List of El Chavo characters

This is a list of the characters in the TV series El Chavo created by Roberto Gomez Bolanos.^[1]

Main characters

El Chavo

El Chavo del Ocho (Roberto Gómez Bolaños), an eight-year-old orphan, is the main character of the series. "Chavo" is a Mexican Spanish slang for "kid"; Chavo's real name is not known, but in some episodes he calls himself Chente, short for Vicente, after a friend who died in the orphan home in which he was abandoned. 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 consequence of poor nutrition) and is remarkably clumsy, often hitting Quico, Don Ramón and Señor Barriga with balls, shoes, hammers, bricks, chairs and other objects. 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 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 tortas, 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 that his punches are able to stun or even topple a full-grown man, mostly Don Ramón.

In the English dub version of the series, he is voiced by Mona Marshall.

La Chilindrina

La Chilindrina (María Antonieta de las Nieves), daughter of Don Ramón. "Precocious" is probably 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 wears thick-framed glasses, after a few years her wardrobe consisted of a short green-pattern dress and a red sweater that was always twisted on the back. She has freckles and two ponytails 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 chocolate sparkles on top, reminiscent of the character's freckles. In early episodes, La Chilindrina has longer ponytails which are cut by El Chavo. In most episodes, she is seen to have a crush on Chavo, and can be jealous when he's seen by Paty.

Quico

Federico Matalascayando Corcuera, known as Quico (Carlos Villagrán), is a spoiled, overprotected 9-year-old boy, son of Doña Florinda and a late naval captain (also named Federico) who reportedly died when his vessel was attacked and eaten by a white shark. Arrogant, manipulatory and envious, Quico always wants to draw everyone's attention to himself, either by screaming loudly or by showing off his newest toy. Also because of this, he usually gets El Chavo in trouble when he does something wrong, espically to Don Ramón, in which Don Ramón hits angeriy on the head of El Chavo 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. However, he still finds time to play with the, as he and his mother call them, chusma ("riffraff"), namely Chavo, Chilindrina and Don Ramón. Quico is also noticeable for his black sailor "dress blue" top (probably a memento from his father), his rainbow patterned beanie cap, his enormous cheeks, and his minuscule intelligence, often responding to the Spanish words for idiot, stupid, dummy, etc (he even display delight over being called this, oblivious that all these words are insults). Despite his stupidity, Quico displays more deceptive abilities and common sense than chavo, and is the most propense to break the fourth wall(especially regarding that four of his quotes do this so). 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 riff-raff anymore." No one in the show ever talks about him anymore, or says anything about his absence, as if he had never existed. Villagran's character, Quico, starred in a rather short-lived spin-off series, Ay, Que Quico! in the late 1980s, which attempted to revive the series using a "Hip-hop" twist and give Villagran's character a slight wardrobe make-over.

In the English dub version of the animated series, he is voiced by Doug Erholtz.

Don Ramón

Don Ramón (Ramón Valdés): considered by most fans to be the show's funniest character, he is an unemployed widower with a very lanky, nearly-emaciated build. 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 Barrigas forgives several months off of his rent in several episodes) - however, in one 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. 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 pretends to be knowledgeable in them (having demonstrated boxing, bowling, American football, baseball and even bullfighting - 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, which he is implying that he is a drunkard (ron means "rum" in Spanish). One quote popularized by himself is "There is no terrible work, the terrible is to have to work". He is a fan of Club Necaxa, 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 glory nor suffering. Despite the fact that he is a Mexican character, his personality of always been a good-hearted and (not always) noble man, made Don Ramón one of the most cherished characters in the history of the show. In Brazil, he is known to be the most popular character, with some of his quotes been used under many circumstances, not only the funny ones.

In the English dub version of the animated series, he was known as Mr. Raymond or nicknamed Rister Maymond by El Chavo and was, like Quico, voiced by Doug Erholtz.

Doña Florinda

Florinda Corcuera y Villalpando de Matalascayando, commonly referred to as Doña Florinda (Florinda Meza), is the mother of Quico and love interest of Professor Jirafales. She is a widow; her late husband, after which Quico was named, was a naval officer who died at sea and 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 has deluded herself into believing she's socially, morally and economically superior to her neighbors (and it is suggested that at one time she was well-off), and while not misanthropic or bully-like, she tends to give orders to the others, such as putting signs that banned 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 go 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 slaps Don Ramón still, 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 she become famous among her neighbours and one time she accepted a partnership selling churros (a type of pastry in Mexico) with Don Ramón, she watches in TV: "La cocina de Chepina Peralta" (Chepina Peralta's kitchen). 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 version of the animated series, she is known as Mrs. Worthmore and voiced by Kate Higgins.

