''La Carabina de Ambrosio'' is a Mexican television show created and developed by Humberto Navarro, filmed at the Televisa Studios,

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

in Mexico City, from 1978 until 1987. The

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

of the show was "A Magical, Comical, and Musical Variety Show." The show had guest emcees that included César Costa,

Gualberto Castro Gualberto Antonio Castro Levario (12 July 1934 – 27 June 2019) was a Mexican singer, actor and television presenter. Castro was best known for singing with Los Hermanos Castro (aka "The Brothers Castro"), for his portrayal of Tony in the 197 ...

, Fito Girón, and Manolo Muñoz. While the emcees sang a cast member would interrupt rudely and a comedy skit began. The show consisted of numerous skits, jokes and tricks played on the emcees. It is rumored that the reason there were so many emcees during the run of the show was due to the numerous tricks played on them. Since 2007, the show is in re-runs on TV Clásico. The theme song was ''Quartz'' by Quartz.

Humberto Navarro

Humberto Navarro, creator and producer, of ''La Carabina de Ambrosio'', was a young up-and-coming talent of

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

. He developed ''La Carabina de Ambrosio'' with the theme of "you don't know what comes next." There were comedy skits, outrageous magic from equally outrageous magicians, music, entertainers, vedettes all presented out of

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is cal ...

Gina Montes

Navarro knew what the Mexican television audience wanted, yet were too embarrassed to ask for. Navarro started the show with Brazilian

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Gina Montes. She was a sultry, dark-haired

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

who wore a black French-cut leotard with thigh-high high-heeled black boots. This was a scandalous costume for the era and stunned the television public when Gina bumped and grinded while white smoke was pumped in at her feet. She opened and closed the show with her gyrations while the credits rolled. Navarro knew this was an outrageous presentation for conservative Mexican television, but the public loved it. Gina disappeared suddenly from the TV show and from Mexico. No one knew what had happened to her until recently. His addition of controversial and often meritorious Mexican vedettes to the show, such as Gina Montes and Wanda Seux, and their scandalous costumes (up to this point vedettes were not shown on Mexican television only in

nightclubs A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

and bars) brought in the highest rating in Mexican television during the era. The show hit number one in Mexico, and its success skyrocketed Navarro into fame. Another part of the success formula was adding guest entertainers such as, but not limited to, singers César Costa, Manolo Muñoz, and singer/dancer

Laura Zapata Laura Guadalupe Zapata Miranda ( born July 31, 1956) is a Mexican telenovela actress, singer, and dancer. She has acted in Televisa productions. Life and career Born in Mexico City, Zapata is the daughter of Guillermo Zapata Pérez de Utrera ( ...

La Pájara Peggy

La pájara Peggy or "Peggy the Bird", a large, bright yellow, gawky bird that looked more like a duck and spoke in an obnoxious voice audaciously interrupting cast member. During the first two years of the show, Navarro himself dressed up in the yellow bird outfit and had outrageous interactions with the emcees, often whacking the unsuspecting emcee over the head with a wing or a kick in the shins with a big webbed foot. These slapstick antics sent the stage hands into uproarious laughter and sent Navarro's bosses into shock. At the time, it was unheard of that a Televisa executive would dress up in a big yellow bird suit and act silly on national television. A memo from the owner of Televisa requested that Navarro find a replacement. Actor/comedian Moisés Suárez replaced Navarro as La pájara Peggy.

Cast

César Costa César Roel Schreurs, best known as César Costa, is a Mexican actor and rock-and-roll singer. Costa was born in Colonia Condesa of the Mexican capital. He studied elementary and Junior Highschool at the German College and Law at the Universi ...

......... Emcee, other roles Padre Chispita, Gulp (a spoof on ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' series starring

Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) was an American actor and television director. His career spanned more than three decades, including appearances on stage, in films, and on television series. He is known ...

), etc. *

..... co-Emcee, also sang and played Profe Gualas. *Fito Girón........... co-Emcee and singer. * Manolo Muñoz.........co-Emcee and singer. * Paco Stanley........ co-Emcee, and played Paco Pacorro. *Alejandro Suárez.... co-Emcee, comedian and played roles as el Simpatias, el Vulgarcito, Supermam, etc. *Xavier López "

Chabelo 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 tha ...

"......Comedian portrayed Guillo el monaguilllo, Pujitos, etc. *Roberto Ramírez Garza "Beto El Boticario".... Magician * Benito Castro..........Kin Kin el Acapulqueño *Charly Valentino * Luis de Alba.........Peritos, Maclovio, etc. *El Mago Frank y Blas ... Magician and

Ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

*Gina Montes.....

Dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

*Humberto Navárro y Moisés Suárez........Played the "La pájara Peggy" a huge awkward yellow bird *Jorge Alberto Riancho ....... co-Emcee *Jorge Arvizu "el Tata"......... played roles as El Tata, Don Rutilano, Lim Piao, etc. *Judith Velasco *Maribel Fernández aka "La Pelangocha"......Played La Babis. *Víctor Alcocer *La Maga Marian.... Played by Mariana E de Castro (esposa de Gualberto Castro).......Magician *

Aida Pierce Aida María Zerecero Pierce (born August 15, 1956, Acapulco, Guerrero) is a Mexican actress and comedian, best known internationally for her work on various telenovelas and comedy series that have aired on Televisa over the years. Most of her t ...

.....played La nina Aidita, La Enfermera, Virginola, etc. * Lucila Mariscal

Legacy

In 2012, as a tribute to the classic variety show, Mexican morning talk show ''Hoy'' ran a series of segments that recreated famous sketches from ''Carabina'' in which the hosts would impersonate the characters and personalities from the original series. For example, long-time host Andrea Legarreta appears as dancer Gina Montes and Paul Stanley (son of Paco Stanley) acts as Chabelo. The recreations proved to be so popular that ''Hoy'' brought the series back as a permanent fixture and recently began its fourth season.Video of Hoy's Revival of the Series
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References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090831042312/http://www.tvazteca.com/corporativo/prensa/boletin/44792.shtml *http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386165/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Carabina De Ambrosio Mexican sketch comedy television series