{{Short description|Mexican comedian and actor}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox comedian <!-- for individuals – see Template:Infobox comedian for usage --> | name = Gaspar Henaine (Capulina) | image = Viruta and Capulina in La sombra del otro (cropped Capulina).jpg | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = Gaspar Henaine «Capulina» in ''La sombra del otro'' (1957). | pseudonym = Capulina | birth_name = Gaspar Henaine y Pérez de León | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|1|6|df=yes}} | birth_place = Chignahuapan, Puebla, Mexico | death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|09|30|1927|01|06|df=yes}} | death_place = Mexico City, Mexico | medium = Film, television, theatre, music | nationality = | active = 1943–1999 | genre = Double act, slapstick | subject = | influences = | influenced = | spouse = María Elena Frías<br>(married 1949&ndash;2011) | domesticpartner = | notable_work = | signature = | website = | footnotes = | module = }} '''Gaspar Henaine''' (6 January 1927 &ndash; 30 September 2011), more commonly known by his pseudonym '''Capulina''', was a Mexican comedian, actor, singer, film producer, and screenwriter. He was best known for partnering with Marco Antonio Campos as the double act Viruta and Capulina and for his subsequent solo career. He was later given the nickname "''El Rey del Humorismo Blanco''" (The King of White Humor), due to his clean, innocent style of comedy.

==Early life== Capulina was born in Chignahuapan, Puebla, the son of Antonio Henaine Helú, a Lebanese businessman, and Concepción Pérez de León<ref>{{cite web|title=Concepcion Perez de Leon – mentioned in the record of Juan Henaine Perez|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:23LL-5M1|website=FamilySearch|access-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> (c. 1893 &ndash; 27 February 1983),<ref>{{cite web|title=Concepcion Perez – Mexico, Distrito Federal, Civil Registration|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:23JK-Y8C|website=FamilySearch|access-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> who was also born in Chignahuapan.<ref name="Chignahuapan: Sierra Norte de Puebla: voces y miradas de su historia, Volume 2">{{cite book|last=Kuri Camacho|first=Ramón|title=Chignahuapan: Sierra Norte de Puebla: voces y miradas de su historia, Volume 2|year=2006|publisher=Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla|isbn=9688638986|page=71}}</ref> He and his family later moved to Mexico City. At age 10, he made his acting debut with a small part in Fernando de Fuentes' ''Allá en el rancho grande'' (1936).<ref name='Todavía hay "Capulina" para mucho'>{{cite news|last1=Trujillo|first1=Marina|title=Todavía hay "Capulina" para mucho|url=http://h.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=EDT/1995/03/27/32/Ar03200.xml&CollName=EDT_1990_1999&DOCID=1814180&PageLabelPrint=32&skin=ElSiglo&AppName=2&sPublication=EDT&sLanguage=English&Content=ALL&selLanguage=&sQuery=capulina%2bexcentricos&rEntityType=&sScopeID=DR&sDateFrom=&sDateTo=&sSorting=Score%252Cdesc&x=29&y=5&ViewMode=GIF&FontSize=l1|access-date=23 October 2014|work=El Siglo de Torreón|date=27 March 1995}}</ref> He studied acting and later won the "best dramatic child actor" award bestowed by the academy he attended.<ref name='Los niños son lo más importante en su vida: Gaspar Henaine "Capulina"'>{{cite news|title=Los niños son lo más importante en su vida: Gaspar Henaine "Capulina"|url=http://h.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=EDT/1998/12/06/80/Ar08000.xml&CollName=EDT_1990_1999&DOCID=2172182&PageLabelPrint=80&skin=ElSiglo&AppName=2&sPublication=EDT&sLanguage=English&Content=ALL&selLanguage=&sQuery=gaspar%2bhenaine%2b13&rEntityType=&sScopeID=DR&sDateFrom=&sDateTo=&sSorting=Score%252Cdesc&x=17&y=12&ViewMode=GIF&FontSize=l1|access-date=22 October 2014|work=El Siglo de Torreón|date=6 December 1998}}</ref><ref name="Viruta y Capulina filmaran en el estudio de Walt Disney">{{cite news|title=Viruta y Capulina filmaran en el estudio de Walt Disney|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9W9EAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WrIMAAAAIBAJ&dq=viruta%20y%20capulina&pg=2160%2C4280808|access-date=10 October 2013|newspaper=La Opinión|date=6 September 1962}}</ref> He started his musical career as one of the vocalists of the quartet Los Excéntricos del Ritmo.<ref name='Todavía hay "Capulina" para mucho' /> Later, in 1946, he formed part of the trio Los Trincas. The trio was hugely successful and toured Mexico and some cities of the United States.<ref name='Todavía hay "Capulina" para mucho' />

