Gricel Mamery

Infobox actor
name = Gricel Mamery


imagesize =
caption = Gricel Mamery Muños
birthdate = birth date and age|1967|1|25
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birthname = Gricel Mamery Muñoz
othername =
homepage =
occupation = Actress and hostess
notable role =

Gricel Mamery Muñoz (January 25, 1967 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican television hostess and comedienne, best known for her appearance on the Puerto Rican show "Anda Pa'l Cara".

Gricel is the sister of Puerto Rican music producer Topy Mamery and radio and marketing personality Eric William Mamery, daughter of the late Puerto Rican radio disc-jockey and marketing impresario Gilbert Mamery, and granddaughter of William Mamary a successful Lebanese-born textile industrialist. She is married to lawyer Eugenio “Geño” Piñero Soler, with whom she has one son, Noel Gilbert Piñero.

Claim to Fame

Mamery became one of the longest running female hosts in Puerto Rican television, often competing for most beautiful hair, beautiful legs, and beautiful face of TV contests held by gossip and celebrity magazines in Puerto Rico, primarily Teve Guía and Vea.

She hosted the late night Puerto Rican Television show "Anda Pa'l Cara" from 2001 to 2005, teamed up with stand-up comedian Luis Raul and then with Puerto Rican celebrity (and fellow Mayagüez native) Rafael Jose to keep it among the most watched shows in Puerto Rican television.

Biography

Gricel was named after a tango often sung by Carlos Gardel, her father's favorite singer (Gilbert Mamery was regarded as one of the world's most knowledgeable experts -if not "the" most knowledgeable- on Gardel and his music). She assisted the "Immaculate Conception Academy" private school in her hometown, where she was regarded as being both physically beautiful and a bit of a practical joker by her classmates of the school's Class of 1984. She later attended the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

Gricel began radio work in her native Mayagüez doing a comedy/woman themes radio program at her father's radio station, WTIL-AM, at the request of her brother Eric William. At the time she had just married Piñero and only wanted a part-time job at the family business. She was quite hesitant about doing radio, given her brothers' and father's status as reputed radio personalities. She co-produced "¿Qué hay de nuevo?" with fellow station administrator, Toñi Basora. In typical comedy duo fashion, Basora was the "straight" face of the duo, and Gricel was the jokester. The program got good reviews (mainly due to Gricel's impeccable sense of comedy timing, which complemented Basora's dry sense of humor), even if the limitations of the Mayagüez radio market forced it to be canceled after one year. She then became the hostess of Friday nights at the then-named Mayagüez Hilton Hotel's discotheque.

When the Piñeros moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at the request of Hector Marcano, she moved to television in the late 1990s on Marcano’s Super Show, which aired on Univision Puerto Rico, often appearing behind the scenes as a color announcer. Marcano later moved her in front of the camera to become one of the presenters in the show. Due to her quick wit, beauty and physical assets (she needed a breast lift after giving birth to her son and made this decision public; while gossip columnists incorrectly theorized about an augmentation, she was "all natural" at the time) she got plenty of attention from the media, often appearing in gossip magazine columns in local magazines Vea and TeVe Guia.

She later moved to WAPA-TV as the station's movie presenter, injecting her personal brand of humor to comments about featured movies. She would also introduce upcoming movies in a small segment within one of the highest rated television shows in Puerto Rican history, a controversial daily gossip and comedy show called "SuperXclusivo", produced by fellow Mayagüez native, Antulio "Kobbo" Santarrosa. Although hers was a two-minute segment only showing her from waist up, this led to even more popularity, since La Comay was a regular #1 or #2 in the weekly and monthly ratings chart, and often made popular topic by magazines like TeVe Guia and Vea.

She was then hired to be the replacement hostess to one of the most popular late night television shows in Puerto Rico "Anda Pa'l Cara", replacing Silverio Pérez, and having Puerto Rican stand up comedian Luis Raul as co-host. Gricel reinvented her image as to provide a more serious, age-appropriate profile within the show. In part her sense of humor was subdued by a personal struggle: her husband had a bout with cancer (from which he has successfully recovered from since), and her father died. The show was a success during its many incarnations, from 2001 to 2005.

After a much publicized feud with the show’s producers she was let go of Anda Pa’l Cara, and she dedided to take a rest from the public eye. Public demand for her return to entertainment moved her back into radio, in 2006, with Raymond Arrieta as a co-host. Raymond, in turn, has featured her regularly in his long running comedy show, "El Show de Raymond" on WAPA-TV.

Gricel became an occasional color reporter on Puerto Rican lifestyle and pop culture for Despierta América, starting in 2007

External links

* [http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/gricelmamery/ Gricel Mamery images] (Spanish)

References

*TeVe Guia
*Vea magazine
*Salud magazine
*Newspaper PrimeraHora,
*Univision Puerto Rico broadcast station,
*WAPA TV broadcast station.