Awilda Carbia
Encyclopedia
Awilda Carbia was an actress, comedian, and impersonator.
. Later, she abandoned the show, and her daughter, Puerto Rican
television host, Mirayda Chaves, took over, playing "Estrellita Galaxia", (Little Galaxy Star).
television producer: Tony Chiroldes, and El Show del Mediodía, (The Mid-day Show), produced by the late Puerto Rican producer, Tommy Muñiz. Later, she became part of the cast of television sitcoms in WAPA-TV in Puerto Rico, such as: Ja, ja, ji, ji, jo, jo, (Ha, ha, he, he, ho, ho), with the late Puerto Rican comedian José Miguel Agrelot
, "Don Cholito", to whom the new Puerto Rican Coliseum, in Hato Rey, has recently been named after.
broadcast by WAPA-TV
El Silencio Nos Condena, (Our Silence Condemns Us), opposite Cuban leading man Eliseo Pereira. As the 1970s came about, there was an actors' strike in WAPA-TV, and the whole cast of comedians of Tommy Muñiz
Productions, to which Awilda belonged to, created a new company, called "ASTRA". Together, they produced a different television comedy series called Ahí Va Eso, (There it Goes), this time telecast
by Rikavision, channel 7, then WRIK-TV.
Later, Awilda, moved to Telemundo
, and became the leading lady of her own television show inside the legendary music and comedy series that aired for 40 consecutive years, El Show de las 12, (The 12 o'clock show). She was also featured in two comedy series: La Encubierta Descubierta, (The Uncovered Undercover Agent) and Awilda lo Divierte, (Awilda Entertains You), as well as being a member of the comedy cast for El Show de Chucho, (Chucho's Show). The latter was the #1 television show for many years.
Later, when Chucho Avellanet
abandoned the show, Awilda Carbia, alongside Otilio Warrington
, (Bizcocho) and Juan Manuel Lebrón
, took over the show, and from being the stars of the comedy cast, they became the stars of the show, then called Estudio Alegre, (Cheerful Studio) and later, Musicomedia, (Musicomedy). She also starred, opposite Juan Manuel Lebrón
, Benito Mateo and Rosita Velázquez in the hit Sunday prime-time TV sitcom, En Casa de Juanma y Wiwi (At Juanma and Wiwi's House). She also starred in the celebrated Puerto Rican Spanish-language production of the musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, titled 40 Kilates (40 Karats).
Awilda Carbia, starred in a new concept series of a one woman comedy act, titled Desconcierto. (Desconcierto", in the Spanish language means "confusion","disquiet" or "disorder"; however, in the context of the show, the word is playfully used as the antonym
of the word: "Concert", to mean, "Un-concert"). She impersonated Puerto Rican celebrities such as Myrta Silva
, Carmita Jiménez
, Lucecita Benítez
, Yolandita Monge
, & Nydia Caro
, among many others. Carbia's series of "Desconciertos", made their debut at the Tapia Theater in San Juan
, and were performed in various theaters and night clubs of Puerto Rico such as: Caribe Hilton Hotel, the Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré
in Santurce
and, most notably, 105 performances at the legendary Tapia Theater in Old San Juan. Desconcierto kept running on stage for 15 consecutive years, in two-month seasons.
Then, in the late 1980s, Awilda Carbia, signed an exclusivity contract with WQII-TV, TeleOnce, and she produced her own weekly comedy series: Soy Awilda, (I'm Awilda). It aired for three consecutive years.
Later, Carbia, accepted an offer from the late actress and producer: Lucy Boscana
, to perform opposite her, in a dramatic television mini-series, in a leading role. It was filmed between Argentina
& Puerto Rico
, and it's titled: Cita en Buenos Aires, (A Date in Buenos Aires).
as Sky Masterson, and Cristina Arzuaga as Sarah Brown. The English-language production played at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan.
Carbia also joined her daughter Myraida Chavez in an original theater production staged throughout various locations around the island called, Dos Mujeres de mi Tierra (Two Women of my Land), acknowledging the poetry of Julia de Burgos
, and the music of Sylvia Rexach
.
In 1998, she performed the multiple leading roles of the Puerto Rican comedy play Lo Mejor está por Venir, (The Best is Yet to Come) where she portrayed three different women characters.
Al derecho y al revés (Noises Off), Salvemos los delfines, (Let's Save the Dolphins), Cosas de papi y mami, (Daddy & Mommy's Ways), Teatruras de gala, (Gala Ball of Theatrical Things), Morisquetas, (Grimaces) & Nacionalmente correcta ("Nationally Correct") were among the theater productions Carbia performed as the leading lady.
