English Translation
EL UNIVERSAL, September 9, 1978 Brújula
A Practical Joke in Very Poor Taste
It would seem, given its gloomy nature, that this is a joke in very poor taste played on the comedian Charlie Chaplin. This seems to be reflected in this crayon drawing by the artist Alvarez de Lugo, sketched for this column.
CARACAS, March 1978. —What Charlie Chaplin could perhaps never have imagined is the practical joke that some strangers would play on him after his death. This man, who with his creative genius entertained and made the world smile during the first half-century, could not close the chapter of his life last Christmas Eve, when he passed away in his elegant mansion in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. Not even the steadfast and circumspect Swiss authorities in charge of drawing up the burial report have been able to overcome the shock caused by such a macabre occurrence upon the exhumation of the heavy oak coffin. They have limited themselves to telling the relatives that the border police have been alerted, and that they doubt a box weighing no less than 150 kilograms, containing Chaplin’s embalmed body, can be taken out of the country by evading surveillance.
Transcripción Original (Español)
Una Broma Demasiado Pesada
Diríase que por lo lúgebre se trata de una broma demasiado pesada al comediante Charlie Chaplin. Así pareciera reflejarlo este creyón del artista Alvarez de Lugo trazado para esta columna.
CARACAS, marzo de 1978. —Lo que no pudo tal vez nunca imaginar Charlie Chaplin, es la broma pesada que irían a jugarle unos desconocidos después de muerto. Este hombre que con su genialidad creadora entretuvo e hizo sonreir al mundo durante el primer medio siglo, no pudo cerrar el capítulo de su vida la Noche Buena de Navidad pasada, cuando falleciera en su elegante mansión de Corsier Sur Vevey, Suiza. Ni aún las inconmovibles y circunspectas autoridades suizas encargadas de levantar el acta de inhumación han podido salir del asombro causado por tan macabra ocurrencia al ser desenterrada la pesada urna de roble. Se han concretado a decir a los familiares que los policías de fronteras han sido advertidos, y que dudan pueden sacar al exterior burlando la vigilancia, una caja con peso no menor de 150 kilogramos, donde está embalsamado el cadáver de Chaplin.