==Career==

===Viruta and Capulina=== {{More citations needed section|date=October 2021}} Capulina became famous across Latin America alongside his longtime professional partner, Marco Antonio Campos, as Viruta and Capulina. In 1951, they started filming together. The two comedians made 26 films. At first they imitated the comedy style of Laurel and Hardy, thanks to their physical resemblance to them. With time they developed their own characteristic comedy style. The main difference with Laurel and Hardy is that Viruta, the thin character, was also the intelligent and aggressive one, while Capulina, the portly character, was the fool and cowardly one.

In the peak of their popularity they had a television program called ''Cómicos y canciones'',<ref name="Cobran bien en la TV Viruta y Capulina">{{cite news|title=Cobran bien en la TV Viruta y Capulina|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KHFEAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XbIMAAAAIBAJ&dq=viruta%20y%20capulina&pg=1471%2C2331140|access-date=10 October 2013|newspaper=La Opinión|date=29 September 1963}}</ref> where they alternated with other comedians and singers. Some of their sketches were written by a then unknown Roberto Gomez Bolaños who later gained legendary fame as comedian Chespirito.

Many rumors surfaced when the two co-workers stopped making films together; some suggested that Viruta felt underpaid, but Capulina attributed the separation to a feud between the two caused by lack of film jobs towards the end of their working relationship. Although he admitted that both he and Viruta felt some animosity against each other during their last six films together, Capulina also felt deep sorrow when Viruta died. A sufferer of three previous heart attacks, Viruta died after his fourth heart attack.

===Later career=== Capulina made a total of 84 movies, 58 of them after separating from Viruta. He also has recorded 12 music albums. One of his most famous films was ''Santo contra Capulina'' (1969), where he co-starred with Mexican wrestling legend El Santo.

Most of the films where he starred shared the same theme, to generate an adventure based on Capulina getting in trouble due to a specific issue, added with his position as an incompetent and foolish person. For example, in ''El mundo de los aviones'' (1969), Capulina is a pilot that always fails to land his plane correctly, hitting some wall and encrusting a partner in the process. He is involved in an international fraud and he teams with his airline partners to prevent the robbery, not without several funny problems.

He went from being the same character in different situations and who confronts different kind of enemies like robbers, gangs, spies, and also vampires, monsters, and mummies, with the aid of adventurers, wrestlers (like El Santo) or unexpected powers.

The character of Capulina gained huge popularity and a very successful comic book series -with stories by comic artist Oscar González Guerrero and art by his son Oscar Gonzalez Loyo- was published in the seventies and early eighties.

Capulina's last film was ''Mi compadre Capulina'' (1989). He also made a television series, ''Las aventuras de Capulina'' (1989), where he struggled in different adventures with the help of wrestler Tinieblas and sidekick Alushe.

His telenovela debut in ''El diario de Daniela'' (1996) was also his last appearance.

Capulina was also a theatrical actor and stand-up comedian. He toured with his act until 1997, when he retired, claiming that he was feeling too old to go on.

