Rumor: Obama will cross wits with Cuban funny man

President Obama might appear on a political comedy TV show to exchange banter with the popular Cuban comic character Pánfilo during his visit to Havana, according to the editor of the Cuban website Cubadebate.

In an article Friday (Mar18) in that website, Rosa Miriam Elizalde wrote that she asked Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez about “strong” rumors “that Obama will participate in a political comedy show in Havana, with local artists.”

“Rodríguez assured me he didn’t know,” Elizalde wrote, “but he didn’t react against such a possibility.” The rest of her account follows.

“According to my sources, the program is being set up with actor Luis Daniel Silva, the protagonist of the most popular humor program in Cuba, ‘Vivir del Cuento’ [‘Living by One’s Wits’].

“Silva parodies an elderly retiree [named Pánfilo] who is obsessed by the food ration book — the notebook that lists products subsidized by the government, which every Cuban family holds — and usually talks with abandon about almost all issues involving the national agenda, including the reestablishment of relations between the two countries.

“Rumors of a telephone call made today and a possible meeting between Obama and Silva somewhere in Havana have proliferated in the social networks and the word of mouth of Cubans.”

During his tenure as president, Obama has made several guest appearances on comedy shows and late-night talk shows hosted by comedians.

[Photo at top of comedian Luis Daniel Silva’s character, Pánfilo, displaying his food ration card.]