Emmanuel Logroño (born November 1, 1951), better known as Sunshine Logroño, is an American actor. Logroño has worked in Puerto Rican

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

for close to three decades.

Early years

Born in New York to a Puerto Rican mother, Logroño moved to

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

along with his family when he was nine years old. He was soon recognized as a multifaceted entertainer by his schoolteachers and classmates. His nickname "Sunshine" came from a short stint (1973) as a disc jockey for San Juan-based WBMJ-AM, Puerto Rico's first rock and roll station (another WBMJ disc jockey at the time, Raymond Broussard, better known as ''Moonshadow'', later became the co-host of El Vacilón de la Mañana, a very popular Spanish language morning radio talk show in New York City). Sunshine was also heard in 1974 as a part of the new announcing crew at "The New WRAI" 1520, a station created by Bill Thompson and "Radio Man" after the format change from English to Spanish at WBMJ. Besides his short stint as a disc jockey, Logroño served as a voice actor for Puerto Rico's then-active dubbing industry. His was the Spanish-language voice for "Little Joe", one of the Cartwright brothers (played by Michael Landon) in the U.S. television show Bonanza. Logroño obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(English Language Literature) degree ("a degree in unemployment", Logroño claims) from the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(Theater) degree from Michigan State University. After his return to Puerto Rico, Logroño was a member of the Puerto Rican folk group, ''

Moliendo Vidrio Moliendo Vidrio (originally called Moliendo Vidrio con el Pecho) is a Nueva Trova band from Puerto Rico, founded in 1975. Band members included Gary Núñez, Sunshine Logroño, Rosita Velázquez, Iván Martínez, Pedro Villalón and Carmen Nydi ...

'', which also starred bandleader Gary Nuñez and later comedic actress

Carmen Nydia Velázquez Carmen Nydia Velázquez (born 2 October 1947) is a Puerto Rican comedian,Silverio Pérez, and served as part of the comedic team behind ''Desafiando a los Genios'' (Defying the Geniuses), a popular TV mock quiz show starring, among others, actor, writer and film director

Jacobo Morales Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and auteur.José Miguel Agrelot. Two of Logroño's TV characters would surface around this time: ''Agapito Flores'', a rather naive country bumpkin with a speech impairment, and ''Nicky El Bro'', a

Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, or of their descendants (especially those raised or currently living in the N ...

hustler. A third character, "Chinito Rivera" (a flasher that said little and wore a raincoat he was eager to open at the slightest provocation) would eventually evolve into ''"El Barbarazo del Amor"'', one of his radio characters.

''Los Rayos Gamma''

Morales and Perez would soon revive, along with actor and radio announcer Horacio Olivo, a musical group named ''

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 ...

'', Puerto Rico's most beloved political satire troupe, which had an extremely short but popular stint in 1968 as the creative vehicle for the late satirical writer and journalist, Eddie López. Logroño filled in for Pérez on vacation, and when Pérez returned, he was allowed to fill in López's shoes (who was considered irreplaceable by some), with great success. ''Los Rayos Gamma'' had a television show on channel 7 where they satirized politicians with their songs to high ratings and which would be taken off the air due to their rather direct satirical jabs at then-governor of Puerto Rico

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

. They went on to make a few albums and would return to the public spotlight in roughly four-year intervals, coinciding with each general election in Puerto Rico. At his initial stages in ''"Los Rayos Gamma"'', Logroño created a character that seemed to lighten up the absurdity and gravity of another character, played by Morales, that was in turn based on a real-life incident. During the 1930s, Dr. Cornelius P. Rhoads, in charge of health services for the Institute of Tropical Medicine in San Juan, wrote a few letters to friends in the United States in which he described his hatred for Puerto Ricans. Whether the letters were in jest or not, he claimed in them to have implanted

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 ...

cells in local subjects without their consent. One of these letters was intercepted by affiliates to

Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (September 12, 1891Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading fi ...

Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...

, and Albizu vehemently denounced Rhoades as an unethical and sadistic doctor who treated his patients as

guinea pigs The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the a ...

. At their television show, Morales played a descendant of Rhoads, "Dr. Cornelius Rodas"; Logroño played his assistant,

Igor Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...

, wearing a fake hunch, doing guttural noises, and inevitably messing up whatever plans Rodas had for his avowed plans to exterminate Puerto Ricans. Igor reportedly was created when Rodas submitted an unwilling participant to a 23-hour long

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...

using

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

-like electrodes. Igor was a big fan of Puerto Rican culture,

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

and pornography, and walked around with a small doll, ''"Calerito"'', resembling him, a comedic device that preceded Mini Me by many years. Due to the physical demands on him while playing the character, Logroño has since played Igor only sporadically. A big fan of the character, who got "Igor" as a nickname when he imitated him in high school for his friends, is Juan Gonzalez, the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player. Los Rayos Gamma edited a music album in 1982, from which ''"Me apesta la vida"'' (''My Life Stinks''), a funk-meets-

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

fusion song penned by Logroño, was a minor radio hit in Puerto Rico. Logroño updated the song in a newer version, found in the 2006 Culebro Mendoza album ''"Culebro Legal"'', this time set to a hip-hop beat.

