Raúl Dávila (September 15, 1931 – January 2, 2006) was an actor, who is best remembered in 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

for his role of Hector Santos in the American

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

''. In his home country of

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 ...

, he is perhaps better remembered as the titular "Carmelo" of the hit

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 Gu ...

sitcom, " Carmelo y Punto".

Early years

Dávila was born in

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 ...

where he received his primary and secondary education. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in 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 ...

where he studied dramatic arts. He continued his education at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and then earned his master's degree in Dramatic Arts from the Pasadena Playhouse in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

.Puerto Rico Popular Culture
/ref>Murió el actor Raúl Dávila
/ref>

Acting debut

In 1957, Dávila began his acting career in Puerto Rico's

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 ...

television station. He worked in over 20 locally produced soap operas alongside the likes of

Braulio Castillo Braulio Castillo Cintrón (March 30, 1933 – February 28, 2015) was a telenovela actor in Latin America. His two sons, Braulio Castillo, hijo, Braulio Castillo, Jr. and Jorge Castillo, are also actors. He was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam ...

and Mario Pabon. After six years with Telemundo, Dávila decided to try his luck in the United States and moved to New York City.

Acting in the United States

He arrived in the city on November 23, 1963, the day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. At first it was difficult for Dávila to find work as an actor, since in the 1960s there wasn't much of a demand for

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

actors. With the help of fellow

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...

Raúl Juliá Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...

and

Míriam Colón Míriam Colón Valle (August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Rican actress. She was the founder and director of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed on Broadway and on ...

, he was able to find work in a

Spanish Language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

television station program called "''Tribuna Hispana''" (Hispanic Tribune) which was followed by "''Mundo Latino''" ( Latino World), "''De tú a tú con Raúl''", "''Realidades''" (Reality) and "''The Puerto Rican New Yorker''". Dávila presided over the

Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) is an active arts service and advocacy organization founded in 1975. It is in the United States and is dedicated to Hispanic artists, actors and actresses. It is not to be confused with H.O.L.A., H ...

, also known as HOLA, an organization to which actor Raúl Juliá lent his support. The organizations goal is to celebrate Latino achievements in the field of entertainment. Dávila began making appearances on some of the popular

T.V. Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

shows of the day, such as ''

The Patty Duke Show ''The Patty Duke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966. The series was developed as a vehicle for teenage star Patty Duke, who h ...

'', ''The Defenders'' and ''East Side''. He also landed small roles in the movies ''The Man with My Face'', ''Counterplot'' and ''Felicia''. Besides those small roles he supported himself by making commercials for

Campbell's Soup Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...

, Colgate and The New York Telephone Co. As early as 1964, his acting talents were showcased on the

CBS Television CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

network in collaboration with the conductor

Alfredo Antonini Alfredo Antonini (May 31, 1901 – November 3, 1983) was a leading Italian-American symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the e ...

, in an episode of the '' CBS Repertoire Workshop- "Feliz Borinquen"'' playing himself. In 1974, he played the lead role in

Luis Rafael Sánchez Dr. Luis Rafael Sánchez, a.k.a. "Wico" Sánchez (November 17, 1936) is a Puerto Rican essayist, novelist, and short-story author who is widely considered one of the island's most outstanding contemporary playwrights. Possibly his best known play ...

' presentation of "''O casi el alma''", both in Spanish and English. In 1985, Dávila returned to the island to film '' La Gran Fiesta'', a film produced and directed by Marcos Zurinaga. In 1987, he made his official movie debut in the United States, in the film ''The Believers'' alongside actor

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

. In the states, Dávila also participated in the following soap operas: ''

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', '' The Doctors'' "

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

" and ''

'', where he played the role of Hector Santos for four years.

Later years

Dávila lived in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, but he traveled constantly between New Jersey and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, he played the lead role in the television comedy ''Carmelo y Punto''. He also acted in three locally produced films, ''Linda Sara'' (with

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

and

Dayanara Torres Dayanara Torres Delgado (born October 28, 1974) is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, model, writer and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1993. Torres was discovered at age 17 while walking through the Plaza de Toa Alta in her hometown, and was ...

), ''Milagro en Yauco'' and ''

Los Diaz de Doris LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significan ...

''. Raúl Dávila died on January 2, 2006, at his home in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. On January 6, 2006, New York Democratic Congressman José Serrano released a statement to be submitted to the Congressional Record honoring Dávila.

Theater

Dávila spent most of the decade of the 70's doing theater. Among the many productions in which he worked were: * ''Bodas de Sangra'' - Leonardo * ''Yerma'' - Juan * ''Tonight or Never'' - Franz * ''South Pacific'' - The Professor * ''Kiss me Kate'' - Hortensio * ''La vida es un sueño'' - Segismundo * ''The King and I'' - The King * ''The Sun looks Down'' - Anselmo * ''The Sound of Music'' - Captain Von Trapp * ''La Viliza'' - Osvaldo * ''Quién le teme a Virginia Wolf?''

Filmography

*1959: '' Counterplot'' - Messenger *1965: ''

'' (TV Series) - Carlos *1965: ''Heroína'' - Judge *1966: ''El Escuadrón del pánico'' *1984: ''A Doctor's Story'' (TV Movie) - Jack Angel *1985: ''Private Sessions'' (TV Movie) - Mr. Fontana *1985: '' La Gran Fiesta'' - Don Miguel de la Torre *1986: ''

Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...

'' (TV Movie) - Esteban *1987: ''The Believers'' - Oscar Sezine *1988: ''The Trial of Bernhard Goetz'' (TV Series) - Flores *1990: ''The Old Man and the Sea'' (TV Movie) *1991: ''Fires Within'' - Reuben *1991: ''Camelo y Punto'' (TV Movie) - Camelo *1992: ''Le Grand pardon II'' - Emilio Esteban *1993: ''La guagua aérea'' - Ernesto *1994: ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'' (Episode: "Coma") - Camacho *1994: ''New York Undercover'' (Episode: "Missing" November 3) - Martinez *1994: ''Linda Sara'' - Doctor Baez *1994-1998: ''

'' (TV Series) - Hector Santos *1999: ''

'' - Rodolfo *2005: '' Fuego en el alma'' - (final film role)

References

External links

*
Murió el actor Raúl DávilaBiography on Fondación Nacional
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davila, Raul 1931 births 2006 deaths Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Tulane University alumni 20th-century American male actors