2 pm – 4 pm

Join A. Gabriel Meléndez, recently appointed director of UNM’s Center for Regional Studies, as he takes us on a fun and insightful journey through the life of Mexican actor Mario Moreno and his beloved character “Cantinflas.”

Moreno starred in scores of films from the 1930s through the 1980s, and is also known for his Golden Globe-winning role as the ingenious valet Passepartout in Around the World in 80 Days. In Latin America and beyond, he is a beloved icon. The talk will explore the impact of Cantinflas, a character who is closely associated with the national identity of Mexico, but whose cultural impact reaches far and wide.

The La Canoa Legacy Series features talks by Hispanic/Latino academic and community researchers with long-standing and distinguished records of research and teaching about New Mexico and the region. Like la canoa—referring in New Mexican Spanish to several utilitarian objects used to receive and transport people and resources and thus provide a service to the community—these talks are meant to serve the community by presenting new or overlooked information about our region to interested audiences. We want them to transport us to new understandings of our region and its rich cultural and historical inheritance, and to move the conversation back and forth in rich dialogue between presenters and audience members.
Free event, open to the public.