To celebrate the 113th anniversary of the birth of comic actor Mario Moreno (1911-1993), better known as ‘Cantinflas’, a mural was unveiled in his honor in the Mexican capital on Monday, which will kick off a series of events that will culminate in a new tour that will take tourists from his home to the new museum that will bear his name.
In this new mural, created by urban artist Yuca, you can see Mario Moreno in four of his different facets: in a suit and serious, as in the film ‘El profe’ (1971) or with his typical attire in ‘Ahí está el detalle’ (1940); a long shirt, wide, baggy pants, a hat, a red scarf around his neck and a piece of cloth that he called a gabardine.
In another section of the mural, you can see ‘Cantinflas’ as ‘El Patrullero 777’ (1987), in his blue uniform with yellow details and his round helmet, as well as a caricature alluding to his image as ‘El barrendero’ (1981).
Cantinflas
The urban artist Yuka poses next to his mural dedicated to the Mexican actor Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”, unveiled in the popular Guerrero neighborhood of Mexico City (Mexico). EFE/José Méndez
All of them with their budding mustache on a background in purple, wine and purple colors and an old film strip along the wall.
The commemoration
The author, Yuca, revealed that his work was made in two days only with spray paint, under the concept of ‘graffiti’; although he recognized that it was not easy to represent the Mexican comedian and actor in his most emblematic feature films.
The work of the author, who has been in graffiti for more than 28 years, is located at Lázaro Cárdenas 182, in the Santa María la Redonda neighborhood, close to the center of the Mexican capital, the place where Mario Moreno was born.
In addition, a commemorative plaque was unveiled for his 113th birthday, which reads: “Here in Santa María la Redonda (…) Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, Cantinflas, was born, internationally recognized for his importance as a comic actor, businessman, philanthropist and icon of Mexican identity.”
In the framework of his celebration, the Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco, announced that a new National Lottery ticket with his image will be launched, which will be drawn on August 25 of this year.
He said that the ‘Carpa Valentina’ will open in the second week of September, within what will be the ‘Mario Moreno Cantinflas’ museum, which, he said, “is part of the strategy to create anchor attractions to be more competitive in the international arena.”
In honor of the Mexican comedian
Afterwards, and by the end of the year, he added, the aforementioned museum will fully open its doors to the Mexican and foreign public, with exhibition areas, a cafeteria, a souvenir shop, among other amenities and that it will be located in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City.
The Mexican government official explained that they are also working on a new tourist route for the ‘Turibus’, a tourist bus, which will travel to the main sites of interest around the figure of ‘Cantinflas’.
Aurora Marbez Baños, co-founder of the museum, said that this “is confirmation that legends never die” and celebrated that after 12 years this museum could finally be launched in honor of the Mexican comedian.
Carlos Cordero, director of the museum, emphasized that the new venue will not only include Mario Moreno, but also Cantinflas, a duo that, he said, was a social phenomenon that knew how, “through ingenuity, to address and criticize deep and complex issues with humor, becoming the voice of the Mexican people.”
“In the museum we are going to discover Mario Moreno and we are going to rediscover Cantinflas,” he concluded.
Source: efe
