Hear
“As Don Quixote needed Sancho Panza and El Gordo needed Flaco, Piluso He had his squire, coquito, my beloved old man, an innocent character, full of tenderness. When they did the program, they were two boys playing for boys,” he summed up perfectly, in an interview, Christian Ortiz to that historical duo of children’s humor that made Alberto Olmedo and his beloved father, Humbertothat sailor who, together with the Captain with his rubber band around his neck, entertained the children and their families every afternoon in the beginning on Channel 9.
Humberto Ortiz and Olmedo They had become friends – very close friends – on the old Channel 7. By then they were already betting on starting their careers always with the help of Pancho Guerrero. It was the year 1960 when the general manager of the Argentine Television Company, Manuel Alba, the company that commanded 9, decided to propose a special job to one of the technicians, also a budding actor, that he had met on Channel 7.
It was none other than Alberto Olmedo, who went to the meeting thinking about a long-awaited promotion, perhaps to operator. But to his astonishment it offered him the chance to host a children’s micro program. She had observed him playing the character of Joe Bazooka related to the popular chewing gum, a registered trademark of all times.
Alberto couldn’t believe it. He immediately told his friend. coquitohe proposed that she accompany him and together they embarked on a path of success. At the beginning the character of Piluso It only featured the Huckleberry Hound cartoon, created for television by Hanna-Barbera. But due to the sympathy it generated on the screen, it became its own program and later into a true one-hour classic, no less because of the very good reception and response it generated from viewers, to which Humberto Ortiz joined. initially as a librettist and then as sailor of the captain.
“Piluso… the milk”, the magical voice of Inés Jaroslavsky repeated every afternoon on Channel 9 since 1960, when the cycle began. And her hand appeared in the image with a glass inviting the boys to have a snack.
The program was so funny that beyond the scripts, it generated a back and forth between both characters in full improvisation that caused both of them to finish each sktech tempted with laughter, infecting those present and crossing the screen, especially when they put into practice cooking recipes that ended in the worst way.
A year later, Piluso generated an incredible coup de effect when he fought with the fighter Martín Karadagian at Luna Park with live broadcast of those unforgettable Circular Saturdays of Pipo Mancera. The captain won the fight and in addition to making his image even more popular, it gave him a boost that grew surprisingly. On the day of the fight, Piluso landed by helicopter without the company of Coquito, who arrived in a convertible because flying terrified him. As a finishing touch, at the end of the show, everyone together distributed toys throughout the city center.
In 1965, the duo made the program for Channel 7 and a year later it moved to Channel 2 in La Plata for two seasons. Besides of merchandising which included dolls of both, the duo released the long play “El Capitán Piluso”, by RCA Viktor, where they could be seen accompanied by Palito Ortega, with songs like “La gata Patricia” and “Grandma let’s sleep”.
In 1980, together they reappeared on the Channel 13 screen and the following year they went to Channel 11. Incredibly The dictatorship prohibited Piluso from continuing to use the rank of Captain and Coquito the sailor suit. with the argument that they were ridiculing the armed forces.
Later, Olmedo became Pilusman with a superhero suit included and once again revolutionized the screen with the production of another album. Coquito also had his cycle: his name was At Coquito’s house. And Alberto, his co-worker, was present once a week to support him. The curious thing was that together they traveled on the Roca Railway – the program aired on Channel 2 in La Plata. and part of the salary they received was collected with various merchandise such as sports clothing, pants, shirts, shoes and even boxes of wine.
Coquito was also one of the architects of The PacifierOlmedo’s great cycle, and in addition to writing the scripts, he was the creator of the unforgettable character of The Ukrainian magician.
The popularity of both generated so much affection that Fito Páez, in 1994, launched the Piluso Theme in Circo Beat, his eighth studio album, a heartfelt tribute to his city Rosario, and to the children’s duo, which says in one of its paragraphs: “And life goes as it comes // there is no snack if there is no captain.”
He was not the only one: four years later Luis Alberto Spinetta, in his album San Cristóforo, demonstrated the love he felt for both when he wrote the song called “Piluso y Coquito”, which goes: “Piluso and Coquito, they will drink the milk // they listen to their grandmother and they have to watch Popeye tapes.”
The program also had its unforgettable jingle: “Piluso is good, he is a good friend // Piluso is good, he is really good // Piluso is good, he is good and affectionate // Piluso is good, there is no other like him.”
As an author and actor, Humberto Ortiz wrote the script and starred alongside Alberto Olmedo in the film The Adventures of Captain Piluso (In the castle of terror), of which Martín Karadagian’s troupe was a part with the Comanche Indian as another of the great convening figures. Then Coquito played Pedrito in the movie Dear Santiago! with Leo Dan and Marta González.
When he received the sad news that he was suffering from a laryngeal cancer He did not give up and continued working to the extent he could. Olmedo loved him so much that he added him to the debut season of Does not touch button as Pochita’s grandfather, who was played by Moria Casan and was Pirulo’s best friend, the naughty boy, a character who just liked him. Alberto Olmedo.
Since in 1982 it was almost impossible for Coquito to continue working, Olmedo had the attitude of a great with him: He continued to include it in the titles and credits of his program so that he could continue earning income, in addition to continually visiting him to be by his side and try to make him smile.
Humberto Ortiz died on October 11, 1982 at the age of 49. This is how the Captain remembered it: “A very good friend, the best, loyal to a fault, as there is no longer any. He loved him, he admired him, what else…”
