Luis Gatica

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Luis Gatica (born February 25, 1961 in Veracruz) is a Mexican actor. He is the son of Chilean singer Lucho Gatica and Puerto Rican actress Mapita Cortes; he is the nephew of Puerto Rican actress Mapy Cortes and second cousin of Puerto Rican actor, comedian and producer Paquito Cordero.

[edit] Biography

Luis Gatica, of course, grew in a show business family. Having celebrity relatives both in Mexico and in Puerto Rico, Gatica wanted to become a celebrity on his own since he was very young.

Gatica participated in various theater plays and in some, particularly not notable, music groups as he grew. He struggled trying to follow in his parents' footsteps.

His first big break came in 1983, when he was hired by Televisa to act in La fiera, which is considered a contemporary classic among telenovelas. In 1984, he played Joel in Los años felices (The Happy Years).

This was followed by 1986's Marionetas (Puppets), where he played Jorge Linares.

Having obtained celebrity for the first time, Gatica tried his luck in the world of music, retiring from television from 1986 to 1994. Although his foray into the world of rock music was largely unsuccessful, he nevertheless kept active for those eight years, singing in many Mexican locations.

In 1994, he was offered a return to television, and he did so by participating in another Mexican classic, Marimar, a telenovela that helped launch the acting career of singer Thalía. He played Chuy in that telenovela. Gatica then made his film debut, when he participated in 1995's Tiempo de Muerte 2 (Time to Die 2).

Tiempo de Muerte 2 was followed by A sangre fría ("In cold blood"), a movie that was titled, as it's name suggests, both in Spanish and English. In A sangre fría..., he played Beto. In 1996, Gatica returned to acting in telenovelas, participating in La antorcha encendida (The burning torch), as Juan Foncerrada and in Mi querida Isabel (My beloved Isabel), where he played Ricardo.

He took off one year before returning to the screens in 1998, acting as Ruben in Cazador de cazadores (Hunter of hunters), an action movie. That same year, he participated as Patricio in Preciosa, another telenovela that was successful. That telenovela was followed by another one, La mentira (The Lie), where he personified Santiago.

Luis Gatica made one telenovela in 1999: in DKDA: Suenos de Juventud (DKDA: Dreams of Youth), he played Raul Arias.

Returning to the film industry in 2000, Gatica played Rodrigo Miranda in Cuenta saldada (Paid Debt).

His next work, however, was in a soap opera marred by general criticism by magazine and newspaper telenovela critics. Sin Pecado Concebido, where he played doctor Garduno, was not well received by the media, which doomed the show with tele-spectators, and the soap opera was not a success.

In 2002, Gatica joined other celebrities in the Big Brother reality show, in Mexico City.

Gatica began 2003 by participating in another telenovela: he played Jorge Esparza in [[Niña amada mía (Beloved girl of mine). This was followed by Clap! El lugar de tus sueños (Clap! the place of your dreams), where he played Rivadeneira, and by 2004's Rubí, where he acted as Cayetano.

Coincidentally, Gatica has another brother who is also an actor and is also named Luis Gatica. His brother, however, has not enjoyed as much success as he has.