Profesor Jirafales

Profesor Inocencio Jirafales (Rubén Aguirre), the school teacher. Highly educated but naïve, although single he carries on a ludicrously innocent relationship with Doña Florinda and patiently teaches way above the heads of his 8-year-old students. He is a teacher with lots of patience and professionally ethical. When angered, he shouts "Ta-ta-ta-taaaaa-TAH!!!". His last name is a reference to the actor's 198 centimeters of height ("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 "professor", both meaning "teacher", and "longaniza" a long kind of sausage). Although he appears throughout all the series (almost 20 years) having a romance with Dona Florinda, by the time it finished, neither one suggested the possibility of going beyond that idillic relation - there's an in-joke 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 "innocently" way he treats his relationship towards Doña Florinda. Even though he claims to strongly dislike of violence, Jirafales is more than willing to beat up Don Ramón if he does something stupid or that leaves him outraged (in the episode in which Don Ramón teaches El Chavo some basic boxing classes and even lends his boxing gloves to the kid, Jirafales has beaten him so violently that even Doña Florinda displayed disgust over it).

In the English dub version of the animated series, he is known as Professor Girafalde or nicknamed Professor Sausage/Professor Firehose by El Chavo and is voiced by Bob Buchholz.

Doña Cleotilde

Doña Cleotilde, "La bruja del 71" (Angelines Fernández), 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 Old Witch of (Apartment) 71". Some adults also refer her like that, often by mistake, due to the kids frequently calling her "witch". She refers herself as señorita (Miss) because she has never been married, which also she gets upset when anyone call her señora (Mrs.), meaning that she is a married 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 accurate 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 with that people never believe that, mostly because she also acts like a senior woman. She has always been in love with Don Ramón, her neighbor. But he is not interested in her, so Doña Cleotilde wants him and does everything she can to conquer him like bringing him food from the store, buying him medicine when he can't sleep, baking cakes 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. She is always dressed with a blue or pink hat (50's style) with "leaves", blue gown, and black shoes. In the beginning of the series she had also a black sweater. Regarding to 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 for Señor Barriga, pay her expenses and buy all the things she gives to Don Ramón.

In the English dub version of the animated series, she was renamed Miss Pinster or nicknamed The Witch of 71 by the children and is voiced by Mona Marshall, like El Chavo.

Señor Barriga

Zenón Barriga y Pesado (Edgar Vivar), the landlord of the vecindad. Bolaños statizes that Señor Barriga prefers going personally to receive the residents's 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 ("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 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" (literally "Zenón Belly and Heavy", but Pesado is a real surname too), being "Zenón" a pun on "Cenón" ("dining man" or "big dinner"). 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 body).

In the English dub version of the series, he is renamed Mr. Beliarge and is voiced by Dave Mallow.

Supporting characters

• Popis (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 frequently would say "Acúsalo con tu mamá" ("Tell on him with your mom") sometimes at inappropriate moments, such as when Professor Jirafales told Quico he gave the wrong answer. Whenever she says or does something wrong, she blames it to her doll, Serafina, which she loved as a daughter. In the English dub version of the animated series, she is renamed as Phoebe, her doll was renamed as Stephanie and she is voiced by Kate Higgins.

• Ñoño (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 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. In the animated series, he is renamed Junior and is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

• Godínez (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. Godínez appears only rarely but is very funny. Horácio Bolaños directed the show for a period. In real-life, he was brother to Roberto, creator and writer of the series. In the English dub version of the animated series, he is renamed as Gordan and is voiced by Kate Higgins.

• Jaimito, el cartero (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 hourlong "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". He hails from Tangamandapio 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; it's so big, it doesn't appear in any maps"). In the English dub version of the animated series, he is renamed as Manny the Mailman who comes from Upsidedowntown and is voiced by Dave Mallow.

• Doña Nieves (María Antonieta de las Nieves), 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".

Minor characters

• Doña Eduviges (Janet Arceo), 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 the mailman is assumed to have moved into her apartment or one next to it, since he usually came from the same direction.

• Paty and Gloria, at various times in the show's history, Paty (who is Chavo's age) and her aunt Gloria (who is Don Ramón's) move into the upstairs apartment. The men and boys of the vecindad immediately fall in love with 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 version of the animated series, Paty and Gloria names were not changed (except Paty was given another t in her name) and were both voiced by Tara Platt.

• Malicha (Maria Luisa Alcalá), 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 (Germán Robles), he takes Don Ramón's place in a very early episode of the series; he is said to be Don Ramón's cousin.

• Señor Hurtado (José Antonio Mena, Ricardo de Pascual and Benny Ibarra), 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 El Chavo of theft, 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").

• Senõr Pellosino (a.k.a. Señor Calvillo), this character appears in only one 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 Pellosino thus offers to buy the vecindad, or neighborhood, from him. Everybody is against it, except for Doña Cleotilde. Fortunately, Sr. Barriga's diagnosis is changed, and he proceeds to stay without selling to Sr. Pellosino. This character is portrayed for one episode only by Ricardo de Pascual, the same actor who plays Sr. Hurtado.

References

1. ^ "El Chavo del Ocho (1973) Série de TV (1973-1992)". Imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229889/. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 

External links

• El Chavo complete cast and crew at Imdb.com