Mexico City, Mexico.- In 1944, at just 21 years old, he made his first appearance on the radio station “La voz de los Ómnibus Aliados.” As of that date, his voice would be habitual in every radio space and later, with the advent of television, Reynaldo Miravalles would monopolize the attention of all the press media.
For the year 1952, the actor debuted with an important role on television and that same year he received the award for most outstanding actor. When asked at the beginning of this century what that experience was like, he recounted:
“When I start on television, I had already acted a lot in theater. The first time I was an extra sitting in a chair and, on the second occasion, I got a leading role alongside José Antonio Rivero. At first, for popular and established actors, television was a new thing and many feared it. Their figures did not correspond to the success achieved on the radio. They were gallants, but stocky in appearance. Others, too short or ugly. They did not want to affect his position. That’s why they gave those of us who had nothing to lose a chance. The first works in La Tremenda Corte, for example, were always counter-figure. The star that made people laugh was Leopoldo Fernandez. We supported him so that his performance would stand out ”.
It was precisely on television that he became most popular with his iconic character of Melesio Capote, “el guajiro Melesio”. Of Miravalles it is necessary to highlight not only his undeniable humorous gifts, the interpreter was also an impeccable dramatic actor.
His talent led him to be one of the recurring actors in Cuban cinema and one of the closest to the great Tomas Gutierrez Alea. Reynaldo was the protagonist of memorable films such as “The twelve chairs”, “The man from Maisinicú”, “The Survivors”, “The birds shooting the shotgun”, among others
In 1991, he participated in one of the most controversial films in Cuban cinema, the black comedy “Alice in wonderlandby Daniel Diaz Torres.
Although the script was approved, the project was given the green light and promoted for two years, its premiere coincided with the collapse of the USSR; therefore, it was determined that it was not the best time for the public to see the film. Its political ambiguity and polysemy could be used by the counterrevolutionaries, justified the head of censorship, Alfredo Guevara.
Just three days after its national premiere, “Alice in the Town of Wonders” was withdrawn from all Cuban theaters. In some places they even went further and replaced it with the Soviet film “The Amphibian Man”.
Shortly after this harsh clash with censorship, Reynaldo emigrated to the United States, where he continued acting. He was able to return to Cuban cinema in 2013 with esther somewhereunder the direction of Gerardo Chijona.
On October 31, 2016, Miravalles passed away in Havana, where he was visiting at the age of 93. For many, there has not been another Cuban actor with his talent and versatility.