==Death== Capulina died of complications with pneumonia and a gastric ulcer on 30 September 2011.<ref name="El rey del humor blanco, 'Capulina', muere tras semanas internado">{{cite news|title=El rey del humor blanco, 'Capulina', muere tras semanas internado|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/entretenimiento/2011/09/30/el-rey-del-humor-blanco-capulina-muere-a-los-81-anos|access-date=23 October 2013|newspaper=CNN México|date=30 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029213819/http://mexico.cnn.com/entretenimiento/2011/09/30/el-rey-del-humor-blanco-capulina-muere-a-los-81-anos|archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref>

==Selected filmography== {| class="wikitable" ! Year || Film || Role || Notes |- |1943 | ''Another Dawn'' | | |- | 1950 | ''When the Night Ends'' | | as Los Trincas |- | 1953 | ''Ahí vienen los gorrones'' | | |- | 1957 | ''La sombra del otro'' | Capulina | First Viruta and Capulina's film |- | 1958 | ''Se los chupó la bruja'' | Capulina | |- | 1958 | ''Viaje a la luna'' | Fireman | |- | 1958 | ''Los legionarios'' | Legionario Capulina | |- | 1958 | ''La odalisca No. 13'' | Emir Ali Kaido | |- | 1958 | ''Muertos de miedo'' | Capulina | |- | 1958 | ''A sablazo limpio'' | Crispín Capulina | |- | 1959 | ''Angelitos del trapecio'' | Capulina | |- | 1960 | ''Los tigres del desierto'' | Capulina | |- | 1960 | ''Dos locos en escena'' | Capulina | |- | 1960 | ''Dos criados malcriados'' | Capulina | |- | 1960 | ''El dolor de pagar la renta'' | Capulina | |- | 1960 | ''Cómicos y canciones'' | Capulina | |- | 1960 | ''Los desenfrenados'' | Capulina | |- | 1961 | ''Limosneros con garrote'' | Capulina | |- | 1961 | ''Un par... a todo dar'' | Capulina | |- | 1961 | ''Pegando con tubo'' | Teniente Capulina | |- | 1961 | ''Dos tontos y un loco'' | Capulina | |- | 1962 | ''Qué perra vida'' | Capulina | |- | 1962 |''Cascabelito'' | Capulina | |- | 1962 | ''¡En peligro de muerte!'' | Capulina Pérez y Pérez de la Barca | |- | 1963 | ''Los invisibles'' | Caoulina | |- | 1963 | ''Barridos y regados'' | Capulina | |- | 1964 | ''Buenos días, Acapulco'' | Capulina | |- | 1964 | ''Los astronautas'' | Capulina | |- | 1964 | ''La edad de piedra'' | Capulina | |- | 1965 | ''Los reyes del volante'' | Capulina | |- | 1966 | ''La vida de Pedro Infante'' | Capulina | |- | 1966 | ''Cada quién su lucha'' | Capulina | |- | 1966 | ''Dos meseros majaderos'' | Capulina | |- | 1966 | ''La batalla de los pasteles'' | Capulina | |- | 1966 | ''La cigüeña distraída'' | Capulina Palacios / Capulina Corrales | |- | 1967 | ''Detectives o ladrones..?'' | Capulina | |- | 1967 | ''Dos pintores pintorescos'' | Capulina | |- | 1967 | ''Un par de robachicos'' | Capulina | |- | 1967 | ''El camino de los espantos'' | Capulina | Last Viruta and Capulina's film |- | 1968 | ''Operacion Carambola'' | Capulina / Agente 13 | First Capulina's film |- | 1968 | ''El zángano'' | Capulina | |- | 1969 |''El mundo de los aviones'' | Capulina / El Capitán Mil Horas | |- |1970 |''Capulina Speedy González'' |Capulina Espiridión González |- | 1973 |''El bueno para nada'' | Capulina Mantecón | |- | 1973 |''Capulina contra las momias'' | Capulina | |- | 1978 |''El circo de Capulina'' | Capulina | |- | 1989 |''Mi compadre Capulina'' | Capulina | Last Capulina's film. |- | 2015 | ''Selección Canina'' | Director Plateas (voice role) | Released 4 years after his death |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|0376228}}

{{Viruta y Capulina}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henaine, Gaspar}} Category:1927 births Category:2011 deaths Category:Mexican male comedians Category:Mexican male film actors Category:Mexican male stage actors Category:Mexican male television actors Category:Mexican male singers Category:Male actors from Puebla Category:Singers from Puebla Category:Mexican people of Lebanese descent Category:20th-century Mexican male actors Category:20th-century Mexican comedians