Mexican Day of the Dead/ Día de los Muertos
Día de Los Muertos, a Mexican holiday celebrated on the 2nd November as a day of remembrance started with the Aztecs who saw death as an integral and ever present part of life. They believed that upon dying, a person would travel to the Land of the Dead where they would go through 9 trials before finally their place of rest in Mictlan. As a result, this has inspired the practise of ofrendas (makeshift alters) that include food, candles and photos of the deceased and marigold petal paths to help lead the souls of the deceased from their graves to their homes.
Who's who on Roberto's ofrenda?
As Roberto represents Mexico, he has decided to showcase some of the dearly departed personalities of Mexico's history. These personalities are shown in the fact card from left to right on each row and here they are in
Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Chespirito)
Roberto Gómez Bolaños (also known as Chespirito, meaning "Little Shakespeare") was a comedian, author, screenwriter, actor, director, producer and humorist. The son of an illustrator and a bilingual secretary, he studied mechanical engineering but instead turned to writing plays and this lead him to writing screenplays for the big and small screen. His works would dominate the small screen and some of these include:
El Chavo del Ocho which was about an eight-year-old orphan living in a barrel in a neighbourhood (vencidad in Spanish) surrounded by children his age as well as the hard working but not particularly wealthy adults.
El Chapulín Colorado: a grasshopper themed super hero who was seldom seen without his red and yellow hooded costume and his matching squaky hammer. This character was the basis for Bumblebee Man in The Simpsons.
Dr. Chapatín: an elderly doctor who was quite eccentric and forgetful.
El Chómpiras: crooks who fail at committing the most simple crimes you can show before 9PM.
Roberto Gómez Bolaños used the pseudonym Chespirito as it was a combination of Shakespeare when pronounced in the Spanish way (shespir) with the addition of the diminutive "-ito" suffix as Roberto Gómez Bolaños was a short man. He married twice and had 6 children with his first wife who, alongside his widow run his estate to this very day.
Guadalupe Victoria
A general who fought for Mexico's independence from Spain during the Mexican War of Independence, Guadalupe Victoria was elected as Mexico's first president in 1824 following the fall of the First Mexican Empire. He established the National Treasury in Mexico, established the Miltitary Academy, improved education, set up a merchant marine that helped with opening up trades routes with countries that recognised the state, opened new shipping ports, started construction on the National Museum and much more. Guadalupe retired from public life when his term ended in 1829.
Selena Quintanilla
The namesake for actress and singer Selena Gomez, Selena Quintanilla was a Tejano superstar and singer. She started performing at various gatherings as a child with her Mexican-American before she was signed to a record label and released eleven studio albums, three remix albums, three boxsets, two studio albums and twenty compilation albums.
A reckless fan of hers named Yolanda Saldivar shot her when Selena discovered that she was stealing money from her (a crime called embezzlement) on 31st March 1995.
We made a fact card about her with more information about Selena Quintanilla here.
Diego Rivera
Frida Kahlo
Delores Del Río
One of the first Mexican movie starts with international appeal and who had a rapid career in the 1920s and 1930s, Delores Del Rio was born in an aristocratic family as Dolores Martínez Asúnsolo y López Negretein Mexico in 1904. Revolution in 1916 saw her family lose their fortune and they moved for Mexico City where Delores met Jaime Del Río and the pair moved to Hollywood to start their careers in the film industry.
Within a year of her first film, Delores' first significant success arrived in the comedy-drama war film What Prince Glory in 1926. Her transition from silent films to the talkies (name given to early synchronised sound films) in the 1930s, she obtained starring role and featured in films alongside Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Delores' return to film saw her swiftly become one of the top actresses in Mexico's film industry.
Delores Del Río also became the first woman to sit on the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. She is also remembered for her philanthropy and her advocacy for the arts. Later in her life, she aided in opening a centre to provide childcare for the Mexican Actor's Guild's members which operates to this day and carries her name. Delores also co-founded a group dedicated to preserving historical buildings and artwork in Mexico called the Society for the Protection of the Artistic Treasures of Mexico.
Pedro Infante
Guillermo González
Ramón Valdés
One of his brothers, Germán Valdés was also an actor who went by the stage name Tin Tan as did another one of his brothers Manuel.