The icon of Mexican television Xavier López “Chabelo” passed away on March 25, leaving a legacy of more than 70 years of career.
The driver known as “Amigo de todos los Niños” hosted the “En familia” program, which was broadcast between 1968 and 2015.
So far, the actor’s family has only confirmed on social networks that the actor died of “abdominal complications.”
Who was Xavier Lopez?
Xavier López “Chabelo” was a Mexican actor, presenter and comedian who has had a long and successful career in television and film. He was born on February 17, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, but moved to Mexico with his family as a child. From a very young age, he showed great interest in acting and began participating in plays and radio shows.
He was about to go to represent Mexico in Helsinki at the Olympic Games in 1952 in Olympic wrestling. If they had triumphed in the Olympics or had graduated as a doctor and dedicated themselves fully to that, many generations of Mexican children would have had a different childhood.
López was naturalized as a Mexican, since her parents are from León, Guanajuato; However, there are sources that refer to the birth of the actor and producer in Chicago, United States, during a trip by his parents to the neighboring country.
How did the name of Chabelo?
It was Tío Gamboín who, when asking Xavier to improvise a joke whose protagonist was a boy named Chabelo, accidentally baptized Chabelo; with time, perseverance and work he was coining the nickname: the Friend of Children.
Xavier had two sisters, one of whom collaborated as the program’s secretary In family….
In the 1950s, Chabelo began acting in movies and television shows, quickly becoming one of the most popular artists in Mexico. However, it was his role as the presenter of the children’s program “In Family with Chabelo” the one that catapulted him to fame. For more than 48 years, “En Familia con Chabelo” was one of the most watched television shows in Mexico, and Chabelo became an icon of Mexican television.
Fate surrounded him with great figures and he, in turn, promoted many Mexican talents. He invented a language —it’s called mautro— together with Tin Tan and Loco Valdés, according to IMBD, from there the famous word arose. kataphyxiawhich later use has turned into a verb.
In addition to his television work, Chabelo has also had a successful film career, acting in films such as “The Adventures of Capulina” and “The Pulqueria“. He has also lent his voice to animated films such as “El Chavo del Ocho” and “Don Gato and his Gang”.
His career beyond the character
Throughout his career, Chabelo has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Government of Mexico City’s Medal of Citizen Merit and Mexico’s National Journalism Award. His legacy in the popular culture of Mexico is unquestionable and continues to be remembered and appreciated by several generations of Mexicans.
Odemaris B. Ruiz R. refers to his career beginnings as follows: “Among his jobs he had to tour the Hipódromo de las Américas, selling cigarettes, and looking at elegant characters who bet on the races. There he had to see the inauguration of the XHIGC experimental station, installed and operated by the engineer González Camarena, it seems that from there his destiny was marked in the world of television ”.
Then came radio at XEQ where he learned to make sound effects under the instruction of Gonzalo Gavira —part of the Oscar-winning team for sound effects on The Exorcist— and was employed as an assistant to Arturo Manrique, the Panzón Canseco, in the program The Turtle Yachtwhose broadcast was brought to television.
In the forum of the recently opened channel 2, he became an assistant to the director of cameras and, some time later, he was hired for the programs of musical carousel and midday varieties.
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