El Chómpiras
Encyclopedia
Los Caquitos is a sketch comedy
of the Chespirito (program)
television comedy program that ran from 1980 to 1995. It was created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños
, who also played one of the title characters, "El Chómpiras".
that did not last the full half-hour. By 1973, El Chavo episodes were all a half-hour long and did not need the filler sketches, and shorter Chapulín episodes ceased to use Caquitos sketches; so the characters virtually disappeared.
). Since most of the Caquitos sketches performed on the new show were simply remakes of the ones that had appeared years before on the older ones, Botija's character was extremely similar to Peterete's, except physically, since Botija was extremely fat, and Peterete was extremely thin.
) who had moplike hair, a chipped tooth and constantly chewed a piece of gum. She was soon established as the conscience of the sketches; often she would earn money doing a respectable job, usually cleaning or babysitting. Many episodes didn't have to do with Chompiras's and Botija's incompetent burgling but instead focused on life in Chimoltrufia and Botija's tiny apartment. A neighbor named Doña Nachita (Angelines Fernández
) started appearing frequently and eventually became a regular. Policemen were a regular feature in Caquitos sketches, but by mid 1980s, Rubén Aguirre
became the sketch's definitive policeman, the dimwitted Sgt. Refugio. Around this time there were many sketches that took place at the police station as the characters tried to argue their innocence after being arrested; presiding over these cases was a judge played by Raúl Padilla
, who was eventually named Licenciado Morales.
By the late 1980s, "Chespirito" started shifting away from "Chavo" and "Chapulín" sketches, as Chespirito and the others were getting older and less believable in those roles. The focus went to Los caquitos, prompting a major change. Inspired by an episode of "El Chavo", in which Chavo is wrongly accused of stealing, Botija and Chompiras vow to never steal again and get honest jobs. They and Chimoltrufia eventually settle into jobs at the inexpensive Hotel Lucho, run by Don Lucho (Carlos Pouliot). Chimoltrufia was a chambermaid and always did her job to the best of her ability, but Botija and Chompiras tried to get by doing as little work as possible.
stopped appearing (presumably due to her declining health and subsuquent death from an unspecified cancer) and was gradually placed by Chimoltrufia's mother Espotaverderona (Anabelle Gutierréz), who looked like a plump, middle-aged version of Chimoltrufia. Also, one hotel guests began appearing regularly; her name was Maruja (María Antonieta de las Nieves
) and she attracted the attention of a lot of men, especially Sgt. Refugio. Then, Don Lucho closed his hotel, and the trio had to look for other jobs. For several episodes they tried other lines of work but in 1993 a new hotel opened, run by Don Cecilio (Moisés Suárez) and they got their old jobs back. Cecilio's hotel, Hotel Buenavista, was nicer than Don Lucho's, but the routine was just the same and some of the storylines from the early Lucho episodes were recycled.
In 1994 and 1995, "Chespirito" started returning to its old format of present several different sketches during the show, but most featured a long "Chompiras" sketch. In 1995, Chespirito decided to bring the whole thing to a close and stopped producing episodes.
For a short time, Edgar Vivar
left the show due to health problems stemming from his weight. To explain Vivar's absence, it was written into the show that Botija was away at a weight-loss clinic, which was also the actor's real-life health situation. Vivar would return some time later, having lost a noticeable amount of weight.
In one episode, the floor of the elevator gave way, and Botija was stuck.
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
of the Chespirito (program)
Chespirito (program)
Chespirito is a sketch comedy show that airs Chespirito's characters such as El Chavo and El Chapulin Colorado. The show aired from 1970 to 1995 with the length of 15 years...
television comedy program that ran from 1980 to 1995. It was created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños
Roberto Gómez Bolaños
Roberto Gómez Bolaños is a Mexican writer, actor, director, comedian, humorist, songwriter, poet and philosopher. He is best known by his stage name Chespirito .-Life and work:...
, who also played one of the title characters, "El Chómpiras".
