Walter Mercado’s Legacy, Withdrawal From Public Eye Chronicled In Trailer For Netflix Doc ‘Mucho Mucho Amor’

What’s the story?Even as a child Walter was regarded as a healer in his community, and somehow the shy farm boy from Ponce, Puerto Rico managed to transform himself into the flamboyant showman that everyone grew to love.A natural performer, Walter was cast in telenovelas including Una Sombra and La Intrusa before becoming an on-air astrologer in 1969, after comedian and producer Elfin Ortiz asked him to fill in for another act.He was an instant hit and went on to appear on the Puerto Rican news

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRyan Gosling is preparing to battle Chris Evans in a new Netflix thriller from the writers and directors of “Avengers: Endgame.” Entitled “The Gray Man,” the film is based on a series of best sellers from Mark Greaney.It’s a veritable cinematic hunk-off that seems guaranteed to set movie fans’ hearts aflutter. It’s also likely to cost a pretty penny.

Walter Mercado was a giver of hope. The Puerto Rican astrologer blessed the homes of many Latinx families for decades with enriching daily horoscopes on the small screen.

JD Pantoja (real name: Juan de Dios Pantoja) is a Mexican YouTuber-turned-music artist who’s marking territory in the biz with his urban-pop rhythms and melodious vocals. After teaming up with artists such as Noriel and Khea, Pantoja surprised fans with his latest production coined “12•19.”

Puerto Rican astrologist Walter Mercado, who died last year on Nov. 2, is one of the most recognizable figures in Latinx culture — for his horoscope breakdowns, his bedazzled capes, and above all, his unwavering positivity.

Mucho Mucho Amor (★★★★☆).A staple in millions of households since the late ’60s, the star vanished from public view after airing his final broadcast in 2006. Cristina Costantini, who made the equally uplifting 2018 documentary Science Fair, and her co-director Kareem Tabsch find Mercado living comfortably, though not extravagantly, at his home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, attended to by his longtime assistant, Willy Acosta, as well as a family of nieces, and his beloved pooch Runo.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWalter Mercado knew how to make an entrance.Just ask the filmmakers behind the new Netflix documentary “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” about meeting the iconic television astrologer for the first time at his home just outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico.“We go into his office and meet his secretary and his nieces and they take us upstairs to one of his sitting rooms,” co-director Kareem Tabsch tells Variety.

iconic television astrologer Walter Mercado are hoping to adapt the film into a scripted biopic.Cristina Costantini, who directed “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” with Kareem Tabsch, tells Variety that they asked Mercado who he wanted to play him. “I suggested Gael García Bernal and he said, ‘Too old,’” Costantini said.

Latin astrologer Walter Mercado is the subject of Netflix’s brand new documentary film, Mucho Mucho Amor, and fans are loving every minute of it.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorThe co-directors and producer of a new Netflix documentary about the life of iconic television astrologer Walter Mercado are hoping to adapt the film into a scripted biopic.Cristina Costantini, who directed “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” with Kareem Tabsch, tells Variety that they asked Mercado who he wanted to play him. “I suggested Gael García Bernal and he said, ‘Too old,’” Costantini said.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorDocumentary “Mucho Mucho Amor,” from Latinx filmmakers Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) and Kareem Tabsch (“The Last Resort”), focuses on the legacy of Walter Mercado, the iconic gender-nonconforming Hispanic astrologer who disappeared from the public eye, choosing to live off the grid in Puerto Rico, before resurfacing to prepare for the opening of a late-in-life exhibition at the HistoryMiami Museum. Cinematographer Peter Alton had worked with Costantini on

cafe con leche and bistec empanizado (breaded steak).But those cultural hallmarks were also marred by immeasurable trauma: , I witnessed various types of normalized abuse (substance, physical, emotional) while my parents worked hard to make ends meet and build a better life in a country foreign to them. From an early age, I searched for an escape from the realities of growing up poor, a way to protect my mental health before doing so was part of the vernacular.

Walter Mercado enamored audiences with his astrology readings, positivity and words of wisdom for many years. Now audiences will get an intimate look at the iconic Puerto Rican, gender-nonconforming astrologer's life in Netflix's documentary, streaming July 8.The doc captures Mercado's final two years, when he grappled with aging and his legacy, and prepared for one last star-studded spectacle.

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