Text: Cuba News 360 Writing
In the printed language of dictionaries, a gallant is a handsome, attractive, and elegant man who behaves with grace; In real life, however, the protagonist is much more: he has the ability to mark epochs and make a whole generation sigh, which sees in this male character a potential conqueror and almost always a sexual symbol.
Although gallants have existed since the beginning of the world, it was the audiovisual media such as cinema and television that brought these characters to the fore, who not only impressed with their physique, but also with their very special way of mesmerizing with their character.
Today, Cuba still has actors, musicians and celebrities who fit this definition, but the island’s leading actors had their heyday in the ’70s and ’80s, coinciding with the advent of television programs such as adventure novels, novels, and teledramas.
To satisfy the nostalgia of our mothers and grandmothers, Cuban News 360 A look back at the life and work of ten gallants who caused sighs across the island.
1.Armando Bianchi
Because of his attractiveness, he was considered the Cuban Errol Flyn. An actor and singer, he was the second husband of star Rosita Fornés, with whom he formed a highly influential media couple.
Born on August 26, 1922 in Havana, he debuted as a tango artist in 1939 and traveled to Mexico in the early 1940s, where he ventured into the lyrical genre. After returning to Cuba in 1950, he married Fornés until his absurd death in 1981: he fell off his own feet and drowned on Santa María beach in Havana.
In addition to being a sentimental couple, Rosita and Bianchi were also in the arts, as they shared the stage and occasionally performed duets, comedy, theater and cabaret. He has acted in cinema and television, with his role in the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Ten Little Little Blacks being well remembered.
2. Julito Martinez
He successfully ventured into theatre, cinema and television, but he is best remembered in the popular Aventuras scene, with his character as Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro, a phenomenon that led to this time attracted crowds. He was one of the most sought-after stars during his 30 years of work in Cuba, appearing in all the dramatized rooms of radio and television. He was on the payroll of the Teatro Estudio directed by Raquel and Vicente Revuelta. While belonging to this intuition, he starred in almost all of his theatrical productions. His filmography includes Desarriago (1965), Aventuras de Juan Quinquín (1967), El bautizo (1968) and Hoy como ayer (1987).
Born in Quemado de Güines, the former province of Las Villas, he died alone and abandoned in Miami in 2008.
3. Frank Black
He was the first black corsair on Cuban television, a character with which he achieved leading man status since the 1960s. After this role, he continued to act in the Aventuras room, which at the time was entirely live. He was Fernando de Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo (1979), Sergeant Reget in The Falcon (1980) and Athos in The Three Musketeers (1982).
After this glory period, he practically disappeared from public life and was not heard from until his recent death in 2021 at his home in the municipality of Playa, Havana.
His death was mourned by figures from the Cuban cultural world such as singer Pancho Céspedes and users of social networks. “How much joy he gave us, how much we miss him,” said Alberto Cuello. “He was a great guy, I fell in love with him, I dressed up and said, ‘I’m Honorata, the Black Corsair’s girlfriend,'” said Mercy Copa.
For many Cubans, Frank Negro is considered one of the epic heroes of childhood and adolescence. Along with Enrique Almirante’s Robin Hood and Julito Martínez’s El Zorro, he went down in history as one of the adventurers who fed the illusion of children of the time.
4.Carlos Gili
Born in Cienfuegos, he already showed artistic inclinations as a child, which is why he moved to the capital at a young age in search of new horizons. He attended drama preparatory school, directed by the iconic Alejandro Lugo, and from that moment began a burgeoning career that grew in popularity with television projects in aventuras, grandes novelas and soap operas. In this medium, he will always be remembered for his involvement in the Attack Order and The Silence Commandos series. One of his highlights was the cinema, where he successfully played roles in five films.
His career began to decline in the early 1980s due to the illness he was suffering from. He died in Havana in May 1984 at the early age of 45. From his marriage to the dancer Josefina Méndez, he left his son Víctor Gilí, who inherited his father’s charisma and conquered everyone in the world of dance.
5. Enrique Admiral
Enrique Almirante was one of the leading actors of all leading actors until his death in 2007. His media career began thanks to his great physical appearance in the 50’s when he and television were very young.
After working in radio, he joined the acclaimed group Teatro Estudio, where he played key roles in plays like A Streetcar Named Desire and Mother Courage.
He was the founder of the adventure division and has starred in dozens of them including Sandokan, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Robin Hood. He has directed more than 20 films in Cuba and abroad. He has acted in numerous children’s and youth series as well as in soap operas. He was the first director and founder of the Caricatos Artistic Representation Agency.
