Biography:

Xavier López Rodríguez (17 February 1935 – 25 March 2023), known professionally as Chabelo, was a Mexican actor, comedian, television presenter and children’s music singer. In addition to his television career, Chabelo appeared in more than thirty motion pictures and recorded more than thirty musical albums. He produced shows including La Cuchufleta, La Güereja Quiere Más^[1] and En Familia con Chabelo, the latter of which was broadcast every Sunday morning on Televisa‘s Canal de las Estrellas. It aired for 47 years and consisted of contests with people from the audience, gifts and games and was mainly for children.^[2] The program ended on 20 December 2015. At the time of his death, he was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Early Life

Xavier López was born on 17 February 1935 in Chicago, Illinois,^[3] before the family moved back to Mexico and settled in the city of León, Guanajuato.

During the Korean War, López was drafted into the US Army and served on a military base in California before returning to Mexico.

After returning from his service, López began studying medicine with the hope of working as a doctor. While studying, he began working for the Televisa television network as an assistant and occasionally filled in for other actors, leading to him landing the creation of Chabelo.^[4]

Credits: