Luis José Santander
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Luis Jose Santander (born August 4, 1960) is a Venezuelan actor who has reached international fame. Just like Sonya Smith, Santander was born in the United States and raised in Venezuela. Santander's parents are Venezuelan.
Santander was not an instant sensation, as he had to work hard to become famous. He labored as an actor in small plays around Venezuela when his chance to become famous arrived in 1987. That year, he made his television debut in "Y la Luna Tambien" ("And the Moon Too"), which became a major international hit, reaching important numbers in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Ecuador, among others. It wasn't until 1988, however, when, at the age of 28, he became a teen idol following the smash success of "Niña Bonita" ("Pretty Girl"). This production, which was produced by Venevision and had nothing in common storywise with the latter Hollywood hit "Pretty Woman", was a major hit all over Latin America. propelling Sabntander and his female co-star, Rudy Rodriguez, into super-stardom in the area. That telenovelas title song "Tan Enamorado". also propelled singer Ricardo Montaner into international fame.
"Nina Bonita"s success raised both Santander and Rodriguez's rentability in the high-paying Hispanic soap opera world. In Santander's case, he followed "Nina Boniita" with "Maribel" in 1989, While not as successful as Nina Bonita, "Maribel" was also a lage hit for the Venezuelan actor.
In 1991, he participated in "Mundo de Fieras", which was another large success on the Venezuelan and United States Latino television viewer's ratings.
By then, his telenovelas had caused so much interest, that Santander became well known in Europe as well, with many of his soap operas being shown in places like Russia and Hungary.
In 1993, Santander participated in "Macarena". Whether the title of this song had anything to do with the latter hit, Macarena, is unknown.
In 1994, he participated in "Morena Clara" ("Brown Girl"), which, again, would prove that he was among Venezuelans' favorite actors.
In a surprise move, he went to Mexico in 1996, contracted by that country's largest network, Televisa, to film Lazos de Amor, ("Love Ties") alongside Mexican superstar Lucero. Odd as it might sound to many, at the age of 37, Santander recovered his status as a teen idol, at least in Mexico, where that soap opera became a classic of Mexican television, due in part to the following he generated among Mexican Teenaged girl. He decided to stay as a full time resident of Mexico, and in 1997, he recorded "Te Siguo Amando" ("I Still Love you", a sequel to "Lazos de Amor").
After filming "Vidas Prestadas" ("Borrowed Lives") in 2000, Santander has lived in semi-retirement, often flying between Mexico and Venezuela for interviews and special occasions.
In 2006 santander returns to Venezuela to star the telenovela "Silvia Rivas, divorciada".