His mere presence on screen was enough to impress, not only for his physical attractiveness but also for the cadence of his voice and his total command of the scene, skills he passed on to his son, also actor Carlos Enrique Almirante . At the time of his death, his latest work, the character of Sabicú in the novel ¡Oh la Habana! As a tribute to his legacy, there is a performing arts award that bears his name.
6. Jorge Villazon
There were only a few days until his 47th birthday when the traffic accident that took the life of Jorge Villazón Suárez happened just when he was enjoying the greatest success and popularity in the Cuban media.
He was born in Cienfuegos in 1947. At the age of 22, already living in the capital, he attended the drama school of the Cuban Radio Institute. After several successful programs, including the soap opera Sol de Batey, he had a few appearances in this medium until starring in El Halcón, a series that brought him great popularity on the small screen. The next step in consolidating his career was to arrive in the cinema, although he had only three appearances: in Otra mujer (1986), Techo de Vidrio (1982) and Plácido (1986).
Charismatic, cheerful and confident, he had a compelling personality that shaped his iconic character: Pablo, first captain and then major, in the day and night crime drama. Villazón gave one of the best characterizations of a police investigator on Cuban television. He played so well and so naturally that his image is associated with this character to this day. After his death, he was buried in the military uniform he wore playing Pablo’s shoes.
7.Sergio Corrieri
Corrieri was barely 16 years old when he began to retrace the paths of acting to becoming a devoted character actor in theatre, film and television. The artist, who won the National Theater Prize in 2006, recorded performances in various groups in his CV, later to found Grupo Teatro Estudio and later Teatro Escambray.
In addition to his achievement in stagecraft, Corrieri monopolized the lights and cameras of Cuban cinematography in episodes such as “El hombre de Maisinicú”, “Mella”, “Como la vida Itself”, “Baraguá”, “Papeles son papeles”, “Desarraigo” and “Rio Negro”. He gave birth to Sergio in the classic film Memories of Underdevelopment.
In every scene, he proved his skill by taking on historical and social roles that were considered symbols of the people, like the memorable David from the series Silently Had to Be.
8. Francisco Gattorno
Although Francisco Gattorno has developed almost his entire career outside of Cuba, he is still known on the island for his work on the film Fresa y Chocolate and the numerous novels, especially Mexican ones, on which he has worked since the 1990s outside official circles.
After graduating in performing arts, he made his big screen debut at the age of 20 in A Girlfriend for David (1984). After that he acted in a dozen films, although it was Fresa y Chocolate that internationalized his face and favored the opportunity to work abroad. Almost two years later, Francisco Gattorno was one of the main protagonists of Mexican soap operas, starring alongside telenovela diva Angélica Rivera in La Dueña.
On Aztec country television, he starred in some thirty productions, some of which achieved devastating audiences. In cinema, in 2000, he took part in the film Before Night Falls, a film almost unknown in Cuba that marked his entry into Hollywood.
Already in full maturity, Francisco Gattorno remains linked to the audiovisual world, even if his roles have changed as much as the years have changed him.
Photo: Cesar Evora | Instagram
9. Cesar Evora
Since his debut on Cuban television, César Évora has created a legend that accompanies him to this day, because in addition to his imposing appeal, the actor also exudes charm on screen. While living on the island, he starred in soap operas and most notably in the crime drama Day and Night, where he gained well-deserved fame for his black shirts. In the cinema he has worked with major directors in films such as “La Bella del Alhambra”, “David’s Friend” and “A Successful Man”.
When he left Cuba, the Mexican company Televisa opened its doors to him and he became an idol in soap operas such as Laberintos de pasión, Cañaveral de pasiones, El manantial, Abrázame muy fuerte and El privilegio de amar. In almost all of his performances, he stayed in villainous roles. He has won numerous awards for his theatrical quality, although it is not precisely this quality but his physical attractiveness and sensual voice that Cubans remember most.
10.Mario Balmaseda
Mario Federico Balmaseda Maurisco was an acting icon until his recent death. He was born in Havana in 1941 into an art-loving family and got to know the world of cabaret at a young age.
He studied dramaturgy at the National Theater of Cuba and in what was then the German Democratic Republic. As an actor, he had a long and prolific career, with an extensive filmography that includes titles such as El hombre de Maisinicú (1973), In a certain way (1974), The Brigade (1977), It is exchanged (1984), In three and two ( 1985), Baraguá (1986), The Useless Death of My Partner Manolo (1990), Entre Cyclones (2002) and The Work of the Century (2015).
On television, he starred in series such as “Aventuras de Juan Quinquín”, “It had to be in silence”, “The Great Rebellion” and “A Bolero for Eduardo”. He won the 2006 National Theater Award, the 2019 National Television Award and the 2021 National Film Award and is the only Cuban actor to have received these three awards, attesting to his exceptional talent, versatility and skill in his character
Photo: Cesar Evora | Instagram
