Luis Raúl

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Luis Raúl

Luis Raúl in his final stand-up comedy on September 14, 2013 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot.
Birth name Luis Raúl Martínez
Born (1962-03-06)March 6, 1962
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died February 2, 2014(2014-02-02) (aged 51)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality Puerto Rican
Field Actor, comedian, host
Alma mater Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
Ofelia D'Acosta's School of Dramatic Arts
Works ¿Que Es Lo Que Pasa Aquí? Ahh!
En Casa de Luis Raúl
Anda Pa'l Cará
Que OJOnes

Luis Raúl Martínez (March 6, 1962 – February 2, 2014), a.k.a Luis Raúl, was a Puerto Rican actor and comedian.[1][2] He was known for his stand-up comedy shows and for his various characters. He also hosted Univision's talk and variety show Anda Pa'l Cará from 2001 to 2003 and Telemundo's game show Pa' Que Te Lo Goces in 2006.

Early years and education

Luis Raúl was born in city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. As a young child, he showed interest in acting. During school, he would frequently participate in plays and shows. After graduating from Dr. Pila High School, he enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez to study chemical engineering.[3] After two years, he transferred to Universidad del Sagrado Corazón and majored in Business administration, taking electives in theatre. In 1980 he graduated from Ofelia D'Acosta's School of Dramatic Arts.[4]

Career

In 1981, he moved to San Juan where he held several jobs to make ends meet. Among them, he worked by selling pop corn and hot dogs in two theaters, Cine Teatro and Teatro Royal.[5] In the meantime, he studied at the Acting Academy of Ofelia D'Acosta's acting academy and started performing at weekly shows. In 1983 he debuted in the play Los Títeres de Cachiporra. In 1985 he had his first starring role in Un Mismo Corazón (One Heart), a play that dealt with the subject of AIDS, something that was taboo at the time.

At the same time, he started appearing in several local telenovelas and other TV shows. In 1987 he joined actor Edwin Pabellón in producing the radio show Algo Mejor (Something Better). He also had sporadic appearances at the show En Serio con Silverio hosted by Silverio Pérez. After that, Perez recruited him for a new show called ¿Que Es Lo Que Pasa Aquí? Ahh! (What's Going on in Here? Hmm!!!), a show dedicated to political and social satire. It was this show that established Luis Raúl as a comedic figure.

In 1992, Luis Raúl retired from the program with the intention of moving to Los Angeles and seek success there. In Los Angeles, he performed at several Hispanic commercials and shows, and also participated in various stand-up comedy and improvisation shows. However, he traveled to Puerto Rico constantly to perform his stand-up comedy show successfully around the island. In 1997 he also had his own show titled Pa' la Cama con Luis Raúl (To Bed with Luis Raúl) produced by Luisito Vigoreaux.

In 2000 he officially established himself back in Puerto Rico and started another show called En Casa de Luis Raúl (At Luis Raúl's Home) in Televicentro. In 2001 he was hired by Univision to replace long-time friend Silverio Pérez as host of their popular late night show Anda Pa'l Cará upon Perez's departure. Luis Raúl hosted the show with Gricel Mamery until retiring in 2003.

In 2008, Luis Raúl kicked off a farewell tour called "Chiquito Pero Juguetón" ("Little But Playful") with the intention of retiring afterward. The tour was highly successful in Puerto Rico and one of the venues where the show was taped was released as a film in theatres in the island titled "Chiquito Pero Juguetón: Da Muvi". After a brief hiatus, he returned in 2009 with another tour titled "La Cosa Esta Peúla 3D" ("It's Hairy 3D"). In 2010, he started a new tour called "Con Los Huevos a Peseta" ("Eggs at a Quarter Each"). In 2011 he had another tour of Stand-Up Comedy called "Que Clase 'E Lengua" ("What A Tounge"). On March 5, 2012, he will have a special program called "The Trail" for Telemundo. What will drive along with Maritza Baiges.[citation needed] His penultimate stand-up comedy was titled "A Cuero Pela'o" ("Bare Skinned") and ran from Autumn 2012 to Spring 2013.

His last stand-up comedy show was a one night only performance titled "Que OJOnes" ("What BIG EYEs") at Puerto Rico's renonwed Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, where Luis Raúl became the first comedian to perform at the venue on September 14, 2013.[6] This performance marked the final show he performed before his death.

Death

On January 13, 2014, Martínez was hospitalized after suffering bilateral pneumonia.[7] Two weeks later, his condition worsened and he was placed on a ventilator that provided artificial respiration.[8] However, aggravated by pre-existing conditions of diabetes and hypertension, his condition progressively worsened and his left lung was severely damaged. Consequently, he suffered renal failure which in turn led to cardiac and respiratory arrest, dying early in the morning of February 2, 2014.[9] Several of his colleagues expressed their condolences shortly after the news was made public.[10] Prior to falling ill, Martínez was involved in the filming of a movie named Un lío en dólares.[11] His family decided not to hold a vigil, instead directly cremating his body, as Luis Raúl wished.[12]

Characters

Luis Raúl popularized a vast array of characters that have made it into the popular culture of the island. Some of them are:

  • Piquito: a naive kid with a speech impairment who works selling BBQ chicken.[13]
  • Tito Párpados: a celebrity and media reporter with a flamboyant hairdo and an Argentinian accent.[13]
  • El Bebé: a loving baby during the day and rascal at night.[13]
  • Malín: Luis Raúl's nuyorican cousin.[13]
  • Doña Mary Jane: an elderly pot-head woman. Her name is a reference of one of the slang terms given to marijuana.[13]
  • Junito Puppy Love: a flirting Don Juan out to conquer girls but could never have his suave skills worked out with them.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chiquito pero Jugueton: The Muvi". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2011. 
  2. ↑ Montanez, Lillyana (August 1, 1997). "COMEDIAN LUIS RAUL TO PERFORM AUG. 30". Orlando Sentinel. p. 5. Retrieved 2 May 2011. 
  3. ↑ "Hacer reír es más difícil que hacer llorar". Geovanny Ábrego. 7 June 2012. CentroTampa.com Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Luis Raúl Martínez: Del Sur pal’mundo. Gladyra I. Archilla. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "La risa pudo más que la ingeniería en la vida de Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02. 
  6. ↑ Luis Raúl al Coliseo de Puerto Rico - El Nuevo Día.com
  7. ↑ "En intensivo Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-01-21. 
  8. ↑ Héctor Aponte Arlequín (2014-01-30). "Grave Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-02-02. 
  9. ↑ "Muere el comediante Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02. 
  10. ↑ "Reacciona la clase artística ante la muerte de Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02. 
  11. ↑ "Muere Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2014-02-02. 
  12. ↑ "Restos de Luis Raúl serán cremados" (in Spanish). Metro Puerto Rico. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Personajes inolvidables de Luis Raúl (in Spanish). Metro Puerto Rico. 2014-02-02. 

External links

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