Telenovela Villain Who Sold Cochinita Tacos Dies at 66

Carlos Miguel Suárez Soto spent the 1990s playing likable bad guys on Mexican prime-time television. He spent his last years in Mexico City selling cochinita pibil, and later codzitos and panuchos.

The actor, known on screen as Carlos Miguel, died early Monday at his home in Mexico City. Entertainment journalist Armando Gallegos reported the cause as a heart attack and gave his age as 66; several outlets reported 67. His family has not released a formal statement.

Roberto Tello, his longtime on-screen partner, shared the news on Instagram. “Rest in peace, my dear Charly. I love you, Poncho,” Tello wrote.

Viewers knew Suárez best as “El Poncho” in “Tú y yo” and “Volver a empezar.” He also appeared in “Muchachitas,” “Dos mujeres, un camino,” “Soñadoras,” “Amigas y rivales,” and “Las vías del amor,” usually as a villain or a villain’s sidekick. His last telenovela credit was “Amores con trampa” in 2015.

Univision reported that a wake was held at a Mexico City funeral home. His remains were cremated Tuesday after a private service.

Life Upended by a Kidnapping

Years before, Suárez had been kidnapped in Mexico City. He later said it began as an “express” kidnapping, in which victims are held briefly and forced to withdraw cash. “It was four days,” he told the TV program “De Primera Mano.” “It was going to be an express thing, and it turned into four days.”

He lost several teeth, suffered tendon damage to his hand, and went through therapy to recover. He never pursued charges, he said, because his captors had photos of his daughters.

Work was drying up anyway. Telenovelas were giving way to series, he told Imagen Televisión in 2017, and there were fewer roles for actors like him.

He first tried selling tacos de canasta, soft “basket tacos,” on the street. Business was slow, and he thought about quitting. Then a friend who had a cochinita pibil recipe and knew how to cook it suggested a change.

The cochinita caught on. The stand, called El Tío Ferruco, sat a few blocks from the Chabacano Metro station, and Suárez ran it with a partner, Fernando Lucio. Over time he added tortas, burritos, and two more Yucatecan staples: codzitos and panuchos. Suárez worked the counter himself. When some fellow actors mocked him for selling tacos, he said it didn’t bother him. He was proud of the work.

The dish he bet on is Yucatán’s best-known export. Pork is marinated in achiote paste and sour orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves, and traditionally cooked overnight in a pib, an underground earth oven. Long before the Spanish brought pigs, Maya cooks used wild game such as deer and peccary.

In 2021, the food website Taste Atlas named cochinita pibil the best dish in the world. Many Yucatecos insist good cochinita can’t be found outside the state. Even so, Mexico City now has a long list of Yucatecan restaurants, from rooftop dining rooms to street stands like the one Suárez ran.

His death comes days before Hanal Pixán, the Maya observance for the dead held Oct. 31–Nov. 2. Cochinita has long been one of the dishes families prepare for the occasion.

Suárez is survived by four daughters and his sister, Verónica Suárez, a telenovela writer who worked with producer Emilio Larrosa.

Yucatán on the menu

• Cochinita pibil: Pork marinated in achiote and sour orange, slow-cooked in banana leaves
• Pibil: From the Maya word pib, an underground earth oven
• Codzitos: Rolled, fried corn tortillas topped with tomato sauce and grated cheese
• Panuchos: Fried tortillas stuffed with black beans, topped with meat and pickled onion
• Served with: Pickled red onion and habanero salsa
• In Yucatán: A Sunday-morning tradition at stalls and markets

With reporting from Diario de Yucatán, Quinto Poder, Univision, Milenio, and Infobae