In 1999, she returned to television, through Telemundo
, Channel 2, starring in a new sit-com called Los Seijo Díaz, (The Seijo Diaz family), again opposite Juan Manuel Lebrón
. It aired through 2003.
, in a drama stage production at the Raúl Juliá
Theater, in Santurce
.
Then, in 2007, she starred in the Puerto Rican musical Fuego a la Lata, (At Full Blast) at the Angel O. Berríos Performing Arts Center in Caguas, Puerto Rico
.
Carbia served in her last days as the guest comedy star of the daily television talk show Contigo, (With you) broadcast by Tu Universo Television, WIPR-TV
, channel 6, where the leading host is her daughter "Myraida Chavez". In addition to her guest appearances, she hosted her own daily talk show on radio station 940-AM
.
On October 28, 2008 she was honored by San Juan, Puerto Rico
Mayor Jorge Santini
during the gala held to reopen the Tapia Theater in Old San Juan, which included a star-studded concert with Danny Rivera
, Chucho Avellanet
, Andy Montañez
and Jackie Capó, the daughter of Bobby Capó
. Carbia, who was ill, was accompanied by all her children, as well as other celebrities, such as astrologer Walter Mercado
. The next day, Santini honored her by dedicating the "Awilda Carbia Theater Café".
She died on March 23, 2009 of pneumonia
at Presbyterian Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico
.
Early years
Awilda Carbia started her acting career as a 7-year-old child, without ever suspecting that later in her acting career, 1970s, she would portray a children's television show host that was called: Estrella Galaxia, (Galaxy Star), broadcast by WAPA-TVWAPA-TV
WAPA-TV is an independent television station located in San Juan, Puerto Rico transmitting over digital channel 27, virtual channel 4. The station is owned by InterMedia Partners and is branded as WAPA Television....
. Later, she abandoned the show, and her daughter, Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
television host, Mirayda Chaves, took over, playing "Estrellita Galaxia", (Little Galaxy Star).
1960s
During the 1960s, Carbia, performed as a comedian in several television shows, such as: Rendezvous Nocturno, produced by the late CubanCubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
television producer: Tony Chiroldes, and El Show del Mediodía, (The Mid-day Show), produced by the late Puerto Rican producer, Tommy Muñiz. Later, she became part of the cast of television sitcoms in WAPA-TV in Puerto Rico, such as: Ja, ja, ji, ji, jo, jo, (Ha, ha, he, he, ho, ho), with the late Puerto Rican comedian José Miguel Agrelot
José Miguel Agrelot
Giuseppe Michael Agrelot , better known as José Miguel Agrelot, was a comedian, radio and television host and media icon in Puerto Rico...
, "Don Cholito", to whom the new Puerto Rican Coliseum, in Hato Rey, has recently been named after.
1970s-1980s
In 1971, making a short turnabout in her career as a comedian, Carbia became the leading lady of the soapopera telenovelaTelenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
broadcast by WAPA-TV
WAPA-TV
WAPA-TV is an independent television station located in San Juan, Puerto Rico transmitting over digital channel 27, virtual channel 4. The station is owned by InterMedia Partners and is branded as WAPA Television....
El Silencio Nos Condena, (Our Silence Condemns Us), opposite Cuban leading man Eliseo Pereira. As the 1970s came about, there was an actors' strike in WAPA-TV, and the whole cast of comedians of Tommy Muñiz
Tommy Muñiz
Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez , better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner...
Productions, to which Awilda belonged to, created a new company, called "ASTRA". Together, they produced a different television comedy series called Ahí Va Eso, (There it Goes), this time telecast
Telecast
Telecast may refer to:*television broadcast*Telecast , a Christian band from the United States...
by Rikavision, channel 7, then WRIK-TV.
Later, Awilda, moved to Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
, and became the leading lady of her own television show inside the legendary music and comedy series that aired for 40 consecutive years, El Show de las 12, (The 12 o'clock show). She was also featured in two comedy series: La Encubierta Descubierta, (The Uncovered Undercover Agent) and Awilda lo Divierte, (Awilda Entertains You), as well as being a member of the comedy cast for El Show de Chucho, (Chucho's Show). The latter was the #1 television show for many years.
Later, when Chucho Avellanet
Chucho Avellanet
Armando Hipólito Avellanet González , nicknamed "Chucho" is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor...
abandoned the show, Awilda Carbia, alongside Otilio Warrington
Otilio Warrington
Otilio Warrington, known popularly as Bizcocho is a comedian, best known for his roles of "Bizcocho" and "Cuca Gómez".-Early years:...
