Los Egochagas was a husband-and-wife vaudeville team a husband-and-wife comedy team whose real names were Alfredo Egochaga and Emerita Egochaga. “Los Egochagas” performed in many countries in the early twentieth century. Jose Escobar Perez, “Pepito the Spanish Clown,” appeared with them for several engagements in Mexico in June of 1922, not long before Pepito immigrated in late 1922 to the United States from Veracruz, Mexico.
Deep research into newspaper archives reveals that, almost exactly paralleling Pepito’s career, Los Egochagas appear to have been in Spain in 1920, in the circus in Cuba in 1921, and escaped to Mexico in 1922 due to the turmoil of the first Cuban revolution.
Pepito’s move in 1922 to the United States may have been intended to be temporary, but it proved to be permanent.
On this theater playbill above, Pepito is listed as his previous clown persona, “Senor Mac Wills,” performing at the Teatro Mier y Teran in Oaxaca, Mexico, with “Los Egochagas.”
The Teatro Mier y Teran is now named Teatro Macedonio Alcalá.
Los Egochagas continued on in vaudeville for a few more years. In 1924 they were retained by Mr. Phil Wirth for his Wirth Circus in Sydney, Australia. “[Phil Wirth’s] object was to secure new circus attractions, and he succeeded in engaging some famous people, who will probably be seen locally during the Easter season … He had made arrangements with … The Egochagas, a party of Spaniards, who stage comedy bull fights, with dogs playing the part of bulls.”
There, the trail grows cold. Hopefully they had a nice retirement.
THEATER MIER Y TERAN
PREMIERE CIRCUIT OF SPECTACULARS
On Sunday, June 25, 1922
Follows the runaway success of the large variety shows
MAC WILLS
Y LOS EGOCHAGAS
Attractions of the highest order. Imitations of animals and sounds. Parodies, jokes.
Great collection of trained dogs. Duets. Entries Ciws. Musical numbers.
Caricatures. Rapid drawing. Great bullfighting with trained dogs.
Major comic cycling acts, in which Mac Wills submits the smallest bicycle in the world.
Large circus numbers.
TEATRO MIER Y TERAN
PRIMER CIRCUITO DE ESPECTACULOS
Hoy Domingo 25 de Junio de 1922
Sigue el exit loco de las grandes variedades
MAC WILLS
Y LOS EGOCHAGAS
Atracciones de primer orden. Imitaciones de animales y sonidos. Pariodas, chistes.
Gran coleccion de Perros amaestrados. Duetos. Entradas de Ciws. Numeros, musicaies.
Caricaturas. Pintura rapida. Grandes corridas de toros con perros amaestrados.
Grandes actos de ciclismo comico, en los cuales Mac Wills presentara
la cicicleta mas pequena del mudno.
Grandes numeros de circo.
Programa:
Dos tandas, a las 4 y a las Nueve.
MAC WILLS Y LOS EGOCHAGAS
Que tato exito obtuvieron en su debut, trabajaran con nuevos y escojidos numeros, con grandes actos de circo, actos musicales, perros amestrados que tocan piezas de musica. No pierda Ud, es espectaculo. No deje de admirarle pues quedara satisfecho.
Special thanks to Marcelo Melison for translating this playbill.
Pepito & Joanne 