María Fernanda Ríos Villalta (born February 20, 1982), also known as Mafer Ríos, is an Ecuadorian actress, singer, model, and fashion designer. She is known for performing in the tecnocumbia groups Leche y Chocolate and Kandela & Son, for acting in TV series such as ''El Combo Amarillo'' and ''

Los Hijos de Don Juan ''Los Hijos de Don Juan'' is an Ecuadorian dark comedy-drama television series created by Fabrizio Aveiga for TC Televisión. The series represents the lives of four men, sons of the same father, and they discover him just when he dies, after le ...

'', and for being a juror on '. In 2018, she played entertainer

Sharon la Hechicera Sharon "La Hechicera" (Sharon the Sorceress), also known by the nicknames La Reina de la Tecnocumbia, La Diva, and La Diva Criolla (born Edith Rosario Bermeo Cisneros; 28 March 1977 – 4 January 2015), was an Ecuadorian television actress, pre ...

in an .

Career

Beginnings and music

María Fernanda Ríos was born in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

on February 20, 1982. She studied ballet and attended the Danzas Jazz academy. She studied medicine for three years at the

Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG) (English: Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil) is a private, Catholic, higher education institution in Guayaquil, Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a coun ...

, after which she left to dedicate herself to the arts. She began as a singer and dancer in technocumbia groups such as Leche y Chocolate (created by

), Las Musas, and most famously Kandela & Son, which she joined with Jasú Montero, Jordana Doylet, Malena Fernández-Madrid, Carla Ramírez, and Diana Guerrero. She stayed with the group for a year, leaving after appearing on the program '.

Television

After retiring from music, Ríos tried her luck on television, on the youth program ''El Callejón''. Shortly afterward, she moved to

Gamavisión Gamavisión is a state-owned Ecuadorian television network. The network was one of Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corpo ...

as presenter of the show business program ''Rojo Rosa''. She played Mariana on the

TC Televisión TC Televisión is a state-run television channel in Ecuador. The network was founded in 1969 and was commercially-funded for many years until 2011 when Grupo Iasaías went into a lawsuit and was sold to a state government unit, Since then the chann ...

telenovela ''Jocelito'', starring , along with Roberto Manrique, who played her boyfriend. Returning to Gamavisión, she appeared in ''Infiltrados'', ''Buenos Muchachos'', and the dancing competition ''Bailando por un sueño'', where she finished second. She also appeared on

Teleamazonas Teleamazonas is an Ecuadorian television network that was launched on 22 February 1974. It is one of the major television networks in the country. It was founded by Antonio Granda Centeno and has two feeds: one produced in Quito and broadcast in ...

shows such as ''Historias Personales'', ''Súper Espías'', ', and '. She moved to

Ecuavisa Ecuavisa is an Ecuadorian free-to-air television network that was launched on March 1, 1967, on Quito's channel 8 and Guayaquil's channel 2. It is one of the leading TV networks in the country. The channel has an international feed named Ecua ...

in 2010, playing the character Selva Monina in the telenovela ', starring . After its success, Ecuavisa created the spin-off comic series ''El Combo Amarillo'', which Ríos remained with until its conclusion in 2016. She was also a juror for the second, third, and fourth seasons of '. She was nominated for for Best Comedy Actress in 2013, 2014, and 2015. She played Juana Francisca Silva on the TC Televisión comedy series ''

''. From 2018 to 2019, she starred in the biographical telenovela , playing the late singer in her adulthood until her death. In real life, Ríos had been very close to Hechicera since her time in the group Leche y Chocolate, recalling "I worked with Sharon. And then she was my boss and I learned things with her. Then I belonged to another group, then we were friends, and now I am the one who is playing her." In 2021, she was a juror on the fifth season of '' Soy el mejor''.

Fashion designer

Ríos made her debut as a fashion designer at Salinas Fashion Week 2014. She has a line of clothing sold under the brand MFR.

Controversies

As a juror on the fourth season of ''Ecuador's Got Talent'' in 2015, Ríos rebuked a 16-year-old contestant for being an atheist, advising that she would never be successful if she did not believe in God. The criticisms that emerged from various atheist associations had wide repercussions in the domestic and international press. Following comments made toward her via social networks, she answered her critics directly, which the program's producers considered to be inappropriate. She was dismissed from the jury, leaving her companions Wendy Vera, Paola Farías, and Fernando Villarroel to judge the semifinals.

Personal life

María Fernanda Ríos had a romantic relationship with , her coworker at ''El Combo Amarillo'', and later with the comic actor . In July 2019, through her official Instagram account, she announced that she had married Colombian model Miguel Ángel Álvarez. However, approximately four months later she announced their separation. In December 2020, she confirmed on social media that their divorce was final.

Filmography

TV series and telenovelas

TV programs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Maria Fernanda 1982 births 21st-century Ecuadorian actresses Cumbia musicians Ecuadorian female models 21st-century Ecuadorian women singers Ecuadorian telenovela actresses Ecuadorian women television presenters Ecuadorian television presenters Living people Women in Latin music Actresses from Guayaquil