Mucho, Mucho Amor

Latinos’ North Star Walter Mercado Has Gone to The Ages At 87

By Maria Lopez-Bernstein

“¡Pero callense!” Mom would warn my brothers and me when Walter Mercado’s show came on the Spanish-language TV, especially when she wanted to hear the readings for our astrological signs.

Walter Mercado was a pop culture icon like few others in the Latino community, and so his death on Nov 2 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at age 87, came as a blow to Latinos everywhere.

Also known by his stage name Shanti Ananada, Walter Mercado Salinas was an astrologer, actor, dancer, and writer. According to a biography published by Puerto Rico’s Foundation for Popular Culture, Walter Mercado was born at sea on a ship traveling from Spain to Puerto Rico, March 9, 1932, and was raised on the sugar cane fields in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He believed he had psychic abilities. He was best known as a television personality and psychic astrologer.

Walter Mercado made a name for himself as the gender non-conforming and flamboyant astrologer who wore makeup, lipstick and had perfectly plucked eyebrows and professionally styled hair.

In an interview with Remezcla earlier this year, Mercado shared this about his gender nonconformity, “I’m so into who I am, and I do [what] feels right for me…I’m so connected to people and to the divine for that. That I look feminine in a cape? Everyone knows we have two energies – yin and yang – and I know how to balance them. If I have to be a warrior, then I’ll be that. If I have to be soft and subtle, I can be that, too.  I broke the barriers. Boys wear blue and girls wear pink…Why? No, that’s in the past. Extreme gender conformity, machismo, and weak, submissive women, no,no, no, no. We are humans; people have the right to think whatever they want. I follow my own path, and I am who I am.”

He first entered our homes in 1969, as a last-minute fill-in to read the horoscopes when a guest did not appear on a program on the Telemundo network.  At the urging of viewers, the network gave him his own segment in 1970.  He became a celebrity.

Walter enjoyed 50+ years in the entertainment business. With style and flair, his top-rated astrology show was a staple in Latino homes throughout Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the U.S., with an estimated 120 million daily viewers for more than 30 years. So well trusted was he that many Latinos made major life decisions based on his predictions.

While most viewers wanted to hear what Walter’s readings predicted, others like me wanted to see what he’d wear – the sequined capes, blazers and vests, the over-the-top jewelry – all of it was extravagant and while it led us to question his sexuality, we not only accepted him during a more binary period of time, but many of us secretly embraced it.

Ask Latinos of a certain age and they’ll share what they remember about Walter when he came on T.V.

“¡Apurate!” dad or abuelito would yell out to mom or abuelita, when Walter would come on the tube.

Cooking stopped. Conversation stopped. There was a sudden hush. Mom or abuelita would run to the living room to take a seat with her apron on. All eyes were glued to that T.V. set until Walter completed his readings and finished each segment with his infamous message of “above all, lots and lots of love.”

To mark the 50th anniversary of Walter Mercado’s first show, HistoryMiami Museum honored him with an exhibit, “Mucho, Mucho Amor: 50 Years of Walter Mercado” in August.  On display, some for the first time, were costumes, mementos, tarot cards and ephemera.

Walter, thank you for connecting Latinos everywhere in a common thread; no matter what part of the world we lived in, we have a shared memory that includes our parents and abuelos, many who have gone to the ages, as you now have.

We will look for you when we glance at the North Star and grant you “sobre todo, mucho, mucho amor.”