man in various video games associated with t ...
. In Brazil, his name was changed to Nhonho, a phonetic transcription of Ñoño for Portuguese.
Godínez
* Portrayed by
Horacio Gómez Bolaños
An overall and baseball cap-wearing kid who usually keeps to himself and tries to dodge questions in the classroom so he can focus on drawing and playing musical instruments. Godínez is his surname; his given name is unknown. He seems to be a capable student but is totally uninterested, except when talking about soccer. Godínez only appears on rare occasions. Horácio Gómez directed the show for a period. In real life, he was brother to Roberto, creator and writer of the series.
In the English dub of the animated version, as well as in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, he is renamed as Gordon. He is voiced by
Kate Higgins
Catherine Davis Higgins is an American voice actress, singer and jazz pianist. She is best known for her voice-acting roles of Sakura Haruno in ''Naruto'', Miles "Tails" Prower in the video game series ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', Frankie Stein i ...
(S1-2) and
Erin Fitzgerald
Erin Fitzgerald is a Canadian voice actress who provides voice-overs for a number of cartoons, video games and English language dubs of Japanese anime. In animation, she voices Raven Queen in '' Ever After High'' and C.A. Cupid in both ''Monster ...
(S3-7) in the animated series. Like his Spanish counterparts, Gordon is funny and makes ridiculous remarks.
Jaimito, el cartero
* Portrayed by
Raúl Padilla
A sociable but forgetful and negligent postal worker who appears in a few of the last episodes and takes over for Don Ramón and Quico in the Chavo segments on the hour-long "Chespirito". Whenever he enters the ''vecindad'', he is seen carrying an old bicycle, which he cannot ride because he couldn't learn (and he'll be instantly dismissed if he tells at the post office he doesn't know how to ride the bicycle). Jaimito also is rather lazy and tends to avoid carrying out tasks with the excuse of "avoiding fatigue" (in the English dub of the animated series, his excuse is that "his tiredness makes him tired"). He hails from
Tangamandapio
Santiago Tangamandapio, known as Tangamandapio, is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located 165 km from the state capital of Morelia. The geographic coordinates are: 19° 57' North latitude and 102° 26' West longit ...
which, although being a real location in Mexico, is thought by fans of being just a coincidental joke (Jaimito once said that "Tangamandapio is bigger than
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
; it's so big, it doesn't appear in any maps").
In the English dub of the animated version, and in the official English subtitles for the Netflix print of the original, he is renamed as Manny the Mailman who comes from Upsidedowntown and is voiced by
Dave Mallow
Dave Mallow (October 19, 1948 – March 11, 2025) was an American voice actor.
Life and career
Mallow was born on October 19, 1948. His father worked in radio and television and was a 30-year on-air veteran at Chicago's WGN. After graduating ...
. In Brazil, his name was changed to Jaiminho, o carteiro and his hometown Tangamandápio.
Doña Nieves
* Portrayed by
María Antonieta de las Nieves
María Antonieta Gómez Rodríguez (born 4 December 1949), more commonly known by her stage name María Antonieta de las Nieves, is a Mexican actress, comedian, singer, and author. Her best remembered role is that of La Chilindrina, one of th ...
Chilindrina's great-grandmother, and Don Ramón's grandmother (the one constantly referred to by Doña Florinda). Has character traits of both Don Ramón and Chilindrina. In some late "Chavo" episodes and early "Chespirito" episodes, she also takes over for her grandson Don Ramón. María Antonieta de las Nieves had been playing a nameless character similar to Doña Nieves for years in a variety of sketches, but she did not work particularly well in the Don Ramón role; for one thing, it was awkward that Doña Nieves and Chilindrina could not appear in scenes together except via special effects. By the late 1980s, her character had virtually disappeared from "El Chavo". In Brazil, her name was changed to Dona Neves, while in English, her name was Miss Quatersnow. She has also appeared in various
Dr. Chapatín sketches.
Minor characters
*Doña Eduviges, or in English as Mrs. Esnett (
Janet Arceo
Janett Arceo Maldonado (born 30 September 1955), known as Janet Arceo, is a Mexican actress, TV presenter, announcer, director and businesswoman.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
1955 births
Living people
Chespirito actors ...
), only in 1973: For two episodes she lives in the upstairs apartment of the ''vecindad'' and interacts with the other characters. Except for dressing differently and living in a different apartment, she acts exactly the same as Doña Clotilde, right down to her heavy-handed flirting with Don Ramón. But obviously she was crazy, because one time she said that she dyed her hair white just because it was fashionable. The kids even call her ''"La Loca de la Escalera"'' ("The crazy lady upstairs"). In the very next episode, Doña Clotilde is back and Doña Eduviges is never mentioned again. Jaimito is assumed to have moved into her apartment or one next to it, since he usually came from the same direction.