Later years

After ''Los Rayos Gammas TV show was yanked off the air, Sunshine kept active, doing voice-overs for commercials (at one time half of all radio commercials in Puerto Rico featured Logroño's talents in one way or another) and making appearances at several TV shows and radio programs. At one of these shows the comedic characters of Eleuterio Quiñones and his son Elpidio were born. Eleuterio Quiñones, a die-hard supporter of Puerto Rican statehood whose grasp of public affairs and general culture level would be best compared to those of

Archie Bunker Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

in the U.S., and his son Elpidio -a 38-year-old special education patient with the emotional age of a child but with rather stunning

reproductive organs A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

- are still a staple of Puerto Rican radio and television. Logroño also developed his own audio production company, Man-TK Records (Man-TK being a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on ''manteca'', the Spanish word for lard. Logroño's work is filled with porcine references throughout his career).

Sunshine's Café

In 1988 Logroño began hosting a show named ''Sunshine's Cafe'' on

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 ...

. ''Sunshine's Cafe'' was very popular among

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

's television viewers and its ''risqué'' sense of humor guaranteed four seasons of high ratings and extreme controversy. After the show's first airing all sponsors except one canceled their contracts, and the program spent close to six months without advertising. The program was controversial because it confronted many Puerto Rican stereotypes head-on. It also provided Logroño with a vehicle to bring in many taboo topics in subtext, a technique that he personally credits

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

with teaching him when Cosby developed a pilot for a Latino-based series in American television that did not evolve into a series. In the program, Sunshine played many characters; one particular character portrayed a clever closet homosexual named '' Vitín Alicea Arévalo'', many of whose phrases became household sayings. Another character portrayed a fake

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

minister, ''El Hermano Emmanuel'' (Brother Emmanuel), who had a hunch (mirroring that of a famous Puerto Rican minister, Yiye Avila), was constantly angry (as yet another local minister, Jorge Raschke), frequently schemed to profit from the members of his congregation, and almost always was caught doing so. El Hermano Emmanuel constantly spoke trilling r's (and was often referred to as "Hermano Emmanuerrrrr"), and used a phrase mocking

speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

: "''¡Salamaya!''" (derived from "''¡Sea la madre''!", or " amnedbe his mother!") as a punchline, particularly whenever the Hermano met a stunningly attractive woman, or when another character caught him in a profiteering scheme. A famous episode had the Hermano try (unsuccessfully) to cure

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " F ...

from his

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

(Feliciano's memorable response was: ''"I can see! I can see! I can see that you're a fake, I still can't see a damn!'') The phrase "''Salamaya''" is still used in Puerto Rico to refer in jest to devout Pentecostal followers (Hermano Emmanuel constantly had two naive female parishioners follow him everywhere) or a small Pentecostal congregation (particularly those with rudimentary facilities, such as tents).

Rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

René Pérez ("Residente") uses it in the Calle 13" song ''"Ojalai"'' to describe the song's attractive female subject in rapture-like amazement. Offended by Logroño's portrayal of ministers, Pentecostal leaders in Puerto Rico threatened Logroño's program with boycotts, and Raschke and Milton Picón (the local representative for

Morality in Media The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), formerly known as Morality in Media, is an American conservative non-profit known for its anti-pornography advocacy. The group has also campaigned against sex trafficking, same-sex marriage, sex ...

) actually confronted him on television talk shows. On a rare bow to public pressure, Logroño discontinued the character ("If I keep on doing it their followers will lynch me!", he gives as an explanation).

Chona, La Puerca Asesina

In exchange for a cameo in the film "La Guagua Aérea", Logroño somehow persuaded film maker Luis Molina Casanova to direct a satirical action film, ''"Chona, La Puerca Asesina"'' ("Chona, The Killer Pig"), released in 1988 and filmed in black and white. Many Puerto Rican artists and media personalities (along with Argentine actor Pablo Alarcón, who played a Puerto Rican peasant with a strong Argentine accent) appeared in the film, in which a piglet grows to become ten stories tall and attacks Puerto Rico,

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

-style. Among the cameos and film roles are those played by José Miguel Agrelot, Nena Rivera, Wilson Torres (later known for another comedic character named ''Maneco''),

Guillermo José Torres Guillermo José Torres (born 1944 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a retired Puerto Rican television reporter and news anchorman. Served with the U.S. Army as a Captain in the Vietnam War and later in the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. He worked for WA ...

