Luis Raúl

Luis Raúl Martínez Rodríguez[note 1] (March 6, 1962 – February 2, 2014), better known as Luis Raúl, was a Puerto Rican actor, comedian and television host.[1][2] He was known for his stand-up comedy and 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 kidney failure which in turn led to cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Luis Raúl
Luis Raúl in his final stand-up comedy on September 14, 2013 at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum
Birth nameLuis Raúl Martínez Rodríguez
Born(1962-03-06)March 6, 1962
Ponce, Puerto Rico
DiedFebruary 2, 2014(2014-02-02) (aged 51)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
MediumTelevision, stand-up, film
EducationDr. Pila High School
Alma mater • Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
 • Ofelia D'Acosta's School of Dramatic Arts
Years active1983–2014
GenresObservational comedy
Character 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

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. 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!, 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 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 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" 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". In 2010, he started a new tour called "Con Los Huevos a Peseta". He embarked on another stand-up comedy in 2011 called "Que Clase 'E Lengua". On March 5, 2012, he had a special program called "El Camino" on Telemundo, which he co-hosted with Maritza Baigés. His penultimate stand-up comedy was titled "A Cuero Pela'o" 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" at Puerto Rico's renowned 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 from kidney 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] As per final wishes, Luis Raúl's family had his body directly cremated instead of holding a vigil.[17] Prior to falling ill, Martínez had filmed scenes in a supporting role for the Dominican film Un lío en dólares; his character was recast after his death.[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
Year Title Notes
1996 Luis Raúl Está Que Pica
Todavía Me Queda Cuerito
1998 Tengo Arena Hasta En El Cuello
Ensarta'o En La Vara
1999 El Encontronazo De Fin De Siglo With Silverio Pérez
A Que Me La Hago En Navidad
2003 20 Años Y Sigue... Para'o Celebrating 20 years of his stand-up career
2004 Lo Tengo Largo y Me Gusta
2005 Lo Tengo Largo y Me Lo Voy a Cortar
2005 Me Pasaron Por La Piedra
2006 Sóplame Este Velón
2007 El Bello y La Bestia With Raymond Arrieta
2008 Chiquito Pero Juguetón
2009 La Cosa Está Pelúa 3D
2010 Con Los Huevos a Peseta
2011 Que Clase 'E Lengua
2012 A Cuero Pela'o
2013 Que OJOnes Celebrating 30 years of his stand-up career; final official show

Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1995 The Perez Family News photographer [20]
2000 Café Mambo Gilberto [20]
Boys Life 3 Autograph seeker "Inside Out" segment[20]
2006 East Side Story Salvador [20]
2008 Chiquito Pero Juguetón: Da Muvi Himself and various Stand-up comedy film[20]
2012 Broche de Oro Norberto [20]
2013 200 Cartas Pedro Final acting role[20]
2014 Que OJOnes Himself Posthumous stand-up comedy film; final film role[20]
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1988 En Serio con Silverio Various Few episodes
1989 ¿Que Es Lo Que Pasa Aquí? Ahh! Recurring appearances
1997 Pa' la Cama con Luis Raúl Himself Host; variety show and TV lead debut
2000 En Casa de Luis Raúl Host; variety show
2001–2005 Anda Pa'l Cará Host[20]
2006 Pa' Que Te Lo Goces
Vanished Gregorio Rey [20]
2008 TV Ilegal Himself Guest
2009–2013 Día a Día Guest co-host; various episodes
2012 El Reguero de Luis Raúl Variety show
2012–2013 Noche Ilegal Host; 2 episodes
Theater
Year Title Role Notes
1983 Los Títeres de Cachiporra
1985 Un Mismo Corazón First starring role
1986 El Patito Feo El Patito Feo
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gollark: !q give 10 iron_ore <@!258639553357676545>
gollark: !q take 10 iron_ore <@!258639553357676545>
gollark: How about, rule violation bees cause a player to be... banned from game actions for 27.04 hours?
gollark: Rule violation bees? I should fix that.

See also

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

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. Ponce desborda su cariño por Luis Raúl. Reinaldo Millán & Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 32. Issue 1577. Page 10. 19 February 2014.
  4. "Hacer reír es más difícil que hacer llorar". Geovanny Ábrego. 7 June 2012. CentroTampa.com Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  5. 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.
  6. "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.
  7. Luis Raúl al Coliseo de Puerto Rico - El Nuevo Día.com
  8. Luis Raul - Facebook.com
  9. ¡Qué ojones! a punto de llegar al cine - El Nuevo Día.com
  10. Espectáculo “¡Qué ojones!” de Luis Raúl irá a la pantalla grande - Primera Hora.com
  11. Se cumple el sueño de Luis Raúl - Metro.PR
  12. "En intensivo Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-01-21. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
  13. Héctor Aponte Arlequín (2014-01-30). "Grave Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  14. "Muere el comediante Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  15. Luis Raúl Martínez Dies of Pneumonia
  16. "Reacciona la clase artística ante la muerte de Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  17. "Restos de Luis Raúl serán cremados" (in Spanish). Metro Puerto Rico. 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  18. "Muere Luis Raúl" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2014-02-02.
  19. Personajes inolvidables de Luis Raúl (in Spanish). Metro Puerto Rico. 2014-02-02.
  20. Luis Raul on the IMDb - imdb.com
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