''Sábados Felices'' (''Happy Saturdays'') is a Colombian comedy show that debuted in 1972. It has been produced by

Caracol Televisión Caracol Televisión () (known as Caracol and previously as Canal Caracol) is a Colombian free-to-air television network owned by Caracol Medios, a unit of Grupo Valorem. It is one of the leading private TV networks in Colombia, alongside Canal ...

for its entire run on the air; from 1972 to 1998, when Caracol was a ''

programadora In Television in Colombia, Colombian broadcasting, ''programadoras'' (literally ''programmer'') are companies that produce television programs, especially for the public-commercial Canal Uno (and, until 2003, Canal A/Segunda Cadena). The Colombia ...

'', it aired on

Cadena Uno Cadena is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ana Lilia Garza Cadena (born 1970), Mexican politician *Carlos Cadena (1917–2001), Mexican American lawyer, civil rights activist and judge * Carlos Cadena Gaitan (born 1983), journ ...

. It has been hosted by Alfonso Lizarazo, Alí Humar,

Jota Mario Valencia Jota Mario Valencia Yepes (born Jorge Mario Valencia Yepes; March 31, 1956 – June 6, 2019) was a Colombian television presenter. He was born in Medellín. History He attended the Universidad de La Sabana in Bogotá and was one of the founders ...

Carlos Calero Carlos Alberto Calero Salcedo (Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, C ...

, Hernán Orjuela and Humberto Rodríguez.

History

It began in 1972 as ''Campeones de la risa'', changing names in 1976 when Caracol for the first time gained the rights to its Saturday timeslot. After the ''licitación'' of 1997, Caracol did not receive any timeslots on Saturdays. This meant that Caracol's signature Saturday programs were presented for the first seven months of 1998 under the auspices of other ''programadoras''; ''Sábados Felices'' was presented by Coestrellas, CPS and Proyectamos Televisión. The 1998 move of Caracol from a ''programadora'' to a private television channel, after 1,323 episodes had been aired, marked a format change for the program. In 2016, it received the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the world's oldest comedy show.

Overview

Sections that make up the program consist of parodies based on the productions that Canal Caracol (producer of the program) has made such as “Ría a Ría”, “Mensa para tres”, “La Plaga” (which are recorded in their original set), "Las telebobelas", "El Parón", "Sirirí A.I", "La Casa de la cucha", "The Toxics", "Humour à la demande", "To laugh seriously", "Who seeks finds", "Caught the detail", these last two brought an error for viewers to guess, and send a letter with the answer to participate for different prizes, and other parodies on national and international news, contests as well as the social campaign: “A smile for Peace.” The music of the show is produced by the group Guns n' Risas.

Current cast

* Hugo Patiño "The Prince of Marulanda" (1972–present) * David Alberto García "Jeringa" (1987-1998, 2000-2004, 2012- present) * Heriberto Sandoval "The Pacific of Cabrera" (1991-1998, 2000–present) * Cesar Corredor "Barbarita" (1991–present) * Alexandra Restrepo (1992–present)* * Nelson Polanía "Polilla" (1996-1998, 2002–present) * Jesús Emilio Vera "Chumillo" (1998–present) * María Auxilio Vélez (2003–present) * Gustavo Villanueva "Triki Trake" (2004-2019, 2020–present) * Heidi Corpus (2004–present)* * Pedro Antonio González "Don Jediondo" (2004–present) * Juan Guillermo Zapata "Carroloco" (2007–present) * Susana López "Susy" (2010–present) * Alexander Rincón & Roberto Lozano "Los Siameses" (2011–present) * Carlos Sánchez "El Mono" (2011–present) * Édgar Sánchez Torres "Junífero" (2011–present) * John Jairo Londoño "Fosforito" (2011–present) * Frey Eduardo Quintero "Boyacomán" (2011-2022, 2023–present) * José Castellón "Joselo" (2011–present) * Julián Madrid "Piroberta" (2011–present) * Mauricio Núñez "Chester" (2011–present) * Diego López, Elkin Rueda, Javier Ramírez & Mauricio Ramírez "Grupo Salpicón" (2013–present) * Tahiana Bueno (2014–present)* * Fernando Monge (2015–present)* * Jorge Muñoz "Tato" (2015–present) * Carlos Andrés Mejía "Obvidio" (2017–present) * Hugo Neimer González "Lucumí" (2018–present) * Óscar Díaz "El Pollo" (2018–present) * Jhovany Ramírez "Jhovanoty" (2018–present) * Doriam Rosero & Alfonso Sierra "The Trovators from Cuyes" (2019–present) * Leonardo Cuervo (2021–present) * Miguel Ángel Álvarez "Thor" (2022–present)* * Katherine Giraldo (2022–present) * Andrés Leonardo Velásquez "El Pato Velásquez” (2023–present) * Gerónimo Zavala "Nospi Zavala" (2024–present) * Lía Baena (2025-present) *: Only performance in Sketches

Controversies

The show has been criticized for the

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

character Soldado Micolta, also the comedians Peter Albeiro and Carroloco have been accused of having ties to the

Clan del Golfo The Clan del Golfo (English: The Gulf Clan), also known as Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) or Gaitanist Army of Colombia (Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia– EGC) and formerly called Los ...

drug trafficking organization, both being denied by the comedians, the comedian Juan Ricardo Lozano "Alerta" sued the Caracol channel at the beginning of 2024 for an alleged unjustified dismissal of the program.

References

{{reflist

External links