*Paty and Gloria, in 1972, 1975 and 1978: Paty (who is Chavo's age) and her aunt Gloria (who is Don Ramón's) move into the upstairs apartment. They are considered to be very beautiful and the men and boys of the ''vecindad'' immediately fall in love with them, while the women and girls get jealous of them. The 1978 Paty (Ana Lilian de la Macorra) became a regular character, appearing in many episodes of the half-hour version's last season. In the English dub of the animated version, Paty and Gloria names were not changed (except Paty was given another t in her name). Both Paty and Gloria have different actresses, Paty was voiced by
Tara Platt
Tara Platt (born June 18, 1978) is an American actress and author who has provided voices for dozens of English-language versions of Japanese anime films, television series and video games. Her notable roles in anime include Temari (Naruto), Tem ...
while Gloria was voiced by
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. Fanning is known for her roles in blockbuster films and independent features, both as a child actor and as an adult. Her accolades include nominations for a Golden Globe A ...
.
Gloria was played by Maribel Fernández in 1972, Olivia Leiva in 1975 and Regina Torné in 1978; Paty was played in 1972 by Patty Juárez, Rosita Bouchot in 1975, Ana Lilian de la Macorra in 1978, and Patty Strevel in 1987.
*Malicha, or in English as Molly (
María Luisa Alcalá), only in 1974: Don Ramón's god-daughter. During María Antonieta de las Nieves' absence, Malicha briefly replaced her. Much like Doña Eduviges, she disappeared after a small number of episodes and was barely missed.
*Don Román, or in English as Randall Raymond (
Germán Robles
Germán Horacio Robles San Agustín (March 20, 1929 – November 21, 2015) was a Spanish actor who came to Mexico when he was 17, after the Spanish civil war.
In Mexican cinema, he is best known for his amazing characterization of vampires in ma ...
), only in 1975: He takes Don Ramón's place in an episode of the 1975 season; he is said to be Don Ramón's cousin. In Brazil, his name was changed to Seu Madroga, being analogous to Don Ramón/Seu Madruga.
*Señor Hurtado (José Antonio Mena and Ricardo de Pascual), in 1974 and 1976: A suspicious man (actually a thief) who lives in the ''vecindad'' in a single episode conveniently named "El Ladrón De La Vecindad". His felonies are charged to Chavo by mistake (which results in everyone in the ''vecindad''
accusing
An accusation is a statement by one person asserting that another person or entity has done something improper. The person who makes the accusation is an accuser, while the subject against whom it is made is the accused. Whether a statement is in ...
El Chavo of
theft
Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...
, causing him to temporarily leave the ''vecindad'' in a nocturnal scene full of
sorrow, thus making this one of the
saddest scenes of the series), but he ultimately returns the stolen objects, restoring Chavo's innocence towards his neighbors; however, Hurtado never does claim the robberies himself. His name is reference to the Spanish word "''hurtado''", implying he's, in fact, a thief ("hurtar" is Spanish for "to steal"). In the English dub of the animated version, he is known as "Mr. Crookley".
In Brazil, his name was translated into Senhor Furtado, fitting to his surname ("furtar" is Portuguese for "to steal") very similarly to the original Spanish language and also being an actual surname in the country.
*Señor Calvillo, or in English as Mr. Badillo (only in 1976): This bald character only appears in a two-part episode called "Se Vende La Vecindad". In this episode, Sr. Barriga discovers that he has heart problems and must move to a location with a lower altitude. Senõr Calvillo thus offers to buy the vecindad, or neighborhood, from him. Everybody is against it due to the fact that they fear a negative result will come of it. Strangely, Calvillo develops a crush on Doña Clotilde. Fortunately for everyone, Sr. Barriga's diagnosis turned to be incorrect, and he proceeds to save the neighborhood without selling to Sr. Calvillo (who wanted to build a luxurious building instead). This character is also known for having nicknames given to him by the neighborhood children: "Sr. Carequinha", "Seu Carequinha", "Cuca Lisinha" and "Cabeça Pelada" (in Portuguese). This character is portrayed by Ricardo de Pascual, the same actor who plays Sr. Hurtado.
In another version of the character, the same situation occurs with the new character being named Señor Barbadillo (played by Horacio Games Bolaños who played Godínez).
*
Héctor Bonilla
Héctor Hermilo Bonilla Rebentun (14 March 1939 – 25 November 2022) was a Mexican actor and director known for his movies Meridiano 100 and Rojo Amanecer.
Bonilla died on 25 November 2022, at the age of 83.
Filmography
Film
Television ...
(only in 1979, played by himself): This same famous Mexican actor and director only appears in a two-part episode called "El actor Héctor Bonilla". In the same plot, Héctor's car has a flat tire near the neighborhood, and Héctor goes there looking for help. As the episode progresses, Héctor is harassed by Doña Florinda, Chilindrina and Doña Clotilde who consider him an idol. Don Ramón also takes advantage of the actor and charges as much as he can to fix his car. In the end, Héctor has his car fixed and leaves, but then returns one last time to the neighborhood to give a soccer ball as a gift to Chavo, as he had promised throughout the episode.
In another version of the character, the same situation occurs with the new character being named
Rogelio Guerra
Hildegardo Francisco Guerra Martínez (8 October 1936 – 28 February 2018), known artistically as Rogelio Guerra, was a Mexican actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a pr ...
(played by this same other Mexican actor).
