On a day like today, April 2, 1906, Enrique Arredondo was born in Havana, the actor who would make several generations of Cubans laugh, and who was immortalized in popular memory by the name of his most beloved character: Bernabé.
He grew up in a humble neighborhood in the capital, in a family of very modest means, where hardships were faced with humor and laughter. Before stepping on a stage, he worked as a messenger, a seller of oranges, a foundry worker, and an ironer in a shoe factory.
It was in 1921 when his life changed forever. Seeing Arquímedes Pous perform, the quintessential "little black boy" of Cuban vernacular theater, young Arredondo knew that this was his path. Two years later, at just 17 years old, he began to portray that same classic character in various theater companies, traveling across the island from end to end.
In 1934, he took on one of the most challenging roles of his career: replacing Sergio Acebal, who had embodied the Negrito for 22 years with tremendous success. Arredondo not only rose to the occasion but triumphed. In 1940, he founded his own company and traveled to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Tampa, where the audience carried him on their shoulders after his first performance.
When he arrived on television, Arredondo found the perfect stage for his genius. In the show San Nicolás del Peladero, he brought to life Cheo Malanga, a "tough guy" of the Neocolonial Republic: a braggart for hire who charged for slaps and stabbings, but who was at heart a complete coward, a brawler and braggart, incapable of facing any real danger and living off tall tales. Together with the great Germán Pinelli, Cheo Malanga's scenes became memorable moments in Cuban television.
But it was in 1969, when he joined the cast of Detrás de la Fachada, that he created Bernabé, the character that immortalized him. His phrases became part of the everyday speech of Cubans: No pué seee, No mentira, tú me está engañando.
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