Cantinflas and the Chaos of Mexican Modernity

Why was Cantinflas, actor Mario Moreno's film persona, the most popular movie star in Mexican history? Was it because virtually every Mexican--rich or poor, Creole or Indian, man or woman, young or old--could identify with him? A fast-talking, nonsensical character, Cantinflas helped Mexicans embrace their rich mestizo identity and cope with the difficulties of modernization. For thirty years he served as a "weapon of the weak, " satirizing corrupt officials and pompous elites who victimized Mexico's urban poor. Cantinflas and the Chaos of Mexican Modernity is a revealing probe into the life and times of Mario Moreno. Latin America's most famous film star from the 1940s to the 1970s.