Ulises Toirac is a popular Cuban actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director of theater and television. He is the creator of characters in criollo humor such as Juan Marchante (Chivichana), Matute and Yudmila, among many others.
Ulises Toirac Abelenda was born on June 29, 1963. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the José Antonio Echeverría Technological University of Havana (CUJAE) in 1986. However, his professional career has been in the cultural field.
Since his pre-university days, he began acting 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 produced the first staging of a theatrical work Un Brindis por el Zonzo, a stage adaptation of a story by Onelio Jorge Cardoso.
At CUJAE, Ulises became involved in amateur theater. He first joined 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 University Humor Festival. He took this opportunity to invite Alejandro García Villalón (Virulo) to close the event with the National Performing Arts Company. This was a turning point in Toirac's life that led him to choose acting, particularly in the realm of humor.
After completing his university degree, he founded the group Onondivepa, along with a group of friends. They put on the play Farewell in Mourning for Comrade Benito and participate in summer shows alongside renowned Cuban artistic groups and comedians, such as La Seña del Humor and the National Showcase Group itself.
In 1988, Ulises joined the cast of the Programa de Ramón on 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 breakthrough in television came with Doble Filo, a show in which he played the character Pupi, a young and talkative barber. In 1993, he joined the cast of Sabadazo, the television program that truly launched him into fame.
In Sabadazo, a television program hosted by Carlos Otero, Ulises portrayed more than fifteen characters, among which Matute and Yudmila stood out.
Despite being a time of success, Ulises has stated in several interviews that it was a contradictory period, as it also marked the beginning of an era characterized by the trivialization of jokes and the simplification of the way humor was created in Cuba.
This provided him with the necessary momentum to delve into solo performances. In these, he stood out for his ability to connect different themes, attitudes, and talents. The first solo performance was Con Las Tiras del Pellejo (1995). This was followed by El Flaco (1996).
In 1999, he made his return to television with his own show, where he invited young comedians from across the country to participate: So, what are you laughing about?
In 2002, he began his most ambitious project, ¿Jura Decir La Verdad?. It was a television show that paid tribute 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 portrayed Chivichana, a descendant of Trespatines. The show ran for 5 seasons and was 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 embarked on a tour across the United States. In Florida, he presented his solo show Cuentos, Canciones y otras 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 significant awards that reaffirm his popularity in Cuba, as well as honors 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)
