Arévalo, the genius who changed tears for smiles: he lost his wife to cancer and his son to a heart attack at 27

The comedian from Madrid dedicated his life to comedy although he knew suffering well. Arévalor he hid his tears behind smiles even in the worst moments of his life, which he faced with discretion and fortitude. One of them, the death of Elenathe great love of his life and mother of his four children.

The death of Elena, the love of his life

Arévalo met Elena when they were only 18 years old and conquered her the way he knew how best: with humor. He imitated Cantinflas and she fell at her feet. They had four children and were together for 52 years, until in 2015, Elena died of cancer. At that time, the comedian was in Ciudad Real, on tour with Bertín Osborne and his show 'Dos mellitos'.

“There came a time when after three years and a lot of chemo they discharged him. However, after time it affected his brain and there was nothing more to do”he told his friend Bertín through tears on the program Your place or mine. “In the last year or so I have cried so much… When you know that she is going to leave. She left in silence, without realizing it and with a smile. She was my wife, my mother, my father… she was all for me”. And he added: “I have been sleeping with her every day holding her hand and giving her many kisses, all the kisses that I would have liked to give her and more.”

He lost two children

The loss of Elena left the artist completely devastated, who already knew the heartbreak that the death of a loved one produces. In her case, those of two children: one of them a month after birth and that, as he himself confessed on one occasion, he died in his arms; other, Kike died at the age of 27 due to a myocardial infarction. “It was a phenomenon. When she died, Gila told me to always have a photo of my son on hand and to kiss it before going on stage. I always do it,” she confessed.

Arévalo had two other children: Pacowho followed his footsteps in the artistic world as an actor and councilor, and Nuria, who was born with a developmental disorder known as Williams Syndrome. In 2020, she was diagnosed with cancer and her father became her caregiver, her partner, and her guardian angel. “She is my treasure, she keeps me a lot of company,” she said.