Luis Raúl

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 Rodríguez
Born	(1962-03-06)March 6, 1962 Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died	February 2, 2014(2014-02-02) (aged 51) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Medium	Television, stand-up, film
Education	Dr. Pila High School
Alma mater	Universidad del Sagrado Corazón Ofelia D'Acosta's School of Dramatic Arts
Years active	1983–2014
Genres	Observational comedy
Subject(s)	Puerto Rican life, his own life, sex
Parent(s)	Raúl Martínez Nilda Rodríguez
Notable works and roles	¿Que Es Lo Que Pasa Aquí? Ahh! En Casa de Luis Raúl Anda Pa'l Cará Que OJOnes

Luis Raúl Martínez Rodríguez^{[note 1]} (March 6, 1962 – February 2, 2014), better known as 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. He died early in the morning of February 2, 2014 from renal failure which in turn led to cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Early years and education

Luis Raúl was born in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico to Raúl Martínez and Nilda Rodríguez. 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,^[3] he enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez to study chemical engineering.^[4] 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.^[5]

Career

Early career: 1981–1997

In 1981, he moved to San Juan where he held several jobs to make ends meet. Among them, he worked by selling popcorn and hot dogs in two theaters.^[6] 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.

TV and stage return: 2000–2012

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 2002 he adopted two children calling Angel and Janet.

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 Está Peúla 3D" ("It's Hairy 3D"). In 2010, he started a new tour called "Con Los Huevos a Peseta" ("Eggs at a Quarter Each"). He embarked on another stand-up comedy in 2011 called "Que Clase 'E Lengua" ("What A Tongue"). On March 5, 2012, he had a special program called "The Trail" on Telemundo, which he co-hosted with Maritza Baiges. His penultimate stand-up comedy was titled "A Cuero Pela'o" ("Bare Skinned") and ran from Autumn 2012 to Spring 2013.

Final show and posthumous film: 2013–2014

His final 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^[7] and the first show to be broadcast live from the venue over the internet. This performance marked the final show he performed before his death.

One of Luis Raúl's final wishes as a stand-up comedian, was to use the footage recorded from "Que OJOnes" and turn it into a film. On March 23, 2014, the film plans were confirmed undergoing post-production at the time.^[8] On May 5, 2014, the posthumous film was given a theatrical release for June 5, 2014 in Puerto Rico and select theaters in the United States at a later date, marking Luis Raúl's final film.^[9][10][11]

Death

On January 13, 2014, Martínez was hospitalized after suffering bilateral pneumonia.^[12] Two weeks later, his condition worsened and he was placed on a ventilator that provided artificial respiration.^[13] 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.^[14][15] Several of his colleagues expressed their condolences shortly after the news was made public.^[16] Prior to falling ill, Martínez was involved in the filming of a movie named Un lío en dólares.^[17] His family decided not to hold a vigil, instead directly cremating his body, as Luis Raúl wished.^[18]

Characters

Luis Raúl popularized a vast array of characters that have made it into the popular culture of the island, which are:

• Piquito: a naive kid with a speech impairment who makes a living selling barbecue chicken. Though Piquito tried selling other products, he always ended up back to selling barbecue chicken, where he was happy to be at.^[19]
• Tito Párpados: an Argentinian celebrity and media reporter with a flamboyant hairdo.^[19]
• El Bebé: a loving baby during the day and a perverted rascal at night.^[19]
• Malín: Luis Raúl's nuyorican cousin who constantly claims she performs "Off-off-off-off-Broadway... almost in Queens".^[19]
• Doña Mary Jane: an elderly pot-head woman. Her name is a reference of one of the slang terms given to marijuana.^[19]
• Junito Puppy Love: a flirting Don Juan who spends his time calling one of his many girlfriends and expressing his love with certain puns.

Stand-up shows

Filmography

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• List of game show hosts

Notes

1. ↑ This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Martínez  and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.

References

External links

• Luis Raúl at the Internet Movie Database