Gaspar Henaine

Gaspar Henaine Pérez (Chignahuapan, Puebla, January 6, 1926 - Mexico City, September 30, 2011) was an actor, comedian, musician, singer, producer of Mexican film and screenwriter, who rose to fame when he teamed up with Marco Antonio Campos creating the famous comedy and musical duet Viruta y Capulina. From then on he is commonly known as Capulina . He was also nicknamed "The King of White Humor" because he never used obscene words or adult content situations in his jokes, he belonged to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Biography

Capulina was born on January 6, 1926, in Chignahuapan, Puebla. Her father (Antonio Henaine Helú) was of Lebanese origin, being related to the family of Carlos Slim Helú and Alfredo Harp Helú and her mother was from Puebla of Hispanic-Filipino origin. When she was six years old, she moved with her family to Mexico City.

In 1943, at the age of seventeen, Capulina began his artistic career as a singer and actor. He participated in the quartet of musicians called “ Los Excéntricos del Ritmo ”. Later he was part of the trio "Los Trincas", with whom he appeared several times for Channel 2. In 1952 he met Marco Antonio Campos Contreras, later nicknamed "Viruta", to whom he proposed to form a comic duet to participate in the XEW program Cómicos y canciones but Viruta did not initially accept because he had had a conflict with his partner José Domínguez Flores "Chamula", due to the alcoholism that he suffered from, but Capulina's insistence was so great that Viruta ended up agreeing to work with him.

The couple started out as "Capulina y Don Viruta en la radio". The nickname of "Capulina" he took it from the punch line of a "colorado" which refers to a black dog, the punchline of the joke is "well, move Capulina". In an interview with the program Historias engarzadas , on TV Azteca, the actor told the origin of the nickname with which he was widely known. He worked with other actors with great comic and dramatic expression, such as Yerye Beirute and Lupe Carriles.

A pioneer of Mexican television on Channel 4 and Channel 2, Capulina became famous throughout Latin America together with his professional partner "Viruta", when in 1953 they began filming films together, of which They made about 26. At first these actors imitated the style of the American comedians Laurel and Hardy, better known as El Gordo y el Flaco, taking advantage of their physical similarities with the former. However, over time they both developed their own style of comedy that would characterize them.

For a few years they hosted the television program Cómicos y canciones on Telesistema Mexicano. Many rumors were generated when these two actors stopped making movies together; some pointed out that Viruta felt slighted but Capulina attributed the separation to an argument between them caused by the lack of contracts in the cinema during the final period of their artistic relationship, although it was well known in the media that Viruta was an alcoholic. Their relationship, both personally and artistically, ended in enmity on the part of Marco Antonio Campos Contreras, Capulina admitted that both had irreconcilable differences and the relationship was very difficult in their last six films together.

The two actors maintained a close real-life friendship during their time as a duo. However, in 1966, Campos's relationship with Henaine worsened due to disagreements. The most accepted version of their separation was when during a charity event in Acolman, State of Mexico, for the benefit of underprivileged children, Mario Espino "Clavillazo", gave a donation of ten thousand pesos. When Capulina was going to deliver her donation, Viruta sat him down and got up, saying: "well, we, I think that they are helped by being seen on television." But Capulina said: "What a good joke my compadrito made!" and they also gave ten thousand pesos, much to Viruta's anger. This incident precipitated Capulina to propose the breakup of the duo. Versions indicate that Viruta would have offered to act as Capulina's representative, an offer that Viruta later ignored. This last incident would represent the final break for the duo, although in 1966 they met again to film their last two films: A Pair of Robachicos and Two Picturesque Painters. When he said of his close ones, "they seemed the same, but they did not speak offstage." After these films, Campos and Henaine never worked together again.

After their separation, Campos Contreras never agreed to reconcile with Henaine, who did not attend his funeral. It was said that Campos had asked his family that if he died first, they would not allow him to enter his wake and if he attended, they would take him out immediately "with kicks". Despite everything, Capulina affirmed that she never held any grudges and felt great sadness when Viruta passed away.

The films in which Capulina starred as a soloist were clearly aimed at children, unlike the previous works with Viruta, which had a more sophisticated comedy style and were aimed at all audiences. In some of them she shared the scene with Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Chespirito), who was the scriptwriter for most of her productions. Capulina made a total of 84 films, 58 of them after separating from his partner Viruta. He also recorded 12 music albums. One of his most famous films was El Santo vs. Capulina (1968), in which he worked with Mexican wrestling legend El Santo.

Capulina was also a bullfighter, theater actor, and stage comedian. He was also the initiator of the first circus headed by a renowned artist, El Circo de Capulina, with which he traveled throughout Latin America. His last acting job was in 1999 in the telenovela El diario de Daniela. Capulina spent her last days with his family, with the savings he raised as a film and television actor. He is the father of fellow actor Antonio Henaine, who works under the stage name & # 34; Toño Moño & # 34; and follows the line of white humor of his father; He worked with him as a comic couple in the last season of El Circo de Capulina, in 2001.

Illness and death

On September 21, 2011, Capulina was hospitalized due to intestinal obstruction due to nausea and vomiting that was complicated by pneumonia in a hospital in the south of Mexico City. He passed away on September 30, 2011 at the age of 84, as a result of cardiorespiratory arrest.

Filmography

Television

Cinema

Comic

Capulina was the main character of the comic books "Aventuras de Viruta y Capulina" and "Aventuras de Capulina", edited and published weekly by Editormex Mexicana, with drawings by Héctor Macedo and written by Ángel Morales. The magazine "Aventuras de Capulina" pulled over 1000 different numbers. Ten years later, "Aventuras de Capulinita" which were the same comics in pocket format. In these stories you could see his coexistence with his grandfather Capulet, going from not having enough to eat to being a multimillionaire and once again subsisting with difficulty. They also stood out, Doña Pachita, the caretaker of the neighborhood where they live; General Balarrasa, a veteran of the Mexican Revolution, and the manager of the store where Capulina works, Mr. Quiñones. In the comics, Capulina is also presented as a great conqueror of women and rival of his own grandfather. You can see some scenes from the life of Mexico in the 1970s and some references before and after.