Rafael Emilio Muñiz García de la Noceda, better known as Rafo Muñiz (born September 13, 1956), is a Puerto Rican actor, comedian, director, and producer of television shows and concerts. The son of pioneering comic actor and producer

Tommy Muñiz Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (4 February 1922 – 15 January 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneering figures of ...

, Rafo's acting career began in the role of "Miguel" in "Gloria y Miguel", which aired on WAPA in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. After graduating high school, he starred alongside his father as his father's son in law in the sitcom ''

Los García ''Los García'' was a Puerto Rican television sitcom from the 1970s. First shown weekly on WAPA-TV, and later on TeleIsla (then called ''WRIK-TV, Rikavision Channel 7''), it depicted the life of a local fictional family, as well as that of so ...

'' (''The Garcias''), also on WAPA, during the late 1970s. From there on, Rafo had on and off work as an actor, but by 1985, he had become a game show host at

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the flagship and namesake station of Guaynabo-based WAPA Media Group. WAPA-TV maintains studio facilities on Luis Vigoreaux Avenue ...

. By that era also, he established a company named Promotores Latinos, where he performs as company President and main show producer. Promotores Latinos is now known as ProLat Entertainment. Since the 1980s, Muñiz has been one of the top music promoters/managers in Puerto Rico, and his firm, ProLat Entertainment, has represented artists such as

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

Olga Tañón Olga Teresa Tañón OrtizIn this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is ''Tañón'' and the second or maternal family name is ''Ortiz''. (born April 13, 1967) is a Puerto Rican singer. Over the course of her career, she has earned two G ...

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three mi ...

, and others in their concerts in Puerto Rico,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Tanon split from his company in 2002, and Muñiz sued her for breach of contract. He quickly signed another Merengue singer,

Melina León Melina León (born Yamillette Aponte Yunqué on 12 July 1973 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican merengue singer and actress. From an early age she performed with several groups including ''The Rubi'', ''Girls of Puerto Rico'' and ...

and TV personality,

Silverio Pérez Silverio Pérez Figueroa (born July 18, 1948 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican musician, writer, comedian, entrepreneur and broadcasting media host. Early life Pérez is the oldest of the eleven children of Silverio Pérez Rosado (191 ...

, to be represented by him. He also represented the late Luis Raúl, a Puerto Rican stand up comedian, and singer Jailene Cintrón. Some of his projects in the mainland U.S. include "ViVa Puente" a star-studded tribute to the late Puerto Rican superstar Tito Puente in New York, L.A., Miami and Dallas. He has produced concerts at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, the

Jackie Gleason Theater The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2020 for $640 million. The re-imagined and enha ...

, and

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, among other venues. Currently, he is the manager of

salsa music Salsa music is a style of Latin American music, combining elements of Cuban and Puerto Rican influences. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most ...

singer

latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

singer

Yolandita Monge Yolanda Rosa Monge Betancourt (born September 16, 1955), known professionally as Yolandita Monge, is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, and television personality. She has been active in the music business since her teen years and has recorded 27 ...

, and author Uka Green.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muniz, Rafo 1956 births Living people Puerto Rican comedians Puerto Rican male actors Puerto Rican television producers

See also

References