Gabriel Traversari

Infobox Person
name=Gabriel Traversari

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caption=Gabriel Traversari in 1989 puic|

birth_date=Birth date and age|1963|9|7|mf=y
birth_place=Los Angeles, California USA
death_date=
death_place=

Gabriel Traversari (born Gabriel Augusto Traversari Debayle on September 7, 1963) is a Nicaraguan American actor, director, writer, singer, songwriter, painter and photographer.

Early life

Mr. Traversari is the second son of Fernando "El Pando" Traversari, the famous Ecuadorian bullfighter, later TV personality, and Maria de Lourdes Debayle, a Nicaraguan socialite (related to the Somoza family). He is of Italian and French descent.

Traversari was born in Los Angeles, California, but grew up in El Crucero, a municipality just outside of Managua, Nicaragua. [cite news | first=Wilder | last=Pérez R. | title=Traversari quiere ser cantante | url =http://www.laprensa.com.ni/cgi-bin/print.pl?id=revista-20020121-01 | work =La Prensa | accessdate = 2007-11-30 | language = Spanish] Gabriel's godfather was the renowned screen actor, Gilbert Roland.

He was sent to a junior boarding school in Pomfret, Connecticut called The Rectory School and graduated high school at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts. Gabriel went on to graduate from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting. While in school he performed on stage in "Twelfth Night" (as Antonio), "The Apple Tree" (as Adam), "Princess Ida" (as Cyril), "Macbeth" (as Macduff), "Infancy" (as Avonzino), What the Butler Saw (as Nick), The Sea Gull (as Trigorin), Romeo and Juliet (as Romeo), "The Lost Colony" (as A. Dare/J. Borden) and "Camino Real" (as Abdullah). He attended various acting workshops under the direction of Roger Rees, Joseph Papp and Raul Julia among others.

Career

Once Traversari graduated from college he moved to Miami, where he was quickly hired as the host of Univision’s first major original production, TV Mujer (1988-1991), an international talk show which he hosted for 3 years. Traversari also starred in other popular television programs which aired all throughout Latin America and Spain; these include: "Mejorando su Hogar", the first home improvement show produced in Spanish in the United States, and "Casa Club Magazine".

Traversari went on to produce, direct and host "Un Día de Fama" and many episodes for the "Behind the Scenes" series for E! Entertainment, in Latin America.

In 2004 he began hosting "Esotérica" on Cosmopolitan Television.cite news | first=Leslie | last=Ruiz Baldelomar | title=Cuidado que Gabriel Traversari viene con La Migra | url =http://www-ni.laprensa.com.ni/cronologico/2004/agosto/12/revista/revista-20040812-04.html | work =La Prensa | accessdate = 2007-11-30 | language = Spanish ] He was also cast as one of the lead voices for the Spanish version of Duckman, the Emmy-award winning cartoon, and as the voice of "Juan del Diablo" in the English translation of the highly acclaimed soap opera, Corazón Salvaje. He has appeared on various television series such as Miami Vice (1988), as well as small credited appearances in movies such as Something Wild (1986), Once Upon A Time in America (1984) and Two Much (1995). He was cast as the lead in the independent low budget feature, Murder on the Border, where he starred alongside Mexican actress Alpha Acosta (2005). Gabriel has also had special roles in three Telemundo soap operas, including, Anita no te Rajes, El Cuerpo del Deseo and more recently, Pecados Ajenos.

Gabriel currently produces, directs and hosts the highly acclaimed TV series "Las Espectaculares Casas" for Casa Club TV, a subdivision of MGM Networks, Latin America, and will be launching a couple of new shows for the same channel later this year. He also constantly produces local TV specials in his homeland, Nicaragua.

He wrote his first book of poetry, "Before the Dawn: Genuflections to my Cimmerian Wraith", in 1996. It was during the writing of that book that he became interested in painting. He was inspired by the illustrator of his book, Dr. Maria Elena de la Silva, and his long time friend, the well-known Nicaraguan modern painter, Omar D'Leon, that he began to paint. He has since published numerous other works and is preparing his first full length novel. He is launching his first photography book entitled, "Vernaculo: Encuentros con mi Tierra" which will have its debut presentation at the Palace of Culture in Nicaragua in the summer of 2008.

He founded the "Fundación Cultural Hispanoamericana" in the 1990s for the purpose of promoting the vision of young Hispanic artists. He has now traded his work there to support another foundation, The Future of Nicaragua Foundation, founded by his aunt Julia Sevilla de Hopping. Gabriel has aided in several culturally driven projects including a massive musical concert in the national stadium in Managua that brought together more than 50 nicaraguan artists and some special international personalities such as Laura León, Victor Noriega and Sebastian Ligarde. Throughout his career, Gabriel has hosted many beauty pageants including "Miss Nicaragua", "Miss Panama", "Nuestra Belleza- El Paso" and "Miss Carnaval"; song festivals such as "La OTI- Nicaragua", "La OTI- Nueva York" and "La OTI -Tampa", and television specials like "Fiesta en America" and "La Casa de sus Sueños" for Pepsi Cola, "Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva" for Golden Hill Productions and numerous guest hosting appearances for Televisa Espectaculos. He has served as jury member for the "OTI Nacional" and "Nuestra Belleza". In 2002 Gabriel shot his first documentary project entitled "Por Los Caminos", a 24 hour journey through the streets of Managua that was screened at 8 film festivals all over the world, including the Miami International Film Festival, the Havana Film Festival (Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano), the London Latin Film Festival and others.

Discography

;Luna de Piel

Traversari launched his first CD, Luna de Piel, in 2002. [cite news | title=Gabriel Traversari y su «Luna de Piel» | url =http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2002/enero/25-enero-2002/variedades/variedades1.html | work =El Nuevo Diario | accessdate = 2007-11-30 | language = Spanish ]

Awards and recognition

*Acrin; Host of the Year - (twice) by the North American Critics Association
*"Güegüense de Bronze" - by the Lions' Club Miami/Managua
*"Mundaje de Oro" - by the Association of Nicaraguan Artists
*"Hunk of the Year" - by the Galaxy of Stars association.

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.gabrieltraversari.com/ His webpage] es icon
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871332/ IMDb bio]
* [http://www.planetcd.com/cgi-bin/shop.pl/page=gabriel_bio.html/SID=1005169152.4229 Planet CD article]
* [http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/doc_comp_gallery_2005.asp Miami Film Festival]