![]() Feliciano Bello Margariños was born in 1898 in Spain, the eldest child of Andres Bello Prada and Maria Margariños. His parents came to Mexico about 1907, bringing Feliciano and his sister Cecilia, who was born in Spain in 1905. From 1907 to 1925 the family lived in Tehuacán, Puebla, where Feliciano's father and uncle, Andres and Felipe Bello Prada, owned the Hotel Mexico. Don Benito Rodil had set up and managed the hotel for the brothers in the early years. In Tehuacán two more daughters, Maria Luisa and Maria Dolores were born, 1908 and 1910 respectively. In 1925 Andres and his family took over the Hotel de France in Orizaba, Veracruz. The family appears in the 1930 Mexican Census, living in Orizaba. Their daughter Maria Dolores married in Veracruz in 1929 and died in 1968 in Mexico City. Don Benito´s Rodil´s grandchildren referred to Chanito as Uncle, but as yet we have not found the relationship between the two families ![]() Sitting on the big wooden armchair from Concordia in the courtyard of the Grand Hotel de France in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico, Feliciano Bello would observe the guests as they arrived for their holidays or business trips, not letting anything escape his notice. Many of the returning guests knew him, and would greet him upon arrival, or send a friendly adios as they left for their vacation excursions or business meetings. In fact, many at first glance believed, "Chanito”, as he was known to all, to be the owner of the popular hotel. Situated on the corner of the old streets San Miguel and 3°, the Hotel de France was in fact run by Chanito´s father, Andres Bello Prada, a hotelier who had arrived in Veracruz with his family in 1925. The hotel had been constructed in 1898 and was, as its name suggests, of French architecture, but the Hacienda type courtyard surrounded by arches, and lavishly embellished with lush plants and songbirds, gave a balmy tropical essence to the hotel. Here in the courtyard Chanito would sit at ease every morning, a perfect example of European elegance, dressed impeccably in his smart double-breasted suit, his cigar in hand, and the newspaper open before him. Occasionally he would shake his head at the newspaper, "Bah! Hombre! Es el colmo! he would pronounce with his Castilian Spanish accent, and push the newspaper to one side in disgust. However, if you were to observe Chanito more closely, you would realize that the newspaper he was reading was upside down. Chanito could not read, his elegance and style masked the truth that he was intellectually disabled since birth. But, surrounded by people who loved him, Chanito lived a full life, and had a positive influence on many people from around the world.
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