Melwin Cedeño (born December 27, 1964) is a Puerto Rican actor, comedian, host, and dancer. Cedeño is better known for his comedic performance as

Chevy Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...

Early years and studies

Melwin Cedeño was raised in

Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico Santa Isabel () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Coamo; east of Juana Díaz; and west of Salinas. Santa Isabel is spread over 7 barrios and Santa Isabel Pueblo (the downtown area a ...

. His parents are Noel Cedeño and Lilina Irizarry. During childhood, he enjoyed making people laugh and admitted he was frequently "kicked out of school for making jokes in the classroom". Cedeño began to pursue

pre-med Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

studies at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

in Ponce. However, he dropped out, and moved to study

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras.

Career

While studying, Cedeño joined a local merengue orchestra called ''Los Nenes de Puerto Rico''. His partners in the orchestra later became members of the popular group Límite 21. He also joined the university theatre group working in several plays like ''La Celestina'' and ''Bodas de Sangre''. Cedeño also debuted in television shows in

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

tic roles in soap operas such as ''Alejandra'', ''Karina Montaner'', and ''Apartamento de Solteras'' . He achieved recognition for his dramatic role as a young

drug addict Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

in the

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

''Andrea''. At the end of the 1980s, Cedeño started working as a comedian in popular shows like ''Show del Mediodía'' and ''El Kiosko Budweiser''. It was during this time that his character of

was born. According to him, he had played 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 ...

character in the play ''Tres hombres y un bébe'', which prompted actress Yasmín Mejías to invite him to participate in one segment of a

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 ...

show called ''Cafetería la 15''. "They were looking for a 'son' for the character of Georgina Borri ... Luis didn't want me to play 'Chevy', but one day he wasn't at work, I put on the glasses and the handkerchief... the place was about to fall down." The popularity of the character spawned a daily show titled ''

Con Lo Que Cuenta Este País ''Con Lo Que Cuenta Este País'' (in English, ''What The Country's Counting On'') was a popular Puerto Rican comedy sitcom that became a hit based on the popularity of its main character named ''Chevy'' (played by Melwin Cedeño). The show be ...

'', which debuted in 1991. It was broadcast by

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

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 ...

and produced by Hector Marcano. The show remained among the top shows in audience ratings for several years until its cancelation in 1993. After that, Cedeño hosted the comedy

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

''Alto Voltaje'', also produced by Marcano in

, but the show was canceled after just three months. After the end of the series, Cedeño decided to retire briefly from public life. He moved to the United States exploring offers from

and

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

. Eventually, he returned to Puerto Rico and continued working in theater and with brief comedic appearances in shows like ''Eso Vale''. In the late 1990s, Cedeño made a film titled ''Chevy... Episodio I'', along with producer Gabriel Suau, marked the come-back of his popular character. As a result of the response to the film, Cedeño received an offer to host a new show for kids titled ''Pégate con Chevy''. The show debuted in 2000, and received the acknowledgment of Puerto Rican children's audiences. However, in 2002, the show was canceled despite its favorable reviews. Cedeño still works regularly in television and theatre, and his character of ''

'' remains popular among Puerto Ricans. He is currently a co-host in the show ''Pégate al Mediodía'', along with Angelique Burgos, Jaime Mayol, and Natalia Rivera. Cedeño was initially brought in as a guest host but was made permanent when Mayol left to work on another show.

Personal life

Melwin is currently married to former model and actress Phaedra Michalzik. They have two children together: Xander and Ackerly. Melwin has an adult son, Melwin Ahmed, from a previous relationship.

References

External links

*
Biography
from Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular (an agency of the Puerto Rican Department of State) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cedeno, Melwin 1964 births Living people People from Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male stage actors Puerto Rican male television actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Puerto Rican comedians University of Puerto Rico alumni 21st-century American comedians

Early years and studies

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links