I was 9 in 1971 when Roberto Gomez Bolaños debuted his sitcom, “El Chavo del Ocho,” on Mexican TV.
My family had a small black and white set, and we’d sit around watching this new show, set in a working-class neighborhood with a cast of characters we identified with immediately.
We had a neighbor just like Doña Florinda, an older single mom in an apron and curlers, who complained about the "low-lives" in the 'hood and warned her son not to hang out with “them." Her teenage son, Kiko, was played by an adult in the kind of two-piece sailor outfit that little kids wear. He was a riot.
But the center of the show was “El Chavo del Ocho,” played by Gomez Bolaños himself. He was a homeless teenager who lived in a barrel, smack in the middle of the patio, dreaming with a ham sandwich.
Gomez Bolaños always dressed in the same outfit: shorts, a worn, striped T-shirt and a cap. His voice was soft and innocent, and every time he was in a scene, he’d say the funniest things.
The reason my family and I loved the show was that Gomez Bolaños talked the way we talked. His verbal expressions and body language were so infectious they were quickly adopted by everyone, young and old.
“El Chavo del Ocho” was so popular that Gomez Bolaños launched another show the following year: “El Chapulin Colorado.”
“More agile than a turtle! Stronger than a mouse! More noble than a head of lettuce! His shield is a heart! It’s ‘The Red Grasshopper’!” went the tagline. And there he was, a short, skinny, middle-aged guy in red tights and antennae.
El Chapulin Colorado was the perfect anti-hero. Unlike all the other "superheroes" that populated Mexican TV — most of them American — El Chapulin wasn’t strong or tall or good looking. He was everything a hero is not.
When I heard about the death of Roberto Gomez Bolaños last weekend, I remember how much I enjoyed watching “El Chavo del Ocho” every week with my family, how much I appreciated seeing the lives of characters who reflected my life and that of my neighbors.
Like many others across the continent, I picked up a couple of Gomez Bolaños expressions, including this one from “El Chapulin Colorado” — “Síganme los buenos — The good ones, follow me”.