Ulises Toirac

Ulises Toirac is a popular Cuban actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director of theater and television. He is the creator of characters from Cuban humor such as Juan Marchante (Chivichana), Matute, and Yudmila, among many others.

Ulises Toirac Abelenda was born on June 29, 1963. He graduated in Electrical Engineering from the "José Antonio Echeverría" Technological University of Havana (CUJAE) in 1986. However, his professional performance has been in the cultural field.

Since pre-university, he began to act as an amateur artist. In 1981, he formed a theater group for which he wrote the humorous play Colón en el Onceno Festival. With this group, he also staged the first production of a theatrical work, Un Brindis por el Zonzo, a stage adaptation of a story by Onelio Jorge Cardoso.

At CUJAE, Ulises joined amateur theater. He first became part of an experimental group led by Augusto Cañozares, with which he participated in the play Ópera X. He then joined the Carlos Pous theater group.

After these experiences, Ulises, along with several friends, founded the First National Festival of University Humor. He took this opportunity to invite Alejandro García Villalón (Virulo) to close the event with the National Entertainment Group. This was a turning point in Toirac's life that led him to choose acting, especially comedy.

After finishing his university degree, he founded the group Onondivepa with a group of friends. They produced the play Farewell of Mourning for their colleague Benito and participated in summer shows alongside established artistic groups and Cuban comedians, such as La Seña del Humor and the National Ensemble of Shows itself.

In 1988, Ulises joined the cast of the Programa de Ramón at Radio Ciudad de La Habana, where he acted, wrote scripts, and became familiar with radio production. A year later, he began working on the youth magazine broadcast by Radio Progreso, called Juventud 2000. At this station, he also wrote, directed, and starred in the humorous magazine Contalco.

His debut in the television space was in Doble Filo, a program in which he played the character Pupi, a young and talkative barber. In 1993, he became part of the cast of Sabadazo, the television show that definitely brought him fame.

In Sabadazo, a television program hosted by Carlos Otero, Ulises played more than fifteen characters, among which Matute and Yudmila stood out.

Despite being a successful time, Ulises has stated in several interviews that it was a contradictory phase because it also marked the beginning of an era of the trivialization of jokes and the simplification of the way humor is made in Cuba.

This gave him the necessary push to dive into solo performances. In them, he stood out for his ability to link different themes, attitudes, and talents. The first solo performance was Con Las Tiras del Pellejo (1995). It was followed by El Flaco (1996).

In 1999, he made his return to television with a show of his own in which he invited young comedians from all over the country to participate: And what are you laughing at?

In 2002, he began his most ambitious project, ¿Jura Decir La Verdad? It was a television show that paid homage to La Tremenda Corte, an internationally renowned Cuban comedy program written by Castor Vispo and starring Leopoldo Fernández and Aníbal de Mar.

In "Do you swear to tell the truth?" Toirac played Chivichana, a descendant of Trespatines. The program had 5 seasons and remained on the air until 2009. Some scripts were adapted for the theater, achieving great success.

Ulises Toirac has performed on international stages. In 2011, he went on a tour of the United States. In Florida, he presented his solo show Stories, Songs, and other IDEAteces at the Miami Dade County Auditorium.

Ulises Toirac is a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. Throughout his artistic career, he has received important awards that confirm his popularity in Cuba and distinctions such as the Order for National Culture (2004).

Movies in which he has participated as an actor:

• Alicia in Wonderland (1992)
• Tropical Dream (1993)
• Adorable Lies (1993)
• Pata Negra (1999)
• A King in Havana (2004)
• Chivichana The Movie (2005)