, (Bizcocho) and Juan Manuel Lebrón
Juan Manuel Lebrón
Juan Manuel Lebron is a well known Puerto Rican actor, model, screenwriter, television producer and salsa singer.-Career:...
, took over the show, and from being the stars of the comedy cast, they became the stars of the show, then called Estudio Alegre, (Cheerful Studio) and later, Musicomedia, (Musicomedy). She also starred, opposite Juan Manuel Lebrón
Juan Manuel Lebrón
Juan Manuel Lebron is a well known Puerto Rican actor, model, screenwriter, television producer and salsa singer.-Career:...
, Benito Mateo and Rosita Velázquez in the hit Sunday prime-time TV sitcom, En Casa de Juanma y Wiwi (At Juanma and Wiwi's House). She also starred in the celebrated Puerto Rican Spanish-language production of the musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, titled 40 Kilates (40 Karats).
Awilda Carbia, starred in a new concept series of a one woman comedy act, titled Desconcierto. (Desconcierto", in the Spanish language means "confusion","disquiet" or "disorder"; however, in the context of the show, the word is playfully used as the antonym
Antonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not...
of the word: "Concert", to mean, "Un-concert"). She impersonated Puerto Rican celebrities such as Myrta Silva
Myrta Silva
Myrta Silva was a Puerto Rican singer, composer and television producer. She was known affectionately as "La Gorda De Oro".-Early years:...
, Carmita Jiménez
Carmita Jiménez
Carmita Jiménez was a Puerto Rican singer who was considered a diva in Puerto Rico. She was born in San Lorenzo....
, Lucecita Benítez
Lucecita Benítez
Luz Esther Benítez , better known in the music world as Lucecita, is a Puerto Rican singer.-Biography:Lucecita was a member of what is historically known in Puerto Rico as the New Wave, or Nueva Ola of popular music, created by Alfred D. Herger, alongside Lissette and Chucho Avellanet, among others...
, Yolandita Monge
Yolandita Monge
Yolandita Monge is an international singer and actress from Puerto Rico and the first Puerto Rican female singer to be nominated to the Grammy Music Awards. She is also Puerto Rico's highest selling female artist. She has been in the music business since adolescence, and has recorded over thirty...
, & Nydia Caro
Nydia Caro
Nydia Caro is an American & Puerto Rican actress and singer. Born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico, she initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York...
, among many others. Carbia's series of "Desconciertos", made their debut at the Tapia Theater in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, and were performed in various theaters and night clubs of Puerto Rico such as: Caribe Hilton Hotel, the Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré
Luis A. Ferré
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...
in Santurce
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Summary:Santurce is one of the top ten most populated areas of the island holding Miramar, Loíza, Isla Grande, Barrio Obrero, and Condado as main cultural hot spots for art, music, cuisine, fashion, hotels, technology, multimedia, film, textile and...
and, most notably, 105 performances at the legendary Tapia Theater in Old San Juan. Desconcierto kept running on stage for 15 consecutive years, in two-month seasons.
Then, in the late 1980s, Awilda Carbia, signed an exclusivity contract with WQII-TV, TeleOnce, and she produced her own weekly comedy series: Soy Awilda, (I'm Awilda). It aired for three consecutive years.
Later, Carbia, accepted an offer from the late actress and producer: Lucy Boscana
Lucy Boscana
Lucy Boscana was an actress and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television industry.-Early years:Boscana was born in the city of Mayagüez which is located on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Her family moved to the United States when she was a child because of the economic crisis in the island...
, to perform opposite her, in a dramatic television mini-series, in a leading role. It was filmed between Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
& Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and it's titled: Cita en Buenos Aires, (A Date in Buenos Aires).
1990s - 2003
On-Stage, she's performed the leading lady in many "Zarzuelas' (Spanish operettas), comedies and musicals. She starred as Miss Adelaide in the 1991 Puerto Rican revival of Guys & Dolls, opposite Ivan Rodríguez as Nathan Detroit, Osvaldo RíosOsvaldo Ríos
Osvaldo Ríos born Osvaldo Ríos Alonso on October 25, 1960 in Carolina, Puerto Rico, is a Puerto Rican actor, model, singer, and guitarist, of Armenian descent, who is best known for his roles in telenovelas...
as Sky Masterson, and Cristina Arzuaga as Sarah Brown. The English-language production played at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan.
Carbia also joined her daughter Myraida Chavez in an original theater production staged throughout various locations around the island called, Dos Mujeres de mi Tierra (Two Women of my Land), acknowledging the poetry of Julia de Burgos
Julia de Burgos
Julia Constancia Burgos García is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico, and along with Gabriela Mistral, is considered as one of the greatest female poets of Latin America...
