Carlos Salim Balaa (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2022), known as Carlitos Balá, was an Argentine actor who specialized in children's entertainment. His trademarks were his bowl-cut hairstyle and nonsense catchphrases that include "¿Qué gusto tiene la sal?" (what is the taste of salt?), "un gestito de idea" (a gesture of idea), "un kilo y dos pancitos" (one kilo and two buns). "observe y saque fotocopia" (watch and make a photocopy), among others. Balá also created a large gallery of characters (played by himself on his show) that include Petronilo, Angueto the invisible dog, Indeciso, and Miserio. Balá had a weekly television show, cementing his status at the top of children's entertainment, on par with Alberto Olmedo (as Capitán Piluso) and José Marrone. The show featured Angueto, an invisible dog, which Balá would pull around on a taut leash. In addition to summertime tours of Argentina, Balá starred in several family-oriented films, most notably in the Canuto Cañete series in the 1960s. Balá is widely recognised as a true icon of the popular culture due to his contribution to humor and Argentine television by touching generations for over 50 years of artistic career. Biography He was born in the neighborhood of Chacarita, Buenos Aires, living the first years of his life in a historic building known as the Yellow House. Balá's father, Mustafá Balaá, was a syrian butcher from Damascus. On his mother's side, Juana Boglich Catturich, he had roots in Austria (grandfather Nicolás), Uruguay (grandmother Felicia) and Montenegro (Felicia's father Juan Andres). His younger sister Norma encouraged him to do theater; he even wanted him to participate in a school play, but Carlos was very shy. However, he made jokes in the Línea 39 colectivo, where he worked to overcome his shyness. In the beginning Balá took part in a contest that he won, under the name of Carlos Valdez. His father was listening to the radio when he came out the winner but he did not recognize him because Carlitos had changed his last name for fear of being challenged. Knowing that he had won and that his father did not know it was him, he decided to change and call himself Carlos Balá, keeping the similarity with his real surname. He then decided to go into radio, where he played a very nervous character who made him laugh from day one. In the years before cable