Roberto Cobo, 72; Mexican Actor Known for Role in Bunuel Film
Roberto Cobo, the Mexican actor who played the role of a desperate young street tough in Spanish director Luis Bunuel’s 1950 classic “Los Olvidados” (The Forgotten Ones), died Friday.. He was 72.
Cobo, nicknamed “Calambres” (Cramps), died in a Mexico City hospital of cancer.
The actor is best remembered as “El Jaibo,” the character he portrayed in Bunuel’s film about impoverished street kids in Mexico City. A sociopath and the product of the tough, loveless atmosphere of his Third World slum, El Jaibo murders those who get in his way and, finally shot by police, whispers his last line: “I am alone.”
The handsome, lanky Cobo played El Jaibo to perfection.
He later went on to play another singular role as Manuela, a transvestite father, in Arturo Ripstein’s 1977 film “El Lugar Sin Limites” (A Place Without Limits).
The actor, whose real name was Roberto Garcia Romero, was a native of Mexico City. He won numerous awards for his acting.
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