“El Chavo del 8” just turned 47 years old

The world famous Mexican TV show “El Chavo del 8” (The Boy from Number 8) aired its first episode on June 20 , 47 years ago . The show was created and starred by the beloved celebrity Roberto Gómez Bolaños , also known as “ Chespirito ”, who passed away on November, 2014.

“ El Chavo del 8 ” was produced by Televisión Independiente de México (Independent Television of Mexico) , which would lately be known as Televisa . It was broadcast for the first time on June 20, 1971, through Channel 8 .

The comedy show is about the life of a group of people living in a humble vicinity, where its protagonist, “ El Chavo ” (the boy) gets into mischief with his friends: Kiko, La Chilindrina, La Popis , and Ñoño , who are later joined by adult characters such as Don Ramón, Doña Florinda, Don Jirafales, Don Barriga, and Doña Clotilde .

The main cast featured Mexican actors Gómez Bolaños, Ramón Valdés , Carlos Villagrán , María Antonieta de las Nieves , Florinda Meza , Rubén Aguirre , Angelines Fernández, and Édgar Vivar . The show’s production and direction fell upon Enrique Segoviano and Carmen Ochoa .

The first episode is called “El ropavejero,” (The Second-Hand Clothes Seller) and it was recorded in 1971 , though it only features Ramón Valdés as Don Ramón , María Antonieta de las Nieves as La Chilindrina , and Roberto Gómez Bolaños as El Chavo .

“ El Chavo del 8 ” was highly successful in Latin America . In 1973 , the show began to be broadcast in other countries of Latin America with a very high rating. In 1975 , it was viewed by 350 million people each week.

The last issue of “ El Chavo del 8 ” as an independent show was aired on January 1, 1980 , though it continued as part of the “ Chespirito ” audiovisual production, which was also created by Gómez Bolaños, up until June 12, 1992 .

As of yet, the show continues to be broadcast at a national and international level.

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