Xavier López, the beloved Mexican children’s entertainer known by his stage name, “Chabelo,” has died, Mexico’s president said. He was 88.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador tweeted that his eldest son “woke up early to see Chabelo (on television) more than 40 years ago.”
The comic’s family wrote on his fan page that he died suddenly of “abdominal complications,” according to The Guardian.
For 48 years beginning in 1967, López starred in the Sunday children’s variety show “En Familia con Chabela,” the newspaper reported.
The comic usually performed dressed as a child, speaking in a raspy voice throughout his career.
López was born on Feb. 17, 1935, in Chicago to Mexican parents, the Mexico Daily Post reported. He moved to Mexico with his parents when he was a year old and originally trained to be a doctor, but found his calling as an actor, according to WMAQ-TV.
His family moved to Mexico City was when was 8, according to the Post.
López was born on Feb. 17, 1935, although his parents are from León, Guanajuato. At the age of one, he and his parents returned to his state of origin, where he lived for his first eight years, before moving to Mexico City.
Although his program ended in 2015, memes about the Chabelo character flourished for years, the BBC reported. The character was inserted into events about Mexican history and even placed him at the Last Supper. continued for years.