Adalberto Rodríguez
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Adalberto Rodríguez (January 22, 1934 – April 16, 1995), better known as Machuchal, was a Puerto Rican actor and comedian. Rodríguez was born in the town of Sabana Grande, in southwest Puerto Rico. In his boyhood years he imitated animal sounds for his elementary school peers. His "Machuchal" stage name is that of the Sabana Grande barrio where he grew up. He enjoyed calling himself "El alcalde de Machuchal", (the Mayor of Machuchal). The joke not only prevailed, it also helped launch him into stardom. At age 17 and following high school, (1951), Adalberto Rodríguez moved to Río Piedras to enter the
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...
with a view to obtaining a bachelor's degree in business administration, and then, to pursue the career of attorney. Shortly after and at the same time, he worked as an announcer on radio station WIAC. Machuchal was drafted to the military service in 1953 and served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
with the 82nd Airborne Division in
Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...
. He also fought in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. After his discharge in 1955 Rodríguez went back to Puerto Rico and resumed his studies in business administration at UPR, which he finished in 1957. Rodríguez played the role of Puerto Rico's mountain man, known as '' Jíbaro''. He would wear the typical Jíbaro straw hat and the farmer's typical shirt for many years on his daily appearances on Telemundo Puerto Rico's midday show, ''El Show de las 12''. Rodríguez also participated in ''La Taberna India'', (The "India" Tavern), a show that was sponsored for many years by the Puerto Rican beer of the same name. When ''La Taberna India'' moved to
WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, which is 84% owned by InterMedia Partners. WAPA-TV's studios are located on Avenida Luis Vigoreaux in G ...
in 1985-having by then become "La Taberna
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
", ''Machuchal'' also moved to Telemundo Puerto Rico's fiercest rival. Rodríguez once prompted Mexican comedian
Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is cel ...
to compliment him, saying that nobody in the world made him laugh like Machuchal did. Machuchal also participated in some movies, including ''Machuchal En Nueva York'' and ''El Agente 0''. Rodríguez also worked alongside other Puerto Rican show business figures, such as Tommy Muñiz, José Miguel Agrelot, Elin Ortiz,
Sonia Noemí Sonia Noemi, (born July 18, 1941 as Sonia Noemí González), is a Puerto Rican actress and singer. She is one of the pioneers of the ballad pop song in Puerto Rico. Biography Noemí was raised in Old San Juan and when she was thirteen moved to ...
, and Eddie Miró.


Filmography

Rodriguez participated in many movies, most of them Puerto Rican productions but also in Mexican-Puerto Rican co-productions. He often played "Machuchal" or versions of the "Machuchal" character in them. *
Lamento Borincano "Lamento Borincano" ('Puerto Rican Lament') is Rafael Hernández Marín's acclaimed composition in Puerto Rico's patriotic tradition. It takes its name from the free musical form Lament (Latin, ''lāmentor''), and from Borinquen, an indigenous n ...
* El Alcalde de Machuchal (1964, as Triburcio Perez) * Los Expatriados (1964) * Millonario a Go Go (1965, as "Machuchal") * C.65 (1965, short film) * Rosa, La Tequilera (1967, he played two roles, those of "Machuchal" and of Graziano) * El Curandero del Pueblo (1968, as Machuchal) * Machuchal , Agente O en New York (1970, as "Machuchal", this time a policeman) *'' Poor But Honest'' (1973) *
Mulato (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...
(1974) *'' Eva, ¿qué hace ese hombre en tu cama?'' (1975)


Death

Adalberto Rodríguez died on April 16, 1995, in
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. It now stretches over three Barrios of Puerto Rico, barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San J ...
. He was buried at the
Sabana Grande Masonic Cemetery The Sabana Grande Masonic Cemetery ( es, Cementerio Masónico de Sabana Grande), known formally as ''Cementerio Masónico de la Resp. Logia Igualdad Núm. 23 de Sabana Grande'' ( en, Masonic Cemetery of the Respectable Equality Lodge Number 23 of ...
in his hometown Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico. It's unknown the cause of Machuchal's passing.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans *
Sonia Noemí Sonia Noemi, (born July 18, 1941 as Sonia Noemí González), is a Puerto Rican actress and singer. She is one of the pioneers of the ballad pop song in Puerto Rico. Biography Noemí was raised in Old San Juan and when she was thirteen moved to ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Adalberto 1934 births 1995 deaths People from Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican comedians Puerto Rican male actors Puerto Rican male film actors United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army soldiers University of Puerto Rico alumni 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians