Orlando Manrufo, the comedian behind Havana favorite Mariconchi, dies

November 5, 2026

Cuban comedy lost one of its best-loved stage characters on November 4 with the death of Orlando Manrufo Córdova, the actor behind Mariconchi. Havana's Centro Promotor del Humor announced the news and sent condolences to his family and colleagues, without giving a cause of death, according to the Cuban News Agency (ACN), Prensa Latina and the newspaper Escambray.

Manrufo came to the stage late. He was a maritime transport engineer and spent 16 years in that job before joining the Olga Alonso amateur theater group in 1988, alongside future stars such as Corina Mestre, Bárbaro Marín, Laura de la Uz and Jorge Perugorría. Mariconchi, a quick-witted, uninhibited older woman, was born there almost by accident, when he put on a wig and improvised a parody of the TV show Nuestros hijos.

Comedian Osvaldo Doimeadiós, then head of the Centro Promotor del Humor, encouraged him to take the character beyond backstage sketches. His monologue Aventuras y desventuras de Mariconchi won the Aquelarre Prize, Cuba's top award for stage comedy. That led to La esquina de Mariconchi, a Thursday-night show at Havana's Teatro América that became one of the capital's most popular comedy nights, known for his back-and-forth with the audience.

Manrufo described his style as humor without aggression or insult, and he counted Eloísa Álvarez Guedes, María de los Ángeles Santana and Natalia Herrera among his influences. He also appeared in the show Bailando en Cuba 2: la historia no contada and performed with the cast of Vivir del cuento.