El Chavo del Ocho was a famous Mexican television show that also became a popular hit all over Latin America and Spain.
The show started in 1970, after the show's main character, Chavo (kid in Mexico), had appeared alongside another character, Chilindrina, in a sketch of another popular Mexican television show. At first intended for a mature audience, it proved extremely popular with Mexican children, and it was then decided to direct the show to children. El Chavo del Ocho was named like that because the show was transmitted by Canal 8 (canal ocho).
Chespirito was the show's main creator and star. He called Florinda Meza to act in the show first; Chespirito and Meza later married and continue, as of 2003, together. Edgar Vivar was the second actor chosen for the show. Chespirito recluited Ramon Valdez because he had known Valdez for years; Valdez, brother of Loco Valdez and uncle of Cristian Castro, had made multiple movies Chespirito had seen. Then, Ruben Aguirre was cast as the show's professor. Aguirre and Chespirito had been working on scripts together for years. Carlos Villagran just happened to be a friend of Aguirre who was a newspaper reporter, and he went to a party hosted by Aguirre. Villagran did a comedy step where he blew his cheeks out of proportion, and Aguirre told Chespirito about his friend's hidden talent. Villagran was promptly hired for the show. Maria Antonieta de las Nieves was a voice-over only actress who used to go to Televisa to do announcements. Upon hearing her voice, Chespirito thought she was perfect for the show. The last ones to be added to the show were Angelines Fernandez, a former telenovela actress and Horacio Gomez Bolanos, Chespiritos brother and who had never considered acting before; he was originally to oversee the show's marketing.
El Chavo del Ocho was the story of a Mexican boy, Chavo, who lives inside a beer barrel in a Mexico City community, commongly known as vecindad. The show explores, in a comical way, the problems many homeless children face on a daily basis, such as hunger, sadness, and not having someone responsible who watches over them.
The show was so popular in other parts of Latin America and among the Spanish speaking community of the United States that in Peru, for example, other shows involving the main actors of El Chavo del Ocho began to be televised, in Argentina, Ruben Aguirre has been able to enjoy wild success playing his character at a circus, and in Puerto Rico, many of the phrases Chavo and his friends used have become normal part of their every day dialogue. In the United States, the show is still shown, on Galavision.
The show stopped being produced shortly after Villagran and Valdez left it, in 1978.
Chespirito has established legal battles with former Chavo del Ocho actors, to prevent them from using the show's characters in Mexico without paying him. Thats one of the reasons why Aguirre moved to Argentina, where he can use his character's name on his shows, as Chespirito has no copyrights in Argentina.
In 2003, El Chavo del Ocho DVD's were released on the market, and the gossip magazine, TV y Novelas, began offering them as part of their subscription packages.
