WILLEMSTAD - Actor, comedian, and theatrical producer Eligio Melfor died on Saturday at the age of 82. Melfor, whose real name is Julio Constantino Hermanus, has mastered the theater profession as an autodidact. His sources of inspiration included Max Tailleur and Toon Hermans. Melfor performed until the beginning of this year. The biggest success of his career was Hulanda mi ta Bai.
Like many other theatrical producers, Melfor focused on film and television from the mid-1980s. He made several one-act plays for television and became widely known by working on commercials.
According to the Theater Encyclopedia, Melfor made his entrance into the Curaçao theater world from folk theater with his Grupo Eligio Melfor. The performance Dushi Corsow (1968) in Teatro Roxy in 1968 was a first highlight, after which Melfor quickly established his name in the Centro pro Arte (CPA) (1968) as – as Wim Rutgers describes it – 'comico numero uno'.
"Melfor's work is characterized by comedy with a deeper message, paving the way from the working class to CPA," according to the Theater Encyclopedia. With performances such as Amor sin Pasaporte (1968) and Berberin den politika (1971), Melfor broke with the tradition of elitist theater in CPA and the theater became accessible to everyone.
Hulanda mi ta Bai was his last greatest success in 2003. He performed the piece more than 150 times. Melfor also tackled a serious subject with a great deal of humor in this performance. In the piece, all Curaçaoans have emigrated to the Netherlands. The island remains deserted, where people from all kinds of neighboring countries such as Venezuela and Haiti emigrate. If, after a few years, two Curaçaoans want to return to their island, they are stopped at the airport and sent back to the Netherlands. In the end, everything turns out to be a dream.
The performance has had many performances, in Teatro Luna Blou, but also in the Netherlands. For this performance, Melfor received the MCB prize, which is awarded annually to a Curaçaoan or organization that has distinguished itself.
Melfor was awarded, among other things, the Cola Debrot Prize and the Cross of Merit. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas has shared his condolences on Facebook.