Origins
Originally, Chómpiras was a pickpocket and cat burglar who worked with an associate named Peterete (Ramón Valdéz). Their skills in thievery were marginal, but Peterete was ostensibly the more intelligent and skilled of the pair. Together, they were known as Los caquitos (Which is roughly translated as "The little thieves", "caquito" being a diminutive of "caco" which is Spanish for "thief" or "hoodlum") and appeared on Chespirito's comedy programs in the 1970s, usually preceding an episode of El Chavo del Ocho or El Chapulín ColoradoEl Chapulín Colorado
El Chapulín Colorado is a television series, created and played by Roberto Gómez Bolaños, also known as Chespirito, a successful Mexican comedian and TV show producer, which parodied superhero shows...
that did not last the full half-hour. By 1973, El Chavo episodes were all a half-hour long and did not need the filler sketches, and shorter Chapulín episodes ceased to use Caquitos sketches; so the characters virtually disappeared.
Debut on Chespirito
In 1980, a new show premiered called Chespirito which was an hour long and employed all of Chespirito's characters in sketches of varying lengths. On "Chespirito", El Chompiras and Los caquitos were revived. However, Ramón Valdéz had left Chespirito's troupe in 1979, so Peterete was forgotten and replaced with Botija (Edgar VivarEdgar Vivar
Edgar Vivar is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered as "Señor Barriga" and his son "Ñoño" from the El Chavo del Ocho television series, and as "El Botija" from the El Chapulín Colorado and Chespirito television series...
). Since most of the Caquitos sketches performed on the new show were simply remakes of the ones that had appeared years before on the older ones, Botija's character was extremely similar to Peterete's, except physically, since Botija was extremely fat, and Peterete was extremely thin.
Development
The characters weren't very fleshed out originally, but as Chespirito began writing new sketches for the hourlong show, some of which lasted the entire hour, so their backstories became more expanded. Botija was single at first, but got married very quickly to a woman called Chimoltrufia (Florinda MezaFlorinda Meza
Florinda Meza García de Gómez is a Mexican actress of film and television; she is also a writer, director, and producer. She started her career when Roberto Gómez Bolaños cast her in El Chavo as "Doña Florinda"...
) who had moplike hair, a chipped tooth and constantly chewed a piece of gum. She was soon established as the conscience of the sketches; often she would earn money doing a respectable job, usually cleaning or babysitting. Many episodes didn't have to do with Chompiras's and Botija's incompetent burgling but instead focused on life in Chimoltrufia and Botija's tiny apartment. A neighbor named Doña Nachita (Angelines Fernández
Angelines Fernández
Angelines Fernández was a Spanish-born actress of Mexican film and television, best-known for portraying "Doña Clotilde" on the Televisa sitcom El Chavo.Fernández struggled as an actress in Spain. She flew to Mexico in 1947...
) started appearing frequently and eventually became a regular. Policemen were a regular feature in Caquitos sketches, but by mid 1980s, Rubén Aguirre
Rubén Aguirre
Rubén Aguirre is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered for his characterization of in the Televisa's television show El Chavo del Ocho. Aguirre also participated in another well known television show of the era, El Chapulín Colorado, albeit less frequently.-Life and work:Rubén Aguirre was born...
became the sketch's definitive policeman, the dimwitted Sgt. Refugio. Around this time there were many sketches that took place at the police station as the characters tried to argue their innocence after being arrested; presiding over these cases was a judge played by Raúl Padilla
Raul Padilla
Raúl "Chato" Padilla was a Mexican actor, and a member of Chespirito's comedy troupe, famous for his character in El Chavo del Ocho, Jaimito el Cartero . Padilla joined the show in 1979 following the departure of Ramon Valdez, gradually taking over the sorts of roles Valdez used to play...
, who was eventually named Licenciado Morales.
By the late 1980s, "Chespirito" started shifting away from "Chavo" and "Chapulín" sketches, as Chespirito and the others were getting older and less believable in those roles. The focus went to Los caquitos, prompting a major change. Inspired by an episode of "El Chavo", in which Chavo is wrongly accused of stealing, Botija and Chompiras vow to never steal again and get honest jobs. They and Chimoltrufia eventually settle into jobs at the inexpensive Hotel Lucho, run by Don Lucho (Carlos Pouliot). Chimoltrufia was a chambermaid and always did her job to the best of her ability, but Botija and Chompiras tried to get by doing as little work as possible.