, Enrique Cruz, Antonio Pantojas and others (

Ruth Fernández Ruth Fernández (23 May 1919 – 9 January 2012) was a Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" ''(National Commission for the Celebrat ...

sings the movie's theme, her trademark song ''"Gracias, Mundo"''). Jacobo Morales and Logroño appear as Cornelius Rodas and Igor, respectively; Rodas is responsible for enlarging the pig, as requested by Don Rodriguez, one of Agrelot's many comedic characters. A remasterized version, or director's cut, which adds Vitín Alicea to the plot and features improved sound effects, was released in DVD format in 1998. In 1991, Logroño had a chance to star in a Hollywood movie: he acted opposite Martin Short and Kurt Russell in ''

Captain Ron ''Captain Ron'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt, produced by David Permut, and written by John Dwyer for Touchstone Pictures. It stars Kurt Russell as the title character, a sailor with a quirky personality and a checker ...

''. He appeared in the movie ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

'', alongside

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

, as a taxi driver, but actually - thanks to the rather extreme talents of the film's editor, Logroño claims - only his left elbow appears on the screen. He won the audition over Rafael Fuentes much to his dismay. According to an interview that Logroño gave Vea one time, one day, he arrived at his office to learn there was an audition for another movie. By his own account, he caught a flight to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, made the audition, and flew back to Puerto Rico, arriving just in time to participate at a play in Mayagüez. Logroño attempted to show his serious actor side in the late 1990s, participating in various theater plays.

More recent history

He was the host of a show named ''De Noche Con Iris y Sunshine'' (''At Night With Iris & Sunshine''), co-hosted by Iris Chacón. When Iris later left the show for personal reasons, it was renamed to ''De Noche con Sunshine'' (At Night With Sunshine). In a controversial network switch Sunshine switched to WAPA-TV in 1998 and was the host of a show named ''Club Sunshine'', which was aired until May 2009. During that time in WAPA-TV he was also the vice-president for talent affairs of the television station. ''Club Sunshine'' was followed up by ''Sunshine Remix'' (later retitled ''El Remix'') and ''Risas en Combo'', both aired on WAPA-TV in an alternating

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

-wise fashion until both were replaced together by ''El Remix'' alone, which still airs on WAPA as of 2019. On February 25, 2007, Logroño appeared as an archbishop in the filming of the video for Calle 13's ''"Tango del Pecado"'', the first featured single of their recent album, ''"¿Residente o Visitante?"''. He marries Calle 13's

René Pérez René Pérez Joglar (born February 23, 1978), known professionally as Residente (often stylized as Resīdɛntə), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as one of the founders of the alternative rap band Calle 13. ...

and ex-girlfriend

Denise Quiñones Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2001. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of Lares in the Miss Puerto R ...

in a

surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

wedding where

Tego Calderón Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 (as Tego Tec) and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio albu ...

and

Voltio Julio Voltio (born as Julio Irving Ramos Filomeno on June 11, 1977 in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican former reggaeton artist. A pioneer of the reggaeton genre, Voltio retired from music in 2014 and dedicated himself to preaching Chris ...

are the

best men ''Best Men'' is a 1997 American crime comedy film directed by Tamra Davis, and stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Luke Wilson, Andy Dick, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Ward, Drew Barrymore and Dean Cain. Plot Four groomsmen are preparing for a wedding, d ...

. On March 21, 2007, Logroño released a children's book, ''"El coquí que quiso ser sapo"'' (The coquí who wanted to be a

bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America * Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullfr ...

), based on a story he once developed and recorded as part of a children stories' album for the ''Museo del Niño'' (Children's Museum) in San Juan. A children's musical play based on the book was produced in Puerto Rico in April 2008. Sunshine has been hosting the afternoon radio show '' Agitando El Show'' since 1997, with Fernando Arévalo. The show has one of the biggest audiences and is one of the longest running shows in local radio. During 2014, Logroño became involved in a dispute with television personality

Josué Carrión Josue Carrion (born ) is a Puerto Rican businessman. He was also the show host of the television show, '' El Tiempo Es Oro''. On December 19, 2014, that show was cancelled by Puerto Rican television channel, WAPA America. On November 16, 2015, Car ...

over a section of Logroño's show, "El Tiempo es Poco", which mocked Carrión's television show '' El Tiempo Es Oro''. Logroño decided to cancel the section, much like during the 1980s, when he had a similar situation in which he mocked journalist and emcee Ivan Frontera, who got murdered early in 1985, causing the cancellation of Logroño's character, "Ivan Fontecha", during Logroño's shows.

References

External links

Interview with Logroño and Pérez by Angel Collado-Schwartz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Logrono, Emmanuel Sunshine 1951 births Living people American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors American male voice actors Comedians from New York (state) Hispanic and Latino American male actors Male actors from New York (state) Michigan State University alumni Puerto Rican comedians Puerto Rican television producers