, and the music of Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Rexach , was a comedy scriptwriter, poet, singer and composer of boleros .-Early years:Rexach was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. There she attended public school and received her primary education...
.
In 1998, she performed the multiple leading roles of the Puerto Rican comedy play Lo Mejor está por Venir, (The Best is Yet to Come) where she portrayed three different women characters.
Al derecho y al revés (Noises Off), Salvemos los delfines, (Let's Save the Dolphins), Cosas de papi y mami, (Daddy & Mommy's Ways), Teatruras de gala, (Gala Ball of Theatrical Things), Morisquetas, (Grimaces) & Nacionalmente correcta ("Nationally Correct") were among the theater productions Carbia performed as the leading lady.
In 1999, she returned to television, through Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
, Channel 2, starring in a new sit-com called Los Seijo Díaz, (The Seijo Diaz family), again opposite Juan Manuel Lebrón
Juan Manuel Lebrón
Juan Manuel Lebron is a well known Puerto Rican actor, model, screenwriter, television producer and salsa singer.-Career:...
. It aired through 2003.
Later years
In 2005, she performed one of the leading roles, in the Puerto Rican film El Sueño del Regreso, (The Dream of the Return) produced and directed by the Puerto Rican film director Luis Molina Casanova. Also, she performed on stage, as a serious actress, portraying Helen KellerHelen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, in a drama stage production at the Raúl Juliá
Raúl Juliá
Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
Theater, in Santurce
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Summary:Santurce is one of the top ten most populated areas of the island holding Miramar, Loíza, Isla Grande, Barrio Obrero, and Condado as main cultural hot spots for art, music, cuisine, fashion, hotels, technology, multimedia, film, textile and...
.
Then, in 2007, she starred in the Puerto Rican musical Fuego a la Lata, (At Full Blast) at the Angel O. Berríos Performing Arts Center in Caguas, Puerto Rico
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Caguas , founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey....
.
Carbia served in her last days as the guest comedy star of the daily television talk show Contigo, (With you) broadcast by Tu Universo Television, WIPR-TV
WIPR-TV
WIPR-TV is an non-commercial educational, full-power public television station located in San Juan, Puerto Rico transmitting over analog channel 6, digital 43. The station is owned and operated by Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública ...
, channel 6, where the leading host is her daughter "Myraida Chavez". In addition to her guest appearances, she hosted her own daily talk show on radio station 940-AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
.
On October 28, 2008 she was honored by San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
Mayor Jorge Santini
Jorge Santini
Jorge Santini Padilla in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is an Puerto Rican Politician and current Mayor of San Juan City.-Biography:...
during the gala held to reopen the Tapia Theater in Old San Juan, which included a star-studded concert with Danny Rivera
Danny Rivera
Danny Rivera is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who was born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well-known in Puerto Rico for his political activism.-Musical career:...
, Chucho Avellanet
Chucho Avellanet
Armando Hipólito Avellanet González , nicknamed "Chucho" is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor...
, Andy Montañez
Andy Montañez
Andrés Montañez , better known as Andy Montañez, is a salsa singer from Puerto Rico.-Early life:Montañez, like singer Daniel Santos and boxer Ossie Ocasio, is a native of the Tras Talleres area of Santurce San Juan. He is known by the nickname "El Godfather de la Salsa"...
and Jackie Capó, the daughter of Bobby Capó
Bobby Capó
Félix Manuel Rodríguez Capó , better known as Bobby Capó, was an internationally known singer and songwriter from Puerto Rico...
. Carbia, who was ill, was accompanied by all her children, as well as other celebrities, such as astrologer Walter Mercado
Walter Mercado
Walter Mercado , is a Puerto Rican astrologer. Mercado announced that he and Univision have parted ways after fifteen years.-Early years:...
. The next day, Santini honored her by dedicating the "Awilda Carbia Theater Café".
She died on March 23, 2009 of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at Presbyterian Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of notable residents of San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Paquito CorderoPaquito CorderoPaquito Cordero , was a comedian and television producer and also one of the pioneers of Puerto Rican television.-Early years:...
- Juan Manuel LebrónJuan Manuel LebrónJuan Manuel Lebron is a well known Puerto Rican actor, model, screenwriter, television producer and salsa singer.-Career:...
External links
- http://www.prpop.org/biografias/a_bios/awilda_carbia.shtml
- http://www.prpop.org/noticias/mar07/awilda_carbia_mar09.shtml
- http://www.phase9.tv/movies/elsuenodelregresso.shtml
- http://www.aarp.org/aarp_benefits/natl_events/puerto_rico/speakers/awilda_carbia.html