Final years
As the years passed, Chimoltrufia became more and more prominent until she was as much of the focus of the sketch as Chompiras, possibly more. (To call it a "sketch" is not really fair at this point; by 1992, almost all "Chespirito" episodes were hour-long Chompiras "sketches".) A few changes came at that time. First, Angelines FernándezAngelines Fernández
Angelines Fernández was a Spanish-born actress of Mexican film and television, best-known for portraying "Doña Clotilde" on the Televisa sitcom El Chavo.Fernández struggled as an actress in Spain. She flew to Mexico in 1947...
stopped appearing (presumably due to her declining health and subsuquent death from an unspecified cancer) and was gradually placed by Chimoltrufia's mother Espotaverderona (Anabelle Gutierréz), who looked like a plump, middle-aged version of Chimoltrufia. Also, one hotel guests began appearing regularly; her name was Maruja (María Antonieta de las Nieves
María Antonieta de las Nieves
María Antonieta de las Nieves is a Mexican actress of voice-over, film, and television; best known for her portrayal of "La Chilindrina" in the Televisa sitcom, El Chavo del Ocho...
) and she attracted the attention of a lot of men, especially Sgt. Refugio. Then, Don Lucho closed his hotel, and the trio had to look for other jobs. For several episodes they tried other lines of work but in 1993 a new hotel opened, run by Don Cecilio (Moisés Suárez) and they got their old jobs back. Cecilio's hotel, Hotel Buenavista, was nicer than Don Lucho's, but the routine was just the same and some of the storylines from the early Lucho episodes were recycled.
In 1994 and 1995, "Chespirito" started returning to its old format of present several different sketches during the show, but most featured a long "Chompiras" sketch. In 1995, Chespirito decided to bring the whole thing to a close and stopped producing episodes.
For a short time, Edgar Vivar
Edgar Vivar
Edgar Vivar is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered as "Señor Barriga" and his son "Ñoño" from the El Chavo del Ocho television series, and as "El Botija" from the El Chapulín Colorado and Chespirito television series...
left the show due to health problems stemming from his weight. To explain Vivar's absence, it was written into the show that Botija was away at a weight-loss clinic, which was also the actor's real-life health situation. Vivar would return some time later, having lost a noticeable amount of weight.
Regular characters
- El Chómpiras (Roberto Gómez BolañosRoberto Gómez BolañosRoberto Gómez Bolaños is a Mexican writer, actor, director, comedian, humorist, songwriter, poet and philosopher. He is best known by his stage name Chespirito .-Life and work:...
) is the title character. Previously he was an "amateur" thief as he recalls, along with Peterete and later Botija. - El Peterete(the late Ramon ValdesRamón ValdésRamón Gómez Valdés de Castillo often credited as Ramón Valdéz, was a Mexican actor. He was born in Mexico City...
): El Chómpiras' original partner in crime. After Vivar's Botija character took his place, no mention was made of what happened to el Peterete. It is believed that this was due to Valdes no longer being involved with the "Chespirito" program, whether due to failing health or his decision to appear on "Ah Que Kiko" with Carlos VillagranCarlos VillagránCarlos Villagrán Eslava is a Mexican comedy actor and former journalist. Villagrán combined both acting and writing at first; he became known for a character named Quico.-Life and work:...
. - Gordon Botija (Edgar VivarEdgar VivarEdgar Vivar is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered as "Señor Barriga" and his son "Ñoño" from the El Chavo del Ocho television series, and as "El Botija" from the El Chapulín Colorado and Chespirito television series...
) is the second regular from 1993 to 1995. He is "large", and was also a thief along with Chómpiras. Botija married Chimoltrufia, and later worked in the Hotel Buenavista. Over the length of Vivar's tenure as Botija, the character's last name has changed. In one of the earliest sketches, he claimed that his first name was "Boti" and his last name was "Ja". In other sketches, he claims his full name is "Gordon Botija y Aguado," and in others, "Gordon Botija Pompa y Pompa." Both names were puns on Vivar's rotund figure. The character also claims that his father was English, and that he was also a fan of Flash GordonFlash GordonFlash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
, hence his first name of "Gordon." - La Chimoltrufia (Florinda MezaFlorinda MezaFlorinda Meza García de Gómez is a Mexican actress of film and television; she is also a writer, director, and producer. She started her career when Roberto Gómez Bolaños cast her in El Chavo as "Doña Florinda"...
), born María Expropiación Petronila Lascurain y Torquemada de Botija, is the wife of Botija. She has broom-like hair and works as a hotel maid.
