Sergio Acebal Gener

Journalist, comic actor and playwright. Cuban vernacular theater owes him the famous creation of his "Negrito" character that he personified at Teatro Alhambra for 20 years. He maintained a section in "Diario de la Marina" for many years. Among his works, Casos y cosas and Cositas stood out, examples of his literary wit.

He debuted as an amateur around 1908, in a Spanish drama. In 1911 his professional debut took place in the company of actor Gerardo Artecona. In 1912 he appeared successfully in the company of Regino López, of Teatro Alhambra, playing the "negrito" in the work Regino por la Isla (1912). From that moment on, he became the irreplaceable "negrito del Alhambra".

Acebal possessed an artistic versatility that allowed him to offer five modalities of negrito: the naive, the old black man, the professional bully, the academic, the witty talker.

He shone in the titles:
La casita criolla (1912)
"El negrito de Alambra" La danza de los millones (1916)
Delirio de automóvil (1921)
La isla de las cotorras (1923)
La blanca que tenía el alma negra (1927)
El proceso de Mario Cubán (1929)
He remained there until 1934 when he separated from Regino and formed a company with Pepe del Campo at Teatro Payret.

He wrote several operettas and short plays Flor de thé (1915), the most famous; La bella Polar (1916), published some chronicles in "Diario de la Marina", a novel and the volume Mis memorias (1955).

He also performed for radio, where he gained great popularity with his characters "Catuca" and "Don Jaime", for which he wrote the scripts, during the 1930s. He was interviewed in the documentary Cuentos del Alhambra (Manuel Octavio Gómez, 1962).

But in the 1950s, there were many who sought sustenance writing in the press like Sergio Acebal with his column "Picadillo criollo", of a customary nature in "Diario de la Marina", where using rhyme, he advertised products. He also did for many years his festive poetry section titled "Casos y cosas".

He also acted in the first films of Cuban cinema such as La hija del policía or En poder de los ñáñigos, La brujería en acción and others. In several films by Díaz Quesada.

He performed his archetypal creation with blackened face, and in 1919 he wrote, produced and starred in the film Acebal se saca el gordo. He was one of the first Cuban artists to make recordings using the electrical system. Without having exceptional ear for music, everything he sang and danced on the capital's stages was clamored for encores.

He remained active for more than twenty-five years and numerous scripts were written for him in Regino López's Company.

He ceased to exist on December 15, 1965 in Havana, Cuba.

Works
He has been heard in:
(1917)
Mala gandinga, a parody of Mala entraña
(1918)
Un negrito mentiroso, with Eloísa Trías.
El arca de Noé.
Clases de rumba.
Acebal en las trincheras.
Mercado libre and La ley de los vagos.