Animated series only
*Justiciero Enmascarado (Portuguese: Justiceiro Mascarado; English: Secret Masked Crusader, or simply as Masked Crusader) is El Chavo's favorite wrestler and one of the favorite heroes, like El Chapulin Colorado ("Captain Hopper") in the Television, he fights enemies like vampires, zombies and wolfmen. his enemy is Furioso Desesperado ("Desperate Furious").
*Rubia Margot (Portuguese: Loira Margô; English: Margot Haddock, or simply as Blonde Margot) is an actress of some movies and TV shows that Don Ramón (Mr. Raymond) falls in love, in the debut, Mr. Raymond is knocked out that makes an allusination to Miss Pinster as the actress, despiste She hates her. El Chavo and the gang believed that Mr. Raymond is charmed by the Witch's spells.
*Rufino Malacara (Portuguese: Rufino Mau-da-cara; English: Rufino Meanface) was played as the main villain in two episodes of season four of El Chavo animado, is original based on Señor Calvillo, he make a lie to Mr. Beliarge to be a new Neighborhood owner, he asked Chavo and the gand to find the treasure in the ground of the neighborhood after Chavo told him that there was a treasure (which turned to be Quico) that later can't cave more holes anymore, just accidentally Chavo breaks a pipe, when everyone in the neighborhood are confronting Rufino Malacara when Mr. Belliarge went away and is back when he found a true of the lie about the bank check is fake, Rufino Malacara is finally arrested by to buy the neighborhood without permission and for the destruction, and arrested by to stole keys in the car station, he's scaped but gets hit by El Chavo, and he ends up filling the holes he forced the children to make as his punishment.
*Fito Fuerte (in Portuguese as Fábio Furgão, or simply as Hércules; in English as Ferdinand Strong) is the stronger action man from the episode "Out of the Blue" (original as "Caido del Cielo"), when El Chavo and friend are punished by mess up the neighborhood with mudcakes war and the adult make fault to Mr. Belliarge, so he makes favors to the kids to clean the neighborhood, Chavo sweeps the floor to make a dust nob to make scare the bird appearing an eagle to eat and accidentally break Fito Fuerte's globe, making him fall to the neighborhood. Arriving there, he help the kids how to clean the neighborhood so funny. He also makes other role appearances, like in "Viaje en el metro", featuring Justiciero Enmascarado to stop the subway train; and also in the episode "Vuela Chavo", when he rescues Chavo from the nest of eagles that they want to eat him.
*Panfilo (in Portuguese as Pâfilo; in English as Percy) Originally, in the English version of "Un bebé en la vecindad" has no translation name, but is referred to as "The Baby", is a cute baby from the episode "Baby Talk" (original as "Un bebe en la vecindad") is found by Chavo and Quico outside of the neighborhood in the basket with a note saying: "Mr. Irresponsible!, why did you forget your son? Take him with you!", so they believe that the irresponsible dad left it, Chavo, junior and Quico baby sit him when Mrs. Worthmore and Miss Pinster are looking for the real irresponsible dad, but mistakenly accuse Professor Girafalde and then Mr. Raymond, when the baby escapes to the city, the neighborhood crow gets found out, so Chavo comes to rescue, when Raimond still finding until the traffic light when it's red, all cars ran over Raimond to fly away without injuries, later the parents worried that the baby is gone but finally looking at Chavo babysitting the baby and they are happy it's been found, but Mrs. Worthmore and Miss Pinster slaps the dad for his irresponsibility, the parents carrying the baby to go back home and El Chavo says goodbye and I'll miss you, but then the mother ask Chavo if he wants to babysit Panfilo's brothers and he agrees to babysit Panfilo again with his brothers. He, his brothers and the parents are making cameos in other episodes until in the episode "Subway Travel" (original as "Viaje en el metro"), making another major role, when they ask Chavo to babysit Panfilo and the brothers again. But suddenly, all babies are in the subway so Chavo and friends are going to rescue but the subway gets out of the control, until at the end the babies are really fine and Chavo returns the babies to the parents and they are pleased by caring the babies. In the end, when El Chavo and Mr. Raymond prefers to go in bus and gets shocked and scared to see the babies again when the episode ends.
* Rosita (in Portuguese as Rosinha; in English as Rose): A girl who appears in the episode "Friendship Vale" (original as "El valor de la amistad"). She helps El Chavo and his friends discover the value of friendship. And then she was never seen again, but she was mentioned by Chavo in two episodes of that same animated series.
*Doctor Chapatin: based on the same character from ''El Chapulín Colorado'' and other Chespirito's sketches, he is an old doctor with a grumpy personality, with red scarf and with full bag that serves to hit someone by insulting him that he's old, in the animated series he made a cameo appearance in one of Manny's photos in the album, mentioned that was one of the friends. Later, in the episode "Quico se manchó" ("Quico spilled") from season 7, he make his first major role trying to cure Quico with measles, played by Jesus Gúzman.
References
External links
El Chavo complete cast and crewat
Imdb.com
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Chavo del Ocho
El Chavo del Ocho characters
Lists of sitcom television characters
Lists of Spanish-American television series characters