Luisito Vigoreaux

Luis Vigoreaux Lorenzana (born July 1, 1951) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He is the son of Luis Vigoreaux, a Puerto Rican media personality and Rosaura Lorenzana Vilches. He is also the brother of Roberto Vigoreaux, who at times was a local senator, television producer, actor, singer, marketing executive, telecommunications technician and ice cream entrepreneur.

Early life

Luisito is a direct contemporary, to the day, of José Carlos Agrelot, the elder son of Puerto Rican comedian José Miguel Agrelot. Both of their fathers were best friends, were working together at a public show the day Luisito and José Jr. were born, and attended the same hospital for their respective sons' births. Both fathers were eventually buried on the same cemetery after their deaths, just metres from each other.

Luisito Vigoreaux and his brother Roberto were deeply impacted by the premature death of their mother (due to cancer) when they were young. By then, their father Luis Vigoreaux had been long separated from Ms. Lorenzana and had married actress Lydia Echevarria, a fact that caused much friction by the Vigoreaux brothers towards her. From his father's side, Luisito and Roberto also have two sisters, Vanessa Vigoreaux, an occasional theatrical actress, and Glendalys Vigoreaux.

Of the two brothers, the younger Roberto was actually the first one to have any media experience: he was a child actor, first doing bit parts in local soap operas, then starring in The Wonderful World of Disney Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt. As they came of age, both Vigoreaux brothers -Luisito particularly- worked closely with their father on his TV productions.

Luis Vigoreaux, Sr.'s Death

A tragedy in January 1983 turned Luisito's life around: His father was murdered, burned to death inside the trunk of his car. At the time Luisito had been working with his father on a new TV show named A Millón, for WAPA-TV. Luisito, wanting to become a producer, originally would have been an assistant to his father. However, with his father's death, after a short period of mourning, was ascended to main producer of the show. A Millón, became the #1 game show of the era for several years, and it was hosted by Hector Marcano, Sonia Noemí, and Rafael Jose.

His stepmother Echevarría was accused, in 1984, of the murder of Luis Vigoreaux, as the intellectual author of the crime. Luisito and Roberto's hatred for her, became obvious when they opposed the commutation of her sentence. Governor Pedro Rossello eventually commuted her 208-year sentence, after serving 13 years.

Such magazines as Vea, Artistas, and TeVe Guía among other magazines which have often kept the Puerto Rican public informed about the family lives of all the members of the Vigoreaux family, have speculated about the relationship between Luisito, Roberto and their sisters. Many, among the public, have speculated that there was some friction among them, but they always denied this, and they appeared together in public a few times. On July 15, 2008, sister Glendalys Vigoreaux allegedly committed suicide in Glendale, Arizona .

Role as a media producer

It wasn't until 1984, however, that Luisito, who already himself had two small daughters, stepped onto the public light when he co-hosted, with Roberto, the daily game show Parejo, Doble y Triple (Square, Double and Triple), also at WAPA-TV. From the moment he and his brother stepped in front of the television cameras for the first time, they started to become more and more famous across Puerto Rico..

Later on, Vigoreaux went on to host other shows such as Sabado en Grande (Big Saturday, also with Roberto), El Show del Mediodía (The Midday Show) and De Magazin, one of several successful media partnerships with talent agent and former beauty queen Desiree Lowry. He has hosted or co-hosted and produced several other shows, both on television and radio. The most controversial of these shows has been -by far- Sunshine's Café, a comedy show starring Sunshine Logroño that aired in the mid-1980s.

Long divorced from his second wife, Marisol Gallisá, Vigoreaux in the early 1990s married Dana Miró, also a show host and daughter of Telemundo Puerto Rico's show host Eddie Miró.

Currently, Vigoreaux is co hosting TV show Ruben & Co. along with Millie Cangiano.

The "Vigoreaux Trademark"

Luisito Vigoreaux is famous for his (sometimes self-deprecating) sense of humor and blatant frankness. After being convicted once of a DUI charge in 1989 he was parodied by fellow actors, who even played Pedro Flores' "Borracho No Vale" ("Being Drunk Doesn't Count") as a theme song for Luisito. Not only did he play along with the joke, he keeps referring humorously to the conviction to this day.

Luisito is also known for using profanity occasionally in public. This, plus his uncompromising attitude, has earned him the reputation of being Puerto Rican television's enfant terrible. Luisito, in by-now usual form, read the plaque publicly on the air when awarded with it on one of his television shows (he is reportedly proud of the award). This humorous tendency to be foul-mouthed has been called "El Vigoreaux Trademark" by fellow actors and staff people (since Roberto Vigoreaux also has a taste for four-letter words). Sunshine Logroño jokingly refers to Luisito as "Luisito 'Satanás' (Satan) Vigoreaux".

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• French immigration to Puerto Rico
• List of television presenters/Puerto Rico

References