Constantino "Tino" García Arguello was a Nicaraguan–Puerto Rican comedy actor who participated in a number of Puerto Rican and Hollywood series and films, including Thunder Island and Bananas.
Life
García was born in Managua, Nicaragua. His father, Constantino García Hernández, was a Puerto Rican from the city ofAguadilla, residing in Nicaragua, and his mother, Eva Arguello Peñalba, was a Nicaraguan from Leon. In 1936, when Tino was one year old, his family moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Constantino Jr. attended Colegio San José as a teenager, and then the Gordon Military College in Barnesville, Georgia. This led to him being admitted to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He traveled to New York City to take directing and producing courses at the local SRT school. Returning to Puerto Rico, García became a prolific stage actor during the decade of the 1960s, participating in Una Ciguena Con Bigotes by Emilio Huyke; Rene Marques' La Carreta ; La Pareja Dispareja alongside Elin Ortiz and Yoyo Boing; Cuando El Es Guadalupe ; La Marquesa Está en Tres y Dos and the musical El Misterio Del Castillo. García started acting in a television telenovela series named "Novelas Fab" on Telemundo Puerto Rico. He appeared in El derecho de nacer, which became a major telenovela hit across Latin America, and Cuando Los Hijos Condenan. García moved to Wapa Television to appear in Yo Mate a Una Santa and Perdon Para Esta Mujer, among others. Garcia's best known character was a drunken man, "El Borrachito", which he humorously played on many Puerto Rican television shows, including La Taberna India, a show sponsored by India beer, a famous local beer brand. He reprised this role many times over the years, including also on short television sketches. Late in his career, he appeared in the Puerto Rican teen comedy movie, Casi Casi.
Personal
Garcia was married to Lilliam Catala from 1957 until his death. He had six children with her, including motivational speaker/actress Lily García, Eva, Giselle, Tino Jr., Nelly Ann and Ana Cristina.
