Enrique Arredondo

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The Cuban actor Enrique Arredondo left behind a trail of admiration earned through his remarkable performances on the stage, in cinema, and on national radio and television.

He won the affection of several generations of Cubans because he was a witty individual, possessing a versatility that made him seem like part of the people's family.

Arredondo was a native Habanero. He was born in the Cuban capital on April 2, 1906. And perhaps because he came from a family of very modest economic means, and lived in a neighborhood of that character, where poor financial and political situations were largely resisted by making light of everything, he knew how to find the essence of the joking typical of those from the capital, which without being crude, moves from double meaning to straightforward jokes, seasoned by the speaker's personal charm.

A man of bufo theater, he nevertheless had to first work quite a long stretch as a messenger, orange seller, foundry worker and presser in a shoe factory before standing before an audience that always responded to him with the applause of laughter.

Because Arredondo knew how to make people laugh, not smile, as some ungraceful and talentless artists nowadays say about so-called introspective or intellectualized humor while taking refuge in the common refrain: We work so that you will smile…

A Cuban humorous actor who stood out in theater and television, and who also ventured into cinema and radio. Bernabé, the name by which he was known in Cuba, in allusion to one of his most popular characters, worked from a very young age in various trades until in 1923, at only 17 years old, he began to interpret the classic "Negrito" of Cuban Vernacular Theater.

From 1923 Enrique Arredondo continued performing in various theater companies such as Manuel Bolaños's Company, Mario Sorondo's, and Guillermo Moreno's. With these and other groups of this type, Arredondo traveled throughout Cuba on countless occasions, while also writing a good number of sainetes, apropósitos and revues. In 1928 he formed a company with journalist and author Luis Amado Francés, with Federico Piñero in 1930, with José Sanabria in 1931 and with Pedro Castany on various occasions from 1934, until finally in 1940 he founded his own theatrical company.

In this year 1934 he was hired to replace Sergio Acebal in the character of the Negrito at the famous Teatro Alhambra. Enrique Arredondo came to be considered one of the best interpreters of this type of character, alongside Ramón Espígul, Alberto Garrido and Sergio Acebal himself.

He performed in Tampa, in Puerto Rico and in several cities in Mexico such as Mérida, Veracruz, Campeche, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Mexico City, where he was hired to perform in a musical revue alongside such prominent figures as comedians Tin Tan and Palillo.

His early radio work was with the character Virutica, later he gave life to Chicharito, which later remained on the radio for more than 10 years as part of the duo Chicharito and Sopeira, in the voices of Federico Piñero and Alberto Garrido. Another radio character was Doctor Chapotín, created for the CMQ station in 1947, which he would later take up again for television. From 1979 until his death he also participated in the program Alegrías de Sobremesa, alongside Idalberto Delgado and Wilfredo Fernández.

His first film experience was in 1950, in the film What Luck the Cuban Has, which was followed by Our Man in Havana (1959), with Noel Coward, Alec Guinness and Maureen O'Hara. In 1977 he participates in Son o no Son by Humberto García Espinosa.

But it is television, along with theater, where Enrique Arredondo made his greatest and most remembered contributions. He began in 1956 in the programs Sitio Alegre, Mi familia, El show del mediodía, and later in the Sunday program Revista Regalías.

In 1961 he resumed his theatrical career for a few years, returning to his role as Negrito. When he returns to television he begins to incorporate new characters. Then comes the handsome Cheo Malanga in the program San Nicolás del Peladero, as well as the return of Doctor Chapotín.

In 1969 he joins the cast of a very popular program known as Detrás de la fachada, where he created Bernabé, the most well-known and popular of his characters. In Cuba an anecdote is remembered whereby, in a live broadcast of this program, the character of Bernabé threatens his grandson with if you don't behave well, I'm going to punish you by making you watch Russian cartoons.

In those years he managed to circumvent the tacit prohibition against saying "morcillas" (improvised jokes) with the introduction of phrases that, when repeated, became classic and popular expressions, such as "No pué seee", "No lie, you're deceiving me", or "How dare you!" In this program Arredondo shared the stage with Cepero Brito, Consuelito Vidal. With the great Germán Pinelli he performed great scenes in San Nicolás del Peladero.

In 1981 the Letras Cubanas publishing house published The Life of a Comedian, an autobiography written by Enrique Arredondo in which he narrates his personal and artistic life until 1979. This book reflects the difficult conditions in which Cuban theatrical artists developed their work. His autobiography also reveals another of his great passions: baseball; although he never played as a professional ballplayer, he participated on no few occasions in games between teams from the territories to which he also gave his art.

In 1986, the first symptoms of an illness began that would eventually cause his death. However, he continues working and participates in several projects and satirical-musical revues, in collaboration with authors Enrique Núñez Rodríguez, Héctor Zumbado and Alberto Luberta.

His contribution of unforgettable characters and theatrical texts remains in the memory and tradition of Cubans. Enrique Arredondo was one of those popular artists formed through talent and experience on the stage. He considered himself a follower of his idol Arquímedes Pous, and is considered alongside other actors and actresses such as Alicia Rico, Candita Quintana and Leopoldo Fernández as a classic of Cuban bufo theater.