The true origin of Cantinflas’ only son

If we talk about great legends of Latin American cinema, Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes is one of them.

In the middle of the last century, the famous Mexican actor and comedian stood out in dozens of films where he gave life to Cantinflas a man who was characterized by wearing baggy pants, a curious moustache and speaking almost without saying anything.

Thanks to the success of his iconic character, he was able to make his debut in Hollywood territory with the film Around the world in 80 days (1956), which won him a Golden Globe.

While it is clear that Cantinflas has shone in his film career, the same cannot be said for his family life. The actor had a solo son named Mario Moreno Ivanova, whose life was marked by scandals from birth.

In 1929, when he had not yet become famous, Cantinflas met the young Russian girl in traveling theaters. Valentina Ivanova a dancer who arrived in Mexico with her family after fleeing the war. The couple soon fell in love and, five years later, celebrated their wedding.

But there was a problem. Even if they wanted to have children, they could not, because Valentina Ivanova was sterile.

Despite this, in September 1960, a new member appeared in the family: Mario Moreno Ivanova . He would be Cantinflas’ beloved child and the only son he would have in life.

There are several stories about the real origin of the comedian’s descendant, although the American’s name is repeated in them. Marion Roberts .

It is 1959 and the young woman arrives with her friends at the Hotel del Prado in Mexico City. After spending a few days there, they realized that they did not have enough money to pay for their stay, and the group decided to abandon Roberts so that she would bear the debt.

At that point, the hotel manager told the young American that to get out of this difficult situation, she could turn to Cantinflas, because at that time he was known for helping those who had financial problems.

The protagonist of There is the detail Roberts immediately agreed to pay the debt and soon after they began a secret relationship.

“Later, when my father was shooting the film Grandpa In Los Angeles, California, she visited him in December 1959,” Moreno Ivanova confessed in an interview with Picture television .

According to Cantinflas’ son, this visit coincides with the date Roberts became pregnant. On September 1, 1960, Moreno Ivanova gave birth in a hospital in Dallas, Texas.

Fifteen days after giving birth, the actor took her to Mexico to live with him and his wife. One of the speculations that have arisen about this episode is that he paid the American woman a million in exchange for the child’s handover.

Beyond that, Moreno Ivanova recalled that his father’s wife accepted him as soon as he arrived in the family home. “(Valentina) immediately welcomed me with all her love and was my mother for the next five years,” he said.

A year later, the biological mother tried to get it back. Cantinflas replied that it was impossible since he had already registered it with his married names.

Not being able to get her son back was a hard blow for the young American. Finally, in 1961, he committed suicide with a dose of barbiturates at the Alfer Hotel.

After Roberts’ death, the actor did everything in his power to prevent what happened from being published in the press. “My father moved heaven, sea and earth so that there would not be too much scandal. The only thing that came out of it was just a photo. ” said Moreno Ivanova.

The heir to the “mime of Mexico” did not know his biological mother until he was 18 and his father told him about it. “He invited me to dinner, I didn’t know what he was going to talk to me about. And he told me this story that his wife Valentina couldn’t have children and that he had met a woman,” he said.

However, this is just one of the controversies that Moreno Ivanova has faced throughout her life.

After the death of the famous Mexican actor in 1993, the nephew of Moreno Ivanova and Cantinflas, Eduardo Moreno Laparade They begin a long legal battle to keep the inheritance.

While Moreno Ivanova claimed that he was the universal heir to all the property according to the will, Laparade indicated that his uncle had given him the rights to the films a month before his death.

But in addition to this, the comedian’s nephew accused Moreno Ivanova of having drug problems and wasting his money on it. The conflict lasted for years, although it was finally decided that Cantinflas’ son would keep the inheritance.

Other scandals were related to his children. In 2012, Mario Moreno Bernat, one of the comedian’s grandchildren, decided to sue his father for corruption of minors.

According to his story, since he was a teenager, Moreno Ivanova forced him to consume drugs and alcohol. Barely a year after this legal action, the young man committed suicide in a hotel in Tlalnepantla.

A very similar accusation was made by another of his sons, Gabriel Moreno Bernat. In conversation with the podcast No problemCantinflas’ grandson explained that His father forced him to frequent brothels and use cocaine when he was just 16 years old. This event led Gabriel to develop a drug addiction and leave home at a very young age.

After a life full of controversy, on May 16, 2017, the only son of the “Mexican Charles Chaplin” died of a heart attack. He was 57 years old.