The film not only examines the history of Mercado\u2019s early years growing up in Puerto Rico but also examines his start in the theater and on television, his fallout with his former manager Guillermo Bakula, speculation concerning his sexuality, and more. Let\u2019s touch upon some of the topics discussed in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Mercado ever since he was young he was different from the other boys,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I saw other boys, I know that I have another way of life,\u201d he said in the film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While his brother would go work with his father in the sugarcane fields, Mercado would stay at home with his mother playing the piano and reading books. He thought everything about him was different and to that his mother said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re different, go on being different. Don\u2019t worry about that. To be different is a gift. To be ordinary is common,\u201d she said in the film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercado took that advice and channeled it into not only his work but into his way of life. Eventually, in his life journey, Mercado was doing a play called \u201cTr\u00edptico Del Amor, Del Dolor, Y De la Muerte\u201d in Puerto Rico. Elin Ortiz, who had a show on Telemundo, invited Walter Mercado to do a promo for the play. According to Willie Acosta (Mercado\u2019s longtime assistant) Elin Ortiz, presumably after Mercado had arrived on set, told Mercado: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, We\u2019ll do the promo later, but Walter let\u2019s talk about astrology, you’re always reading the palm of everybody around here and you\u2019re always asking \u2018what\u2019s your sign?\u2019 And What’s your sign? And What’s your sign? Let\u2019s talk about astrology,\u2019\u201d Acosta said in the film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He ended up doing a 15-minute segment generally talking about astrology the day he was supposed to do the promo. According to Acosta the general manager of Telemundo came down and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe Has to do that show again tomorrow because people are calling,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercado goes on to say that he was told that the Telephone lines are full, so he needed to be in tomorrow, here, doing the same show today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want Walter Mercado every day, 15 minutes a day in this show and I want you with the same costume tomorrow. I want Walter in capes,\u201d Mercado said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After three months they asked for one-hour shows of Walter Mercado\u2019s astrology called \u201c Walter Las estrellas y usted\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From that moment on Mercado\u2019s fame grew, becoming a household name across Latin America as well as the world. Walter become the voice to turn to either on radio or television for millions of people especially the Latino and Hispanic communities. He was a Fred Rogers-like icon to Latinos spreading a message of Peace and Love. However, that fame did come with its fair share of controversy. The criticism hurled at the psychic network, Mercado\u2019s relationship with Guillermo Bakula, and the consistent prejudice, homophobic and otherwise, often found rampant in machismo Latino culture affected Mercado\u2019s career and personal life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercado dealt with many critics and impersonators throughout his career, especially concerning his identity and the way he presented himself. The conundrum of being unable to reveal or be open about your identity in a culture that loves you but also rejects things about you. Willie Acosta states in the film:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen they see Walter and make fun of him it\u2019s because they wish they could be like Walter. Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n LGBTQ Karlo Karlo says the Latino community was and still is homophobic, but to him, Mercado has always been someone that gave him hope and was a superhero to him. Mercado was breaking rules and barriers for people like him amongst people who were also like him in different ways. Being a powerful light for many LGBT people (as seen in the film) in the Latino community. Acosta tells the audience that Walter has been told \u201cThat’s a\u2026 (Insert homphobic slur)\u201d but in response to that he always takes an \u201cI don\u2019t care pill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The film goes on to show Mercado at his last major public appearance at the History Miami Museum for an exhibition called \u201cMucho Mucho Amor: 50 years of Walter Mercado\u201d. He has wonderful interactions with his fans which he calls \u201cmy people\u201d and as the film begins to discuss what will become of the legend of Walter Mercado. The darling diva, Walter, himself says \u201cWalter Mercado is a force of nature, without beginnings and endings. He used to be a star but now Walter is a constellation\u201d. Mercado has since passed away in San Juan surrounded by friends and family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Walter Mercado is and will always be a legend, and this documentary conveys exactly why. His message that love is the most important and powerful thing in this world influenced and affected the lives of millions of hearts not simply Latinos. The documentary goes to great lengths to convey the struggles he endured in a way that is more intimate than we have ever had with the television personality. It gives viewers a clear image of who Walter Mercado truly was, a person who truly loved and wanted others to as well. Although Walter has still passed his message and his essence remains in our hearts as a more than a latino icon. Walter Mercado is a legend and In the words of the legend himself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQue dios los bendiga a todos hoy, ma\u00f1ana y siempre . Y que reciban de mi siempre paz, mucha paz. Pero sobre todo mucho, mucho, mucho que? Amor\u201d – Walter Mercado<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the full film check it out on Netflix, I give Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado a 10\/10 for the delicious fashions, the intimate portrait of the life of Walter Mercado, and Walter Mercado himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BY JOHN CARTER JR It\u2019s Hispanic heritage month and with it comes reviews featuring Hispanic talent at the forefront. In this review we take a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":67633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,12390,3391,3505,55],"tags":[12869,12231,10356,14181],"class_list":["post-67632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-editorial","category-movie-reviews","category-local-movies","category-opinion","tag-hispanic-heritage-month","tag-john-carter-jr","tag-movie-review","tag-retro-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mercado1.png?fit=512%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67632"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67640,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67632\/revisions\/67640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/67633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mercado2.png?resize=512%2C341\")
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