Editing Cantinflas (section)

== Theater ==
On 30 August 1953, Cantinflas began performing his theatrical work ''Yo Colón'' ("I, Columbus") in the ''[[Teatro de los Insurgentes]]'', the same theatre that had earlier been embroiled in a controversy over a [[Diego Rivera]] mural incorporating Cantinflas and the [[Our Lady of Guadalupe|Virgin of Guadalupe]]. Critics, including the very conservative political party [[National Action Party (Mexico)|PAN]] and archbishop [[Luis María Martínez]], called the mural blasphemous, and it was eventually painted without the image of the Virgin.

''Yo Colón'' placed Cantinflas in the character of [[Christopher Columbus]], who, while continually "discovering America", made comedic historical and contemporary observations from fresh perspectives. For the first few months, he persuaded the King and Queen of Spain to fund his voyage so that he could let his wife "drive" so she could make a wrong turn and discover Mexico instead, allowing him to also discover [[Jorge Negrete]] so that the Queen – an ardent fan – could meet him. When Negrete died just before Christmas of 1953, he changed it first to [[Pedro Infante]] until his death four years later, and then finally to [[Javier Solis]] until his death in 1966.