By Kelsey Bares

Cantinflas fue un actor, cantante y filántropo de origen mexicano, nació el 12 de agosto de 1911 en la Ciudad de México. His name at birth was Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, but in the film world he called himself Cantinflas or Mario Moreno; there are two theories about how he came about the name Cantinflas. the first is that when he wanted to become a film producer, he used that pseudonym so his parents would not know that Cantinflas was their son; they found his chosen profession low and disgraceful. The second theory is that when he was performing in one of his first night club shows, some heckler shouted, “En la cantina, tu inflas!”, which translates into: “In the bar room, you get drunk!” It is unclear which of these actually occurred, or possibly if both did. Before Cantinflas became an entertainer, he joined the military and was also a boxer and a bullfighter. He was one of eight children and his father was a postal worker who enrolled him in some of the best schools he could just because he saw a bright future in him. However, his son much preferred watching and imitating the street buskers in Mexico; he dropped out of agricultural school in order to be like these men.

Antes de Cantinflas se convirtió en un artista, se unió a las fuerzas armadas y también fue un boxeador y un torero. He was one of eight children and his father was a postal worker who enrolled him in some of the best schools he could just because he saw a bright future in him. However, his son much preferred watching and imitating the street buskers in Mexico; he dropped out of agricultural school in order to be like these men. Cantinflas eventually started his own film company, first called Posa Films and then Cantinflas Films, which had a very short history in the United States, only 2 films, but the opposite in Mexico; he appeared in and produced over 55 films. None other than Charlie Chaplin named Cantinflas “the world’s greatest comedian,” and he was best known in the film world for his role as the devoted servant of Phileas Fogg, Passepartout, in the 1956 film “Around the World in 80 Days.” Cantinflas’s very first film appearance was in “No te engañes, corazón” (Don't Kid Yourself, Sweetheart), but this movie had little success. Cantinflas’s trademark in films was to engage in “nonsensical, meaningless chatter.” Cantinflas died from lung cancer on April 20, Cantinflas was married to Valentina Ivanova Zubareff on October 27, 1936, however she passed away in 1966 and he never remarried.

Use this link to see a clip of Cantinflas performing a skit!

Accomplishments Cantinflas won the Golden Globe Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for Musical or Comedy” in 1956 for his role as Passepartout in “Around the World in 80 Days.” Passepartout fue el valet devoto de la protagonista, Phileas Fogg. Passepartout is a resourceful, comical, bicycle riding former circus performer who travels across the globe with Phileas Fogg (David Niven). He was also nominated for a second Golden Globe Award in1961 for his role in “Pepe,” but was not awarded this one. Cantinflas played the role of Pepe in this film, who was hired ranch hand who sets out to conquer a Hollywood man who’s bought his boss’s prize stallion. Él tiene éxito en hacer esto, también traer de vuelta a los potros años con el semental en su victoria.

Accomplishments Another accomplishment of Cantinflas is that, because he so often used the type of conversation he invented in which much chatter was uttered but said nothing of substance, a verb in the Real Acedemia Española Diccionario after this style of conversation he created. El verbo es "cantinflear" y se define: 1. Para hablar de una manera tonta y sin sentido, sin sentido (después de Cantinflas) 2. Para balbucear. 3. Actuar como Cantinflas (actor cómico Mex.). Personaje Cantinflas en películas frecuentemente se involucra en esto muy extraño, incomprensible conversación. This verb, which was added to the dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language in 1992, was created as a tribute to one of Mexico’s most illustrious sons, Mario Moreno "Cantinflas". This style of speaking was picked up by many Hispanics from Cantinflas’s films, and they also created their own forms of the word. Someone might say, if you were engaging in this type of conversation, that you were “Cantinflossing,” which denotes this style of talk.

Legacy Cantinflas era una figura influyente y famoso, obviamente dejó un gran legado al morir por cáncer de pulmón el 20 de abril de One of these was Cantinflas’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Walk of Fame consists of over 2,000 brass stars laid into the street as monuments to great achievement in the entertainment world, which bear the names of musicians, fictional characters, musical groups, directors, producers, actors and others. The Walk of Fame was established in 1958, with specific symbols on each star to denote what category the entertainer’s achievement was in. Of course, Cantinflas’s star carries the emblem of a theatre/ live performer, and was awarded to him on October 10, En preparación para este premio fueron todas las películas de Cantinflas muchos protagonizó, y su premio Globo de Oro y otros. In this way, Mario Moreno’s illustrious film career is immortalized long after his death and will hopefully stay that way for many decades and centuries to come.