The world of Mexican soap operas said goodbye this Tuesday to Otto Sirgo Haller, an actor born in Cuba who built an extensive career in television, theater, and film in Mexico over more than five decades.
Sirgo passed away on September 29 at the age of 79, as confirmed by the National Association of Actors (ANDA) and the National Association of Interpreters (ANDI), who remembered his participation in productions such as Lazos de amor, Rosa salvaje, and Niña amada mía.
Her daughter Valerie Sirgo revealed on Wednesday that the actor had been hospitalized for several days before deciding to return home, where he ultimately passed away.
"My dad was already tired, and his heart gave out a little. He spent a few days in the hospital, he decided to go back home, he was doing well, and well... he rested," she explained to Mexican media.
The family has not provided a specific medical diagnosis, so Valerie's statement is currently the most accurate information available regarding the cause of death.
The interpreter's daughter also stated that her father never fully recovered emotionally from the death of his wife, actress Maleni Morales, who passed away in 2020.
"She definitely knows that she hasn't recovered from the loss of my mom; she missed her very much," Valerie expressed.
The agency Prensa Danna, which represented the actor, also mourned his passing and noted that his departure leaves "an irreparable void in the artistic world and in the hearts of those of us who had the privilege of knowing him, working alongside him, and admiring his immense talent, human quality, and career."
A Cuban who made his life in Mexico
Otto Sirgo Haller was born on December 19, 1946, in Havana, into a family closely connected to the entertainment industry. His father, Otto Sirgo Prieto, was a Cuban actor; his mother, Magda Haller, was a Mexican actress, and his maternal grandmother, Conchita Gentil Arcos, was a renowned performer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
Although he was born in Cuba and spent part of his childhood on the island, he developed practically his entire personal and professional life in Mexico. The actor himself explained years later, during an interview with Mara Patricia Castañeda, how he understood his identity.
"I have a Cuban father and a Mexican mother, I was born there, but I am Mexican for life. My papers, my nationality are here," he stated.
Sirgo recounted that after spending several years as a child in Cuba, he returned to Mexico and never went back to the island where he was born.
His path to acting was not straightforward either. He initially studied Electronic Engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), but he left the program after the first year. He later pursued a degree in Tourism Business Administration, which he completed in 1968. He himself mentioned in an interview that he had always wanted to be an actor, although his family urged him to finish a university degree first.
That same year, he began working professionally in commercials while seeking opportunities as an actor and model. Among his first film projects was La maestra inolvidable (1969), while on television he appeared in Honor y orgullo, one of the early titles in a career that would eventually encompass more than 50 telenovelas.
More than half a century in front of the cameras
Sirgo became, over the decades, one of the familiar faces of Mexican melodramas. His television filmography included titles such as Los ricos también lloran, Rosa salvaje, Alcanzar una estrella II, Lazos de amor, Por un beso, Niña amada mía, Sortilegio, Por ella soy Eva, Lo que la vida me robó, Tres veces Ana, Falsa identidad, and Vencer el pasado.
Two of those roles earned him some of the highest accolades of his career. In 1992, he won the TVyNovelas Award for Alcanzar una estrella II, where he played Alejandro Loredo, and four years later, he received the award again, this time as Best Supporting Actor for Lazos de amor.
In this latest production, starring Lucero, he played Eduardo Rivas, the uncle of the triplets who were at the center of the story. Sirgo himself pointed out Lazos de amor and Rosa salvaje among the productions he held in special fondness.
His relationship with Televisa lasted for 51 years. He had an exclusive contract with the company from the 1970s until 2017. After that period ended, he participated alongside other performers in the creation of Talento Libre, a collective aimed at seeking new professional opportunities for actors who had lost their exclusive contracts with the network.
But Sirgo did not limit his work to appearing in front of the cameras. He also developed a career as a stage director, with credits in productions such as Dos mujeres en mi casa, Agujetas de color de rosa, El alma no tiene color, and episodes of Mujer, casos de la vida real. In theater, he participated in over 30 productions, and one of his most remembered works was P.D. Your cat has died, which he directed and starred in.
He worked practically until the end
In his later years, Sirgo publicly acknowledged that he was suffering from a balance problem that had begun to limit some of his professional activities. In 2025, he mentioned that he had been treated by two doctors and that the difficulty had even forced him to turn down a theatrical role because he did not feel confident performing certain physical scenes.
Even so, he/she continued acting.
His last appearance in a telenovela was in Doménica Montero, in 2025, where he made a special appearance as Judge Benítez. However, his most recent work released was the series El precio de la fama, an original production by ViX that debuted on the platform on May 29, 2026.
In that thriller, Sirgo portrayed Eugenio Urrutia and shared the cast with Eréndira Ibarra, Andrés Palacios, Chantal Andere, Mane de la Parra, and Alejandra Barros, among others. The project premiered just four months before his death.
His last wish: to return to Popocatépetl
The actor's remains were cremated, and his family is now trying to fulfill a peculiar last wish.
Valerie Sirgo revealed that her father wanted his ashes to be scattered in the Popocatépetl volcano, a place for which he felt a special fascination. His idea was for his children to rent a helicopter and scatter them from the air.
Fulfilling that wish literally is complicated, acknowledged her daughter, so the family is considering approaching the volcano by land and placing her ashes there.
Sirgo had gone hiking when he was young and held a special admiration for Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. According to Valerie, he used to admire the volcanoes during his commutes to the Televisa San Ángel facilities.
If realized, it will be the final connection to Mexico for an actor who was born in Havana but made that country his home and the setting for almost his entire career.
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