Luisito Vigoreaux
Encyclopedia
Luis Vigoreaux Lorenzana (born July 1, 1951) is a Puerto Rican
actor and producer. He is the son of Luis Vigoreaux
, a legendary 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.
. 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.
. 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
http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/otras_panorama/noticias/acaba_con_su_vida_de_un_disparo/211807.
..
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 one of the hosts of El Bayú, one of Puerto Rico's longest running morning radio programs (aired on the island's Cadena Salsoul
radio network), along with merengue
singer Giselle, and disc jockey
Jorge Pabón, also known as "El Molusco". He became a grandfather in August 2006. On July 1, 2008, Vigoreaux develed several projects including the reproduction of several inactive teathre plays.
) 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. A plaque given to him by the cast of "Sunshine's Cafe" acknowledges their gratitude, quote, "al productor más hijo de puta de la televisión puertorriqueña" ("to the biggest son-of-a-bitch producer of Puerto Rican television"). 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".
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...
actor and producer. He is the son of Luis Vigoreaux
Luis Vigoreaux
Luis Vigoreaux Rivera was a Puerto Rican radio and television show host, announcer, comedian and producer. The son of a sugar worker, Vigoreaux became one of the most popular television entertainers in Puerto Rico's history....
, a legendary Puerto Rican media personality and Rosaura Lorenzana Vilches. He is also the brother of Roberto Vigoreaux
Roberto Vigoreaux
Roberto Vigoreaux Lorenzana is a Puerto Rican media personality. He is a former senator, television producer, actor, singer, marketing executive, telecommunications technician and ice cream entrepreneur...
, 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 AgrelotJosé Miguel Agrelot
Giuseppe Michael Agrelot , better known as José Miguel Agrelot, was a comedian, radio and television host and media icon in Puerto Rico...
. 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
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
) when they were young. By then, their father Luis Vigoreaux had been long separated from Ms. Lorenzana and had married actress Lydia Echevarria
Lydia Echevarría
Lydia Echevarría is a Puerto Rican actress who was convicted of plotting the murder of her husband, renowned Puerto Rican television show producer, Luis Vigoreaux.-Early years:...
, 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
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
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-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....
. 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
Era
An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
for several years, and it was hosted by Hector Marcano
Hector Marcano
Hector Marcano is a Puerto Rican comedian, producer, and game show host in Puerto Rico.Hector Marcano was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on November 3, 1956. Marcano's career took off after Luis Vigoreaux's death...
, Sonia Noemí
Sonia Noemí
Sonia Noemi, "Sonia Noemí González" July 14, 1941, born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, is an actress and singer, who is one of the pioneers of Puerto Rican television.-Early years:...
, and Rafael Jose
Rafael José
Dr. Rafael José Diaz is a Puerto Rican television show host born in Manatí, Puerto Rico, where his father, a physician born in the Dominican Republic, was the medical director of the local hospital. His family eventually moved to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, where he was raised...
.
His stepmother Echevarría was accused, in 1984, of the murder of Luis Vigoreaux
Luis Vigoreaux
Luis Vigoreaux Rivera was a Puerto Rican radio and television show host, announcer, comedian and producer. The son of a sugar worker, Vigoreaux became one of the most popular television entertainers in Puerto Rico's history....
, 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
Pedro Rosselló
Pedro Juan Rosselló González, M.D., , is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the sixth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001...
eventually commuted her 208-year sentence, after serving 13 years.
Such magazines as Vea
Vea
Vea is a Puerto Rican gossip magazine that has been published weekly since 1968.As a periodical that reports on the lives and activities of many of the island's entertainment, sports, and political personalities, the magazine is no stranger to controversy...
, Artistas, and TeVe Guía
Teve Guía
Teve Guía is a Puerto Rican gossip and listings magazine. Published since the 1960s, Teve Guía is written in association with the United States magazine, TV Guide, but has a slightly different format....
among other magazines which have often kept the 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...
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
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/otras_panorama/noticias/acaba_con_su_vida_de_un_disparo/211807.
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 RicoPuerto 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...
..
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
Desiree Lowry
Desiree Lowry Rodríguez , is a former Miss Puerto Rico, fashion model, TV host, radio presenter, event coordinator, beauty pageant director and model agency owner...
. 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
Sunshine Logroño
Emmanuel Logroño , better known as Sunshine Logroño is a Puerto Rican actor, radio announcer, television show host, singer, comedy writer, entrepreneur and comedian...
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
Telemundo Puerto Rico
The name Telemundo Puerto Rico may represent:* WKAQ-TV, a Telemundo station in San Juan, Puerto Rico* Telemundo Puerto Rico , a former Spanish-language cable network...
's show host Eddie Miró
Eddie Miró
Eddie Miró , is a television show host in Puerto Rico of Sephardic origin. He is best known for being the host of Telemundo Puerto Rico's variety show "El Show de las 12" for over 40 years...
.
Currently, Vigoreaux is one of the hosts of El Bayú, one of Puerto Rico's longest running morning radio programs (aired on the island's Cadena Salsoul
Cadena Salsoul
Cadena Salsoul, an entertainment-based salsa radio station, is the leader in Puerto Rico, one of Arbitron's most competitive market ....
radio network), along with merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
singer Giselle, and disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Jorge Pabón, also known as "El Molusco". He became a grandfather in August 2006. On July 1, 2008, Vigoreaux develed several projects including the reproduction of several inactive teathre plays.
The "Vigoreaux Trademark"
Luisito Vigoreaux is famous for his (sometimes self-deprecatingSelf-deprecation
Self-deprecation, or Self-depreciation, is the act of belittling or undervaluing oneself. It can be used in humor and tension release.-In comedy:...
) sense of humor and blatant frankness. After being convicted once of a DUI
DUI
DUI is a three letter acronym that may stand for:* Driving under the influence * Democratic Union for Integration — the largest ethnic Albanian party in the Republic of Macedonia* Data Use Identifier...
charge in 1989 he was parodied by fellow actors, who even played Pedro Flores
Pedro Flores (composer)
Pedro Flores born was one Puerto Rico's best known composers of Ballads and Boleros.-Early years:Flores was one of 12 children born into a poor family in the town of Naguabo, Puerto Rico. Flores' father died when he was only nine years old and therefore, he was forced to work at a young age...
' "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
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
occasionally in public. This, plus his uncompromising attitude, has earned him the reputation of being Puerto Rican television's enfant terrible. A plaque given to him by the cast of "Sunshine's Cafe" acknowledges their gratitude, quote, "al productor más hijo de puta de la televisión puertorriqueña" ("to the biggest son-of-a-bitch producer of Puerto Rican television"). 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
Roberto Vigoreaux
Roberto Vigoreaux Lorenzana is a Puerto Rican media personality. He is a former senator, television producer, actor, singer, marketing executive, telecommunications technician and ice cream entrepreneur...
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 RicoFrench immigration to Puerto RicoThe French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana , Saint-Domingue and in Europe....
- List of television presenters/Puerto Rico