- Rafael José
Infobox actor
name = Rafael José
imagesize = 200px
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1955|4|22
location = Manatí,Puerto Rico
height =
birthname = Rafael José Díaz
othername =
homepage =
occupation = Actor, singer and host
notable role =Dr. Rafael José Diaz (born
April 22 ,1955 ) is a Puerto Rican television show host born inManatí ,Puerto Rico , where his father, a physician born in theDominican Republic , was the medical director of the local hospital. His family eventually moved toMayagüez, Puerto Rico , where he was raised. While living in Mayagüez he sang and acted in various amateur radio and television broadcasts, as well as in high school talent shows. His reputation as a powerful singer followed him toSan Juan, Puerto Rico , where he attended medical school. His family supported his singing career on the condition that he finished thedentistry program at theUniversity of Puerto Rico 's Medical School. He interrupted his studies for close to eight years when his singing career took off, but eventually finished his degree and became a dentist (although he rarely practices his profession nowadays).He won the
Festival OTI , in Argentina (1980), with his interpretation of "Contigo Mujer ", a song that was an instant hit all over the Puerto Ricanradio , composed byEdnita Nazario , andLaureano Brizuela . Another radio hit was "Yo Quiero Hacerte Olvidar" was the theme song for the soap opera "Martha Llorens".José's singing career did not go much further, but he soon began acting in
soap opera s and got a job co hosting the Saturday night program "A Millon " in 1983, along withHector Marcano , &Sonia Noemí , onWAPA-TV . He proved to be a talented show host and lasted there a long time. During this time, he and his then wife, actress Magali Carrasquillo, had a son, Juan Pablo.In 1986, José moved on to join future Senator
Roberto Vigoreaux in hosting another WAPA-TV game show, "Sabado En Grande ", when "A Millón" was moved to Sunday nights. During this time, he also performed with Antonio Sánchez in several comedies like "El Cuartel de la Risa " and "Adultos Solteros". In the late 90s, he was hired byUnivision .José then became a recognizable face with
Latino audiences with the movie showcase show "Tu Pelicula ". This experience helped him get casted to participate in Univision's show of "Despierta America ", along withMexico 'sFernando Arau andAna Maria Canseco , HonduranNeyda Sandoval and fellow Puerto RicanGiselle Blondet . In 1998, Jose covered the1998 Fifa World Cup as a commentator for Univision.On
July 28 ,2004 , Univision announced that José will be hosting a television show named "Ay, que Rico!", which. although hosted by him and fellow Puerto Rican (and Mayagüez native)Gricel Mamery , will be geared towards the Mexican audiences in the United States.On 2005, he started hosting Univision's successful night show
Anda Pa'l Cara . Presently, 2007, he hosts "Tu Universo Televisión" on Puerto Rican television.ee also
*
List of people from the Dominican Republic
*List of famous Puerto Ricans External links
*es icon [http://www.prpop.org/biografias/r_bios/rafael_jose.shtml Fundacion Nacional para la Cultura Popular biography]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1750898 Rafael José] on theInternet Movie Database
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