Los Rayos Gamma is a Puerto Rican

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

specializing in

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

. The group was founded in the late 1960s and is currently composed of: *

Jacobo Morales Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and auteur.Silverio Pérez Silverio Pérez Figueroa (born July 18, 1948 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican musician, writer, comedian, entrepreneur and broadcasting media host. Early life Pérez is the oldest of the eleven children of Silverio Pérez Rosado and ...

: musician, comedian, entrepreneur, host *

Sunshine Logroño Emmanuel Logroño (born November 1, 1951), better known as Sunshine Logroño, is an American actor. Logroño has worked in Puerto Rican media for close to three decades. Early years Born in New York to a Puerto Rican mother, Logroño moved to S ...

: comedian, actor, host, singer, producer Despite sporadic breaks in their tenure, the group has enjoyed constant success, having had several Puerto Rican television shows, and performing often around the island during their career.

History

Los Rayos Gamma began in the late 1960s as a project from

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Eddie López. After finding out he suffered from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, he thought of a political parody where he could lampoon the current events of Puerto Rican politics, blaming all their wrongdoings and the parody itself on

gamma rays A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

(a pun on his current therapy against his illness). He then contacted friends

Horacio Olivo Horacio Olivo (1933 – July 24, 2016) was a Puerto Rican actor, comedian, and television/radio personality, as well as a classically trained singer. Born in Dorado, Puerto Rico, he got his start in show business in 1949 at long defunct WNEL as a ...

Silverio Pérez Silverio Pérez Figueroa (born July 18, 1948 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican musician, writer, comedian, entrepreneur and broadcasting media host. Early life Pérez is the oldest of the eleven children of Silverio Pérez Rosado and ...

and

Jacobo Morales Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and auteur.Paul Zindel Paul Zindel Jr. (May 15, 1936 – March 27, 2003) was an American playwright, young adult novelist, and educator. Early life Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York, to Paul Zindel Sr., a policeman, and Betty Zindel, a nurse; h ...

's play ''

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds'' is a play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work. Productions ...

''. The title was then shortened simply to ''Los Rayos Gamma''. The show enjoyed great success from 1968 to 1971. That year, López died from his illness and comedian

Efraín López Neris Efraín López Neris (born April 1, 1937) is a Sephardi Puerto Rican actor, producer and cinematographer that has had a long trajectory in Puerto Rico's national artistic scene. Born in Caguas in April 1, 1937, he had his start in Puerto Rican te ...

was hired to replace him. However, at every show an empty chair would be left on stage as a tribute to López. Shortly after, López Neris was also replaced with comedian

. After that, the group decided to take an indefinite break. In the late 1970s, however, Pérez contacted his friends to regroup. Enjoying the same level of success, they even had several programs on Puerto Rican television. The group has continued their shows around the island, while each member also pursues his individual endeavors. They roughly reconvene every two years, usually previous to an election year.

The group

The "classical" line-up of Los Rayos Gamma features them all dressed in black (as to not allude to any political party in Puerto Rico, or more precisely, their insignia's colors). It features Silverio Pérez on guitar, Horacio Olivo (in his lifetime) in bongos and minor percussion, and Jacobo Morales using percussion only occasionally. A running gag among the group is that Morales can only sing by following visual cues (usually from Olivo, who was a strong percussionist and even danced onstage when propped) as to stay in rhythm; salsa singer

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

(who has sung onstage with the group in various occasions) joked about this by calling Morales ''"the

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

of clave"''. In reality, Morales can keep rhythm using clave sticks, or sing, but not do both at the same time. At the same time, Morales -for some unexplained reason, his partners claim- comes across as a very convincing

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

singer. Logroño, on the other hand, besides using the group's common black uniform, may also feature distinctive props, usually those alluding to his own comedic characters (for example, Vitin Alicea's beret), depending on a song's lyrics. He may play guitar, minor percussion, or other instruments, again, depending on each song. The group's augmented lineup usually features a full orchestra, complete with horn section and chorus singers. It is frequently directed by keyboardist José "Cuqui" Rodríguez, who was also the musical director of many of Logroño's comedy programs.

Recent years

On August 15, 2008, the group performed in the first of a series of reunion presentations in the Centro de Bellas Artes de San Juan. This was one of their "farewell" tour's presentations and included

Vico C Luis Armando Lozada Cruz (born September 8, 1971), known by his stage name Vico C, is an American rapper and record producer. Regarded as the founding father of reggaeton, Vico C has played an influential role in the development of Latin American ...

as special guest. On November 19, 2011, the group (without Horacio Olivo, who did appear in a comedic interview caught on video - he was recuperating from open heart surgery) performed in yet another series of presentations at the Centro de Bellas Artes de San Juan, this time billed as "Enfortuñados."

Olivo's death

On July 24, 2016 original member Horacio Olivo died at 83 after health complications.

References

External links

Los Rayos Gamma celebrate their 35th anniversary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayos Gamma, Los

Los Rayos Gamma Los Rayos Gamma is a Puerto Rican comedy troupe specializing in political satire. The group was founded in the late 1960s and is currently composed of: * Jacobo Morales: actor, writer, director, comedian * Silverio Pérez: musician, comedian, en ...

1980s Puerto Rican television series 1990s Puerto Rican television series 2000s Puerto Rican television series 2010s Puerto Rican television series