by Rene Torres / photos by Bronsbil Estacion contributors
“Ni Sangre, Ni Arena,” (“Neither Blood nor Sand”) was the
second major film of Cantinflas that made it to the movie screen by 1941. Cantinflas, who once was called by Charlie
Chaplin, “the world’s greatest comedian,” played dual roles in this movie.
In one of the characters, he was a meek devoted fan, while in
the other—he demonstrated to be an egotistical matador. The humor begins when, there’s an identity
mix-up, as the humble fan, Cantinflas, is mistaken for a matador.
c1954 Matamoros Cantinflas bullring fundraiser Plaza de Toros
In the bull ring, just like in film, he brought the same
kind of delight —his work in the ring became one of his most famous
routines. Away from the screen, Cantinflas
takes his bullfight drama on the road, performing in arenas in Mexico, Europe
and the United States.
It was in September of 1942, that Mario Moreno, better known
as Cantinflas, arrived in Brownsville on a Saturday night on the evening Pan
American Airways plane from Mexico City.
Moviegoers, who had
seen Cantinflas in the above mentioned film, heard the comedic matador, ”Cantinfeando,” talking endlessly without saying anything,
and also dispose of a charging bull using unorthodox antics, which kept
them in an uproar.
His performance in
Matamoros would be a rare opportunity to witness the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico
in person. Ticket sales for the five
bull corrida indicated a sellout.
1965 with Cameron County Judge Oscar Dancy
As thousands of bullfight fans from this side of border were
anticipated to attend and due to the fact we were engaged in war— the following
reminder was issued to local fans:
“Visitors crossing the border from the United States are
reminded that no letters, magazines, or other papers are permitted to cross the
border either to or from Mexico. In
addition, only two dollar bills would be accepted to cross into Matamoros. If Valley visitors will remember these rules—traffic
will move much faster over the bridges,” said government officials.
1965 at Brownsville International Airport with Johnny Cavasos and Maria Elena Guerrero of KGBT (photo shared by Leo Rodriguez)
The two dollar bill
limit was to prevent European nationals from brining U.S. currency into the
country from Mexico during WW II; the government forbade American money to
cross the border, except for $2 bills.
El torero “Bufo” enters
the ring…
With trumpets blaring and the crowd on its feet—the mighty
matador, Cantinflas, enters the ring to the thunderous applause of six thousand
people.
Just minutes into his routine, he had the spectators roaring
with laughter. When the bull paws the
ground, Cantinflas mimics the animal, as he fought and danced to death two
young bulls.
Along with the humorous antics, he was at his best when he
danced, at a safe distance from his meek adversary, the rumba, a danzon and
other pieces to the accompaniment of the music.
Once when the bull fell on a short turn, Cantinflas very
arrogantly went and positioned himself close to the animal to read a newspaper
–while the bull got pleasure from the break in the action.
On another occasion, as the animal lost his fighting spirit
and took a break, “El Terero Bufo” (comic matador) first sat, then reclined in
the arena and motioned for the animal to charge, but the bull with his tongue
hanging, decided rather to pause to draw breath.
The antics continued as the matador was undaunted by the
rushing bull — but what happened next brought screams of amusement, as the vain
matador’s pants felt off , revealing his pink underwear as he dashed for cover .
Bill Rudd and Rosa Anne Zamora-Rudd (photo courtesy of Rosanne Rudd)
Abdon Cepeda, who was five years old at the time was in
attendance on that day, and recently said, “I remember Cantinflas taking his
shoes off—and allowing the bull to take a sniff. Inhaling the foul smell brought the animal to
its knees, bringing instant laughter. “
In the finale, the trumpets come to life, the brave
matador’s routine ends when he uses a phony sword to attack the bull between
the horns. The sword bursts as it makes
contact into a beautiful bouquet of flowers—bringing a sigh of relief from the
murmuring crowd.
A newspaper report
declared, ”Amid his funny antics, which
included dancing in front of the bull, and at the same time making the animal
fight like an good matador, Cantinflas
lived up to his name of being Mexico’s ace comedian.“
1965
It is also written, that the “matador routine” was so
popular that many of his devoted impoverish fans were putting their possessions
in “hock” so they could see him perform— many pawnshops were closed to prevent
the unimaginable.
1965 With "Lucy and Debbie" at Fort Brown Motor Hotel
Cantinflas comes to
Brownsville…
By the mid 1940s, El Teatro Mexico in Brownsville and other
Valley cities brought Cantinflas to the movie screen.
I consider myself
fortunate that as a youth in the 1950s got to see Cantinflas and other popular
Mexican comics, like Tin Tan y Piporro.
1965 Manager of Majestic Theater Joe Trevino with wife Irma and friends at Majestic Theater
With a quarter in
hand, I stood in line that snaked around the theater—hopeful to make it in for
the first showing, if not, you continued in line for the next performance.
In a 1948 interview
Mario Moreno said, “Cantinflas represents the humble Mexican who wants to
overcome himself and accomplish something in life.” “This is the message of the films.”
Ole! Ole!
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