El Chavo del Ocho (character)

El Chavo del Ocho ("The Kid/Boy from number Eight", Spanish chavo also meaning "cent") or El Chavo is a Mexican fictional character and the protagonist of the Mexican television sitcom series of the same name. He was played by Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Chespirito), despite the obvious age difference between the actor and the character, and in the animated series his voice is played by Jesús Guzmán. In the English dub version of the animated series, he is voiced by Mona Marshall. Chavo means "boy" in colloquial Mexican language, his real name is unknown. He is very enthusiastic, creative and well-meaning, but also very innocent, which is why other children take advantage of him. He's not very bright and he's a bit clumsy. It is said that he came to the neighborhood at the age of four and apparently lives in apartment #8, it is not known with whom exactly, but it is said that an old woman took care of him in her apartment until she died.

El Chavo del Ocho
El Chavo del Ocho character
El Chavo as he appears in Chespirito
First appearance	El Ropavejero (1972)
Last appearance	Historias de amor II (Love Stories II) (2014)
Created by	Roberto Gómez Bolaños
Portrayed by	Roberto Gómez Bolaños
Voiced by	Jesús Guzmán (El Chavo Animado) Mona Marshall (El Chavo Animado; English dub)
In-universe information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Occupation	Primary student
Family	Unknown
Religion	Catholic
Home	Flat 8 in Señor Barriga's neighborhood
Nationality	Mexican
Age	8 years old

Personality

children's performance; From El Chavo. For Salvadoran children

El Chavo is an orphaned, poor and malnourished boy who spends most of his time in a barrel located in the front yard of a lower-middle-class Mexican vecindad owned by Señor Barriga. At first he was called "El Chavo del 8" because this series was broadcast on channel 8 of Mexican TV (today Nu9ve), but when the program began to be broadcast on another channel due to its popularity, the character himself explained to the rest that it was a false belief that he lived in the barrel of the patio and the "8" was because he lived in apartment #8, although his real name is not known, nor who he lives with, since every time he is asked about it, someone interrupts him before he can answer.

In the neighborhood he is always playing with Quico, La Chilindrina, Popis, Ñoño, Godínez, Paty and other children, with whom he frequently experiences conflicts typical of infants that generally end in lawsuits and are sometimes resolved in a hilarious way with the intervention of the other characters, although in the end the feeling of friendship between him and his neighbors prevails.

Although it is true that El Chavo is clumsy and not very bright, on some occasions he has very ingenious and comical outings, he earns his living running errands, sometimes recycling empty cans and bottles, saving money from his piggy bank for the Red Cross, Christmas, the weekend of the year, the Holy Kings (according to him), selling newspapers and magazines, fresh waters, working as a shoeshiner, as a waiter and others. He is very honest, although this does not apply to other people's food, which he often eats when the owners are careless.

He is in love with Paty, Gloria's niece (in several original episodes and several seasons of the animated series because he receives kisses, although he feels great appreciation for Chilindrina, who previously kissed him in other episodes), he is a close friend of all, especially everything from Don Ramón, although he receives blows from him, he knows that he will never disappoint him and he sees him as a model to imitate despite being aware of his defects. When it comes to fighting, it is known that he is generally better than Quico, at first he has never been able to hit Ñoño, who defends himself with his stomach, but he has on other occasions such as in La torta de la paz. However, he has never been able to hit Godínez, who responds by hitting back harder.

He constantly thinks about food, he loves jelly and ham sandwiches, food being the only reason and object for which he is capable of stealing. When he is very afraid, he is given "the Garrotera" (Stiffs), an attack that immobilizes him in a specific position (standing, slightly hunched over, with one arm flexed in front of the chest and the other extended downwards, the legs bent and the head looking over the left shoulder), almost in a state of unconsciousness; as El Chavo explains, "Siento como si sintiera que no estuviera sintiendo nada" (I feel like I feel like I'm not feeling anything), the only way to get him to come to is to throw cold water on his face.

It has many characteristic phrases such as "Fue sin querer queriendo" (I did it on purpose, but I didn’t mean to); "Bueno, pero no se enoje" (Well, but don't get mad); "Es que no me tienen paciencia" (You’re just not patient enough with me); "Se me chispoteó" (It Just slipped out), "Vas a ver a la salida" (You are going to see the exit) and his classic "Eso, eso, eso" (That's True That's True That's True), when he is happy he stomps his feet as if he were dancing and when he is angry he kicks the ground violently and furiously, he commonly plays with a broom that he tries to keep balanced on his foot, he creates his toys in a simple way using cans, cardboard and playing yoyos, ball bearings and more, but these are overshadowed by Quico's, when he brings the same kind of toy but more modern.

Changing rooms

Costume used by Roberto Gómez Bolaños to characterize the character.

El Chavo is freckled and wears a green checkered cap with visor and earmuffs, a patched white T-shirt with brown and yellow horizontal stripes, brown pants held up by two red suspenders over his left shoulder, and black shoes, a gift from La Chilindrina. with yellow laces.

Although during the first episodes he could be seen dressed in light blue or yellow pants and on some occasions he has been seen wearing white or yellow shirts, and even with a shirt with the figure of El Chapulín Colorado, who is his idol, the Same in the animated version, except for the shoes and the pants are orange and the shoes are brown.

Name

In December 2016, a rumor began to circulate on the Internet, according to which in the book El Diario del Chavo del Ocho, written by Gómez Bolaños in 1995, his real name is revealed: Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaelo Guglielmi, however said rumor was denied by official sources since, on the contrary, said book emphasizes on several occasions that it lacks a name.

It was difficult for me to start a conversation with him, since it was obvious that my questions provoked the natural suspicion of someone who is accustomed to receiving very little—almost nothing, I would say—from others.

-What is your name? —I asked him.

—Well, it doesn't matter, right?

—......? What is it that doesn't matter?

—Let him call me whatever. In any case, everyone says that I am El Chavo del Ocho.

— El diario del Chavo del Ocho; prologue

For the rest, it is even pointed out that the fact that the character has a name or not is irrelevant.

It lacks so much that it doesn't even seem to have a name of its own. But not even this is necessary, since his nickname, «El Chavo del Ocho», will be heard and repeated weekly by more than 300 million viewers.

— Florinda Meza; El diario del Chavo del Ocho; Historical.

According to the same character narrated in the book, this condition regarding his identity seems to originate from the fact that he was the product of a one-night stand of his mother, who had so little interest in taking care of her son that she took the child away. was closer when I picked him up from daycare, which is why Chavo ends up reasoning, «So it's most likely that it's not me.»

External links

• Quotations related to El Chavo del Ocho (character) at Wikiquote