Chabelo

{{Infobox person

| name = Chabelo

| image = Chabelo en 2021 2.jpg

| caption = Chabelo in 2021

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1935|2|17}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| birth_name = Xavier López Rodríguez

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2023|03|25|1935|2|17}}

| death_place = Mexico City, Mexico

| nationality = Mexican

| occupation = Actor, television host

| years_active = 1952–2019

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

}}

Xavier López Rodríguez (17 February 1935 – 25 March 2023), known professionally as Chabelo, was a Mexican actor, comedian, television presenter and children's music singer. In addition to his television career, Chabelo appeared in more than thirty motion pictures and recorded more than thirty musical albums. He produced shows including La Cuchufleta, La Güereja Quiere Más{{cite news|date=18 February 2005 |work=Reforma|page=10 |title=Cumple Chabelo 77 años |id={{ProQuest|307487431}} }} and En Familia con Chabelo, the latter of which was broadcast every Sunday morning on Televisa's Canal de las Estrellas. It aired for 47 years and consisted of contests with people from the audience, gifts and games and was mainly for children.{{cite web |author=Televisa |url=http://www.chabelo.com/ |title=Chabelo |accessdate=2007-10-23}} The program ended on 20 December 2015. At the time of his death, he was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Early life

Xavier López was born on 17 February 1935 in Chicago, Illinois,[http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/chabelofestejatrescuartosdesiglo-614684.html ‘Chabelo’ festeja tres cuartos de siglo] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905201419/http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/chabelofestejatrescuartosdesiglo-614684.html |date=2013-09-05 }}. Vanguardia (2010-12-19). Retrieved on 2012-12-30. before the family moved back to Mexico and settled in the city of León, Guanajuato.

During the Korean War, López was drafted into the US Army and served on a military base in California before returning to Mexico.

After returning from his service, López began studying medicine with the hope of working as a doctor. While studying, he began working for the Televisa television network as an assistant and occasionally filled in for other actors, leading to him landing the creation of Chabelo.{{cite news |author=Toby Luckhurst |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55734398 |title=Chabelo: The Mexico TV legend who became a meme |date=25 March 2023 |accessdate=2023-03-26}}

Artistic career

Xavier López's career really began when he met a famous couple of actors, whose names were "Panseco y Gamboa". Panseco worked on radio, and Gamboa (Ramiro), worked on TV. This pair was already known in Mexico and they taught Chabelo the basics of the TV business.{{citation needed|date= November 2022}}

Xavier López was hired as his “Chabelo” character to be the spokesman of Pepsi Cola, for which he traveled all over North and South America. After the contract, he found himself unemployable due to his strong association with the Pepsi brand. He was hired for a show in New York City for a fraction of what he was used to charging, and ended up touring the US for six months with Tongolele. After the tour, he negotiated a return to TV for a half hour daily show.{{cite web|title=Durante 47 años Chabelo ha mantenido el mismo espíritu: vivir intensamente|url=http://www.canal100.com.mx/telemundo/entrevistas/?id_nota=1708|work=Canal 100|accessdate=2013-10-28|date=2001-12-01}} He also appeared as "Panchito" in Cantinflas film El Extra (1962).{{citation needed|date= November 2022}}

=''En Familia con Chabelo''=

File:ChabeloStatue.JPG

López had the idea of doing a show where parents and children could participate and enjoy these mornings together. En Familia con Chabelo (In Family with Chabelo) is well known in Latin America, it is a show with games, contests and gifts where Lopez plays the role of TV host, and presents himself as a child named Chabelo.{{cite web|title=El niño mas viejo de Mexico |url=http://www.oem.com.mx/elmexicano/notas/n1715446.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413145350/http://www.oem.com.mx/elmexicano/notas/n1715446.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-04-13 |accessdate=2010-10-09 }} On 30 December 2012, the show was awarded a Guinness Record for its 44 years of uninterrupted broadcast. Xavier López was awarded another Guinness Record for portraying the Chabelo character for over 57 years.{{cite web|title=Chabelo y "En Familia" reciben doble Record Guinness|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/890519.html|accessdate=2010-10-09}}

People involved in this program are children and their parents, with whom Chabelo interacts and gets them to participate in many contests. At the end of the show there is a famous contest called the Catafixia.{{cite web|title=La catafixia |url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/8760200 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411090645/http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/8760200 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-04-11 |accessdate=2010-05-01 }}

Other shows

Chabelo featured in more than thirty films and recorded more than thirty albums. He also produced many programs like La Escuelita VIP, and Los Simuladores.{{cite web|title=Chabelo productions|url=http://www2.esmas.com/entretenimiento/biografias/009429/chabelo/|accessdate=2009-11-11|archive-date=2020-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221185234/http://www2.esmas.com/entretenimiento/biografias/009429/chabelo|url-status=dead}}

Death

Chabelo died on 25 March 2023, at the age of 88.[https://www.milenio.com/espectaculos/famosos/chabelo-muere-xavier-lopez-actor-interpreto-personaje Murió Xavier López, 'Chabelo', actor y comediante] {{in lang|es}}