Other characters
- Sargento Refugio Pasguato (Ruben AguirreRubén AguirreRubén Aguirre is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered for his characterization of in the Televisa's television show El Chavo del Ocho. Aguirre also participated in another well known television show of the era, El Chapulín Colorado, albeit less frequently.-Life and work:Rubén Aguirre was born...
) - Doña Espotaverderona (Anabel Gutierrez): La Chimoltrufia's mother
- Don Cecilio (Moises Suarez): Owner of the Hotel Buenavista, the hotel where Chompiras, Botija and la Chimoltrufia work.
- Don Lucho (Carlos Pouliot): The owner of Hotel Don Lucho, where Chompiras, Botija and la Chimoltrufia originally worked. When Pouliot elected to leave the show, his absence was explained by saying that Hotel Don Lucho burned down, so the trio was forced to seek jobs elsewhere.
- Doña Nachita (the late Angelines FernandezAngelines FernándezAngelines Fernández was a Spanish-born actress of Mexican film and television, best-known for portraying "Doña Clotilde" on the Televisa sitcom El Chavo.Fernández struggled as an actress in Spain. She flew to Mexico in 1947...
): La Chimoltrufia's next-door neighbor and the apartment building's gossip. Does not always get along with Botija, but she is infatuated with Chompiras. - Marujita (Maria Antonieta de las NievesMaría Antonieta de las NievesMaría Antonieta de las Nieves is a Mexican actress of voice-over, film, and television; best known for her portrayal of "La Chilindrina" in the Televisa sitcom, El Chavo del Ocho...
): Sgt. Refugio's girlfriend. - Licenciado Morales (the late Raul "Chato" "Padilla): Sgt. Refugio's commanding officer.
- Doña Ramona Pompa y Pompa (Edgar VivarEdgar VivarEdgar Vivar is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered as "Señor Barriga" and his son "Ñoño" from the El Chavo del Ocho television series, and as "El Botija" from the El Chapulín Colorado and Chespirito television series...
): Botija's mother.
Running gags
- The comb: If Chómpiras angered Botija (or Peterete), the latter would take out a comb and painstakingly straightenHair straighteningHair straightening is a hair styling technique which involves the flattening and straightening of hair in order to give it a smooth, streamlined, and 'sleek' appearance. It may be accomplished by using hair irons and hot combs, chemical relaxers, Japanese hair straightening, or Brazilian hair...
Chompiras hair before giving him a hard slap on the face that sent him spinning (and disarrayed his hair). - The Warning after the comb: After the classical comb slap, Peterete/Botija always warned Chómpiras (always starting with their catchphrase "y la proxima vez...": "And next time...") that the next time he screwed up or ticked them off again, providing a gruesome yet comical description on what they will do to him.
- Chimoltrufia's speech patterns: Chimoltrufia had a large number of nonsensical catchphrases, usually involving malapropism, redundancy, or just plain weird speech. One of her best known catchphrases is "¿Para que le digo que no?, si sí": "Why tell you no, if yes?"
- The elevator: Working at the hotel, Botija usually read a book or slept inside the elevator he supposedly operated. When a customer wanted to use it, he told them to use the stairs. If they demanded an explanation, he replied that the elevator couldn't carry both his weight and the customer's. When the customer suggested that Botija step out and allow him to use the elevator, Botija refused, insisting that only he could operate the elevator. The end result was that the customer almost always ended up using the stairs--and lodging a complaint with Don Lucho or Don Cecilio.
In one episode, the floor of the elevator gave way, and Botija was stuck.
- The tip: When working as a bellhop, Chompiras will ask if he was going to receive a tip before he even carried any luggage, which angered Don Cecilio or Don Lucho.
- Insults: Any time when Chompiras was insulted by someone (usually Botija) calling him idiot or animal he will reply "¿Que soy que?": "I`m what?", then the other character will repeat the insult in a louder voice to which Chompiras will take a completely relaxed attitude while sayin "Ah, si, si": "Oh, yeah, yeah"
- The Police Station: Chompiras, Botija and la Chimoltrufia would almost always end up in some sort of dispute that would involve Licenciado Morales (the late Raul "Chato" Padilla). He would have to shout three times for them all to be quiet, and after the third time they would stop talking--all except for Chompiras, who almost always would have the last word.
External links
- Los Caquitos at the Official Chespirito Website