Resumen de De la Carpa a la pantalla: las Máscaras de Cantinflas

Carmelo Esterrich, Angel M. Santiago Reyes

• This study analyzes the double-edged humor of Cantinflas, a popular Mexican comic actor. On the one hand, he synthesizes the transition from popular street theatre to film, assimilating new comic types such as the hobo clown with the traditional Mexican figure of the down-and-out tramp (“pelado”). On the other, what truly makes Cantinflas stand out are his comic innovations with language. His quick wit and fragmentation of language create a way for him to critique bourgeois society as well as side step the hegemonic cannons abstract of language.