Chabelo: The Mexico TV legend who became a meme - BBC News

Xavier López Rodriguez's squeaky-voiced character sparked many an internet meme.

23 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Xavier López Rodríguez played the character of Chabelo from the 1950sBy Toby LuckhurstBBC NewsEvery Sunday morning for nearly five decades, millions of Mexican families gathered around their televisions to watch Chabelo.

The squeaky-voiced, short-wearing child character was played by Mexican actor, entertainer and businessman Xavier López Rodriguez, who died on Saturday at the age of 88.

His children's game show En Familia con Chabelo (Family Time with Chabelo) aired live every Sunday for 45 years and even made the Guinness Book of Records for its unprecedented broadcast run.

This longevity inspired a massive internet fandom celebrating Chabelo's seeming immortality. Although the television programme finished in 2015, memes about the character - inserting him into Mexican historical events, placing him at the Last Supper or even suggesting he had lived through the Big Bang - continued for years.

But these irreverent jokes hid a genuine affection. Generations grew up with Chabelo's albums, films and Sunday television series. As Laura Martínez, a Mexican journalist based in New York, told the BBC, "There is not one Mexican person who doesn't know Chabelo."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-55734398?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA


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