Raúl Dávila (September 15, 1931 – January 2, 2006) was an actor, who is best remembered in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for his role of Hector Santos in the American

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

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

''. In his home country of

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 ...

, 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 the flagship and namesake station of Guaynabo-based WAPA Media Group. WAPA-TV maintains studio facilities on Luis Vigoreaux Avenue ...

sitcom, " Carmelo y Punto".

Early years

Dávila was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of 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 (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

where he studied dramatic arts. He continued his education at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and then earned his master's degree in Dramatic Arts from California's

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

.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 a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

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, Jr. and Jorge Castillo, are also actors. He was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Castillo played in the ''Or ...

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 John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

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 () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

actors. With the help of fellow

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...

Raúl Juliá Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. He was known for his intense and varied roles on stage and screen. He started his career in the Public Theater before transitioning to film. He ...

and

Míriam Colón Míriam Colón Valle (August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Ricans, 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 Bro ...

, he was able to find work in a

Spanish Language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

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. HOLA's Directory of Talent was created in ...

, 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. 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 ha ...

'', ''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 The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...

, 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 (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

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' 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 Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

. 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. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'', '' The Doctors'' "

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

" and ''

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

Later years

Dávila lived in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 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, better known under the stage name Chayanne, (born June 28, 1968) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

and Dayanara Torres), ''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 significanc ...

''. 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, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. 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 () 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 the Florida Keys (U.S.) ...

'' (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 and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' (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 Fuego en el alma ''(Fire in the Soul)'' is a 2005 Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican film production. The film was produced by Amatista Films and the production company "Y Si Nos Gusta" that belonged to Julián Gil. It was directed by Abdiel Colberg. Cas ...

'' - (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