Chicago-born Mexican kid’s comic Xavier López, ‘Chabelo,’ dies at 88

Xavier “Chabelo” Lopez sticks out his tongue during a CRIT telethon event in Tlalnepantla, Mexico, Saturday, Dec, 12, 2015. He helped found a genre of adult comics dressed as kids that became a staple for decades on Mexican television. (Associated Press)

MEXICO CITY — Xavier López, a Mexican children’s comic better known by his stage name “Chabelo,” has died at 88, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote Saturday.

López’s best-known work, the Sunday variety show “En Familia con Chabelo,” ran for a 48 years from 1967 to 2015, Mexico’s longest-running TV show.