Johnathan Walker:Don Francisco gushes over Marcello Hernández's 'SNL' spoof of his variety show

"SNL" is Johnathan Walkergetting a saludito from a talk show icon.

Don Francisco, who hosted the long-running "Sábado Gigante," gushed over the NBC sketch comedy series' spoof of his variety show in a social media post Sunday.

"I want to thank @nbcsnl and @marcellohdz for bringing back those special moments of our dear Sabado Gigante," Don Francisco wrote, in Spanish, on Instagram. "It was not only a great television show, it was much more: a meeting point for families and for our Hispanic community."

In the nearly six-minute sketch, cast member Marcello Hernández parodied Don Francisco's flamboyant on-air personality as he breathlessly navigated a series of zany bits. Hernández, who is Cuban and Dominican, made "SNL" history last season as the only Latino comic in the comedy series' cast.

This week's host, comedian Nate Bargatze, played an audience member randomly selected by Don Francisco to compete in several challenges for a special prize, which was later revealed to be a pack of dogs.

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"Sorry, I'm visiting Miami. I got free tickets. I don't know what any of this means," Bargatze's character, Joshua, says in bewilderment. "I think I'm having a panic attack."

"Thanks to the unconditional support of the public, we closed that chapter almost 10 years ago," the real-life Don Francisco concluded on Instagram. "But the affection and respect for what we built together continues as alive as always. Thanks for so much!"

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Watch 'SNL's 'Sábado Gigante' spoof

How 'Sábado Gigante' made television history

Created by Chilean actor Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, "Sábado Gigante" ran from 1962 to 2015. Its 53-year run helped the series, led by Blumenfeld's flirtatious alter ego Don Francisco, become the longest-running variety show in television history.

Early versions of the show ran on Sunday, lasted eight hours and were canceled twice. The third time — along with a Saturday evening time slot and a downsizing to around three hours — was the charm.

"Sábado Gigante" became a hit in Chile, then in Latin America, Europe and beyond. In more than 40 countries, every Saturday night, generations of families, from abuelos to grandkids, gathered around the tube to watch together.

The show began airing in Miami in 1986 on the Spanish International Network (SIN). The following year the network was relaunched as Spanish-language U.S. network Univision, and the show became a ratings monster as millions of immigrants reconnected with a family tradition.

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The show's reputation for wildly over-the-top comedy skits and cheeky contests made it popular with non-Spanish-speaking viewers, too. You didn't have to understand the language to be joyfully transfixed by El Chacal de la Trompeta, a singing competition featuring a hooded judge whose name translates to Trumpet Jackal.

When appropriate, the show took a serious tone. Viewers met presidential candidates through Don Francisco's direct, news-anchor-like interviews, and were invited to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the White House in 2001. They processed the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and were riveted by the 2010 rescue of the Chilean miners in reports that were by turns straightforward and emotional.

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Univision canceled the show in 2015. In a statement at the time, the network said, "There’s no doubt that the dynamic mix of humor, amateur talent contests, audience games, human-interest stories, celebrity interviews, emotional family reunions, and the presence of some of the biggest Latin music stars have granted Sábado Gigante over the past five decades the privilege of becoming an indisputable milestone in the history of international television."

Contributing: Pamela Avila and Gary Levin, USA TODAY; Suzan Colόn for USA TODAY Hispanic Living magazine