A Story of Mr. Cantiflas

Before my company was in the building it is today, we were operating from a building in a... less pleasant part of town. It was rough but the rent was affordable, this being the most important factor at the time. On occasion we did experience trouble from individuals in the area.

There was a crime wave in the neighborhood. Businesses for blocks around were being hit by a small gang of criminals. Descriptions of them varied. No one even seemed sure of how many members the gang had. During all this, we were running cards, ramping up security, expecting to be hit at any time.

In the middle of a show, three masked thugs attacked the box office, having apparently observed previous shows to find what they felt was a weak spot. Our security forces managed to repel them, capturing two of the men, but the third managed to escape them with the bulk of that night's take.

He made one critical mistake. In making his escape, he chose to use the alley running alongside the building, perhaps not having observed that there was an exit feeding into that passage. Having heard the alarm, many of us spilled into the alley, seeing the criminal run from us. While we had planned for the situation to occur, now that it had, it was clear we were unprepared. At least most of us were unprepared.

Reacting quickly, El Hombre de Silla flung his folding chair at the fleeing thief, clipping him in the leg, causing him to stumble. Before the man could regain his footing, El Hombre has caught up with him. One punch later, the thief was no longer resisting.

To the applause of the boys, El Hombre dragged the man back to the doorway. Handing me the money, he calmly noted “I believe this is yours, sir.”

It is not often that one can point to a specific event as the beginning of a friendship but, in his case, I can. Previous to this we did have a business relationship but this is when we started becoming friends.