Miguel Ángel Álvarez, also known as "El Men," (August 25, 1941 – January 16, 2011), was a
Puerto Rica
Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to:
Places
*El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain
*Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
*Puerto Colombia, Colombia
*Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela
*Puerto Galera, Orient ...
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 ...
, and when he was a child his family moved to Bayamón, Puerto Rico, where he was raised and received his primary and secondary education.
Career
Álvarez began his artistic career as a radio announcer, working for radio station WIAC, which was broadcasting out of Yauco and Bayamón. On October 31, 1950, Álvarez was among a group of reporters who covered the gunfight at ''Salón Boricua'' between Vidal Santiago Díaz, a Nationalist who was the personal barber of
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 ...
, and forty police and National Guardsmen during the
San Juan Nationalist revolt
The San Juan Nationalist revolt was one of many uprisings against United States Government rule which occurred in Puerto Rico on October 30, 1950 during the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party revolts. Amongst the uprising's main objectives were an a ...
. This event made Puerto Rican radio history because it was the first time that an event of this nature was transmitted live via the radio airwaves to the public in general.
He later participated on the radio show ''El Tremendo Hotel'' (The Tremendous Hotel), starring Ramón Rivero "Diplo", and later Álvarez was contracted to do radionovelas (radio soap operas).
The Puerto Rican playwright
Francisco Arriví
Francisco Arriví (June 24, 1915 – February 8, 2007), a.k.a. ''Paco,'' was a writer, poet and playwright known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Theater."
Early years
Arriví (birth name: Francisco Arriví Alegria ) was born in Santurce, a ...
invited Álvarez to appear in three of his plays. The three plays in which Álvarez made his theatrical debut were ''Club de Solteros'' (Bachelors Club), ''El Caso del Muerto en Vida'' (The Case of the Living Dead), and ''María Soledad'' (Lonely Maria). On one occasion Álvarez was asked to stand in for
Jacobo Morales
Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and auteur.Juano Hernández in the play "Widows Walk" which was presented 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 ...
Theater.
Álvarez's popularity grew and soon he was filming movies in various countries. Among the countries in which he filmed besides Puerto Rico were
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. In 1965, he was given one of the leading roles in the Mexican film, "El Señor Doctor" (Mr. Doctor), with
Cantinflas
Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is cel ...
and
Marta Romero
Marta Romero (17 February 1928 – 31 May 2013) was a Puerto Rican actress and singer, and one of the pioneers in Puerto Rican television.
Early life
Romero was born on Calle Mora in downtown Ponce, a city in the south coast of Puerto Rico and ...
. After he returned to Puerto Rico he participated in a comedy entitled ''Johnny "El Men"'' (''Johnny the Man''), which was about the struggles of a Puerto Rican in
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 ...
. It was from this comedy that Álvarez took the nickname "El Men", a name which would accompany him for the rest of his life.
Filmography
Later years
Álvarez directed four movies for
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. These were ''Arocho y Clemente'', ''Dos Contra el Destino'' (''Two Against Destiny''), ''Natas es Satán'' and ''El Alcalde Machuchal''.
In 1984, he starred, along with Leopoldo "Pucho" Fernández, in a local TV comedy series called ''Barrio 4 Calles'' in which he played the owner of a bakery shop who was in competition, and constant conflict, with the owner of the bakery shop across the street. He also appeared in ''El Kiosko
Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States.
''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
''. Álvarez was married numerous times including to actress Gladys Rodríguez and singer Evelyn Souffront.
Later in life, Álvarez suffered respiratory problems and was admitted to the ''Hospital Metropolitano'' in the town of
Guaynabo
Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spr ...