El doce de agosto/August 12th
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An iconic figure who Charlie Chaplin once called the best comedian alive, Cantinflas was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and scriptwriter. He had a reputation as a spokesperson for the downtrodden and used his skill with words to "puncture the pretensions of the wealthy and powerful." His comic use of language in films included beginning a conversation with someone and then complicating it so that no one understood what they were talking about (see this clip of him explaining democracia to a government official). In 1992 the Academia Real included the verb "cantinflear" in its dictionary to describe this action. It's common for Spanish speakers to say ¡Estás cantinfleando! when someone becomes difficult to understand in a conversation. In 1957, Cantinflas won a Golden Globe for his performance in Around the World in 80 Days, and he also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In Mexico, he helped usher in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. He won a Golden Ariel Award in 1987. He was married to Valentina Ivanova, of Russian ethnicity, from 1936 until her death in 1966. He had a son with another woman in 1961 whom Valentina officially adopted (that son, Mario Arturo Moreno Ivanova, passed away in May of 2017). Cantinflas devoted much of his life to helping others, especially children, through various humanitarian organizations. His funeral ceremony in Mexico was a national event that lasted three days, and he was also honored by many heads of state (the United States Senate also held a moment of silence for him). His work is seen as inspiring the Chicano movement of the 60s and 70s. To see the trailer of the 2014 movie about him, click HERE.
For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
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