Directing
Carlos Tobalina
Efrain "Carlos" Tobalina was born on April 5, 1925, in Peru. He relocated to Brazil before making his way to the United States in the early 1950s, eventually settling in California in 1956. In the automotive sector, Carlos found work as a used car salesman while also moonlighting as an announcer on a Spanish-language radio station. In 1964, he founded his own film company, C. Tobalina Productions, Inc., and married bookkeeper Maria Pia. Carlos became a stepfather to Maria's daughter, Gloria, and welcomed a second daughter, Linda, in 1966.
Tobalina ventured into the adult film industry with his first softcore film, *Infrasexum*, released in 1969. Two years later, he acquired the Mayan Theater on Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles, which became a primary venue for showcasing his films. Beyond this, he owned two homes in Corona Del Mar, as well as the Star Theater in La Puente and the X Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Many of his explicit hardcore films were produced at his residence in Corona Del Mar. Over his career, Carlos directed and produced more than forty X-rated films from the early 1970s until 1987, often engaging in legal battles to defend his First Amendment rights regarding adult content.
Tragically, Carlos Tobalina took his own life on March 31, 1989, at the age of 63, leaving behind a note that revealed he was suffering from terminal liver cancer.
