Roberto Vigoreaux Lorenzana (born January 12, 1956, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican producer, TV show host, actor, singer, and former Senator. He is the son of TV producer

Luis Vigoreaux Luis Vigoreaux Rivera (April 12, 1928 – January 17, 1983) was a Puerto Rican radio and television show host, announcer, comedian and producer. Vigoreaux was considered a pioneer in the television business in Puerto Rico, and enjoyed success ...

, and the younger brother of

Luisito Vigoreaux Luis Vigoreaux Lorenzana (born July 1, 1951) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He is the son of Luis Vigoreaux, a Puerto Rican media personality and Rosaura Lorenzana Vilches. He is the brother of Roberto Vigoreaux, local senator, television ...

Early years and studies

Roberto Vigoreaux was born on January 12, 1956, to producer

and Rosaura Lorenzana. He is the youngest of two sons, the other being

. Vigoreaux studied at 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 ...

, and then at Loyola University New Orleans.

Career in the media

In 1970, Vigoreaux starred as Chago in the Walt Disney Production ''Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt'', when he was still a young teenager. After growing up, he worked as a radio broadcaster in several stations, as well as acting in plays. Throughout his career, he has worked for stations like Radio Rock, WAPA Radio, Radio Aeropuerto and Radio Luz. In 1984, Vigoreaux hosted the show ''Son del Caribe''. Some time later, he 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 ...

where he starred hosting a game show called ''Parejo, doble, y triple'' with his brother, Luisito. He also hosted the show ''Sábado en Grande''. After performing a duet on his show ''Sábado en Grande'', with singer

Lourdes Robles Lourdes Robles is a singer-songwriter and actress, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her career started in the early 1980s as part of duo Lourdes y Carlos, releasing two albums. The duo split and Robles began a solo career, acting in "Barrio Cuatro C ...

, Vigoreaux decided to start a musical career. In 1988, he released his first and only album titled ''Amores de mi vida''. The album received a lukewarm response. In 1986, both Roberto and his brother Luisito appeared in a Burger King commercial for the Puerto Rican market, where they acted and sang. Vigoreaux has also worked as a host of several

beauty pageants A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

. He also had roles in comedies and shows like ''Generaciones'', and musicals like ''Clemente'', where he played the role of his father,

. In the late 1980s he played the role of Joe Hardy in a revival of the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...

'', with Marian Pabón.

Career as entrepreneur

Vigoreaux opened a series of ice cream franchises called Scoops, with stores in San Juan,

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...

, and Bayamón.

Career in politics: 1996–2004

Representative: 1996–2000

In 1993, Vigoreaux retired from show business and began to pursue a career as a politician. In 1996, he was elected as a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Sen ...

for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).

Senator: 2000–2004

Vigoreaux was elected in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

as a senator.

Candidate for Mayor of San Juan: 2003

Vigoreaux announced his interest in running for mayor of the city of San Juan during the elections of 2004. However, he lost in the 2003 primaries against

Eduardo Bhatia Eduardo Bhatia Gautier (born May 16, 1964) is a Puerto Rican attorney and politician. Bhatia is a former 15th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico and executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration. Early life and educa ...

. After that, he has continued to work as an adviser to the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control t ...

Return to politics: 2011–present

In September 2011, Vigoreaux announced his candidacy to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the 2012 general elections. However, he lost at the PPD primaries held on March 18.

Personal life

Vigoreaux has been married to Mary Ann Cortés since 1987. They have three children. In 1983, when Roberto was in his 20s, his father

, was brutally murdered. The investigation revealed that Vigoreaux's second wife,

Lydia Echevarria Lydia ( Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish prov ...

, was complicit in his murder, after allegedly she paid two men to beat Vigoreaux.Roberto Vigoreaux parece haber perdonado al coautor del asesinato de su padre
on '' Primera Hora''; Martínez Cabello, Belén (May 14, 2010)

References

External links

Fundacion Nacional Cultura biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigoreaux, Roberto 1956 births Living people Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of French descent Puerto Rican Roman Catholics Puerto Rican television hosts