Los Rayos Gamma
Encyclopedia
Los Rayos Gamma is a Puerto Rican
comedy
troupe specializing in political satire
. The group was founded in the late 1960s and is currently composed of:
Despite sporadic breaks in their tenure, the group has enjoyed constant success, having had several Puerto Rican television shows, and performing often around the island during their career.
and writer
Eddie López
. After finding out he suffered from cancer
, he thought of a political parody where he could lampoon the current events of Puerto Rican politics, blaming all their wrongdoings and the parody itself on gamma rays (a pun on his current therapy against his illness).
He then contacted friends Horacio Olivo
, Silverio Pérez
and Jacobo Morales
to help him with the project. Morales had the idea of taking Eddie's written parodies and blending them with previously censored TV scripts to produce a political parody stage show. The initial title of the project was El Efecto de los Rayos Gamma sobre Eddie López (The effect of gamma rays on Eddie López) which was a take on the title of Paul Zindel
's play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
. The title was then shortened simply to Los Rayos Gamma.
The show enjoyed great success from 1968 to 1971. That year, López died from his illness and comedian Efraín López Neris
was hired to replace him. However, at every show an empty chair would be left on stage as a tribute to López. Shortly after, López Neris was also replaced with comedian Sunshine Logroño
.
After that, the group decided to take an indefinite break. In the late 70s, however, Pérez contacted his friends to regroup. Enjoying the same level of success, they even had several programs on Puerto Rican television.
The group has continued their shows around the island, while each member also pursues his individual endeavors. They roughly reconvene every two years, usually previous to an election year.
(who has sung onstage with the group in various occasions) joked about this by calling Morales "the black hole
of clave
". In reality, Morales can keep rhythm using clave sticks
, or sing, but not do both at the same time. At the same time, Morales -for some unexplained reason, his partners claim- comes across as a very convincing tango
singer.
Logroño, on the other hand, besides using the group's common black uniform, may also feature distinctive props, usually those alluding to his own comedic characters (for example, Vitin Alicea
's beret), depending on a song's lyrics. He may play guitar, minor percussion, or other instruments, again, depending on each song.
The group's augmented lineup usually features a full orchestra, complete with horn section and chorus singers. It is frequently directed by keyboardist José "Cuqui" Rodríguez, who was also the musical director of many of Logroño's comedy programs.
as special guest.
On November 19, 2011, the group (without Horacio Olivo, who did appear in a comedic interview caught on video -he was recuperating from open heart surgery) performed in yet another series of presentations at the the Centro de Bellas Artes de San Juan, this time billed as "Enfortuñados."
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
troupe specializing in political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
. The group was founded in the late 1960s and is currently composed of:
- Sunshine LogroñoSunshine LogroñoEmmanuel Logroño , better known as Sunshine Logroño is a Puerto Rican actor, radio announcer, television show host, singer, comedy writer, entrepreneur and comedian...
- comedian, actor, host, singer, producer - Jacobo MoralesJacobo MoralesJacobo Morales is an auteur, whom many consider to be the most influential film director in Puerto Rico's history.-Life and career:...
- actor, writer, director, comedian - Horacio OlivoHoracio OlivoHoracio Olivo is a well known Puerto Rican actor, comedian, TV and radio personality, as well as a classically trained singer.Born in Dorado, Puerto Rico, he got his start in show business in 1949 at long defunct WNEL as a radio soap opera actor....
- actor, comedian, singer - Silverio PérezSilverio PérezSilverio Pérez is a musician, comedian, entrepreneur and broadcasting media host, born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He is known for several reasons, among them:* hosting several successful Puerto Rican television shows during his career....
- musician, comedian, entrepreneur, host
Despite sporadic breaks in their tenure, the group has enjoyed constant success, having had several Puerto Rican television shows, and performing often around the island during their career.
History
Los Rayos Gamma began in the late 60s as a project from journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Eddie López
Eddie López (journalist)
Manuel Eduardo López Rolón a.k.a. Eddie López was a Puerto Rican journalist.Eddie López was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico in 1940, the son of Manuel López Canals and Teresa Rolón Perez...
. After finding out he suffered from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, he thought of a political parody where he could lampoon the current events of Puerto Rican politics, blaming all their wrongdoings and the parody itself on gamma rays (a pun on his current therapy against his illness).
He then contacted friends Horacio Olivo
Horacio Olivo
Horacio Olivo is a well known Puerto Rican actor, comedian, TV and radio personality, as well as a classically trained singer.Born in Dorado, Puerto Rico, he got his start in show business in 1949 at long defunct WNEL as a radio soap opera actor....
, Silverio Pérez
Silverio Pérez
Silverio Pérez is a musician, comedian, entrepreneur and broadcasting media host, born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He is known for several reasons, among them:* hosting several successful Puerto Rican television shows during his career....
and Jacobo Morales
Jacobo Morales
Jacobo Morales is an auteur, whom many consider to be the most influential film director in Puerto Rico's history.-Life and career:...
to help him with the project. Morales had the idea of taking Eddie's written parodies and blending them with previously censored TV scripts to produce a political parody stage show. The initial title of the project was El Efecto de los Rayos Gamma sobre Eddie López (The effect of gamma rays on Eddie López) which was a take on the title of Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel Jr. was an American playwright, author, and educator.-Early years:Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York to Paul Zindel,Sr., a policeman, and Beatrice Frank, a nurse; his sister, Betty Hagen, was a year and a half older than he. Paul Zindel, Sr...
's play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1964 play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work. The play's world premiere was staged in 1964 at the Alley Theatre...
. The title was then shortened simply to Los Rayos Gamma.
The show enjoyed great success from 1968 to 1971. That year, López died from his illness and comedian Efraín López Neris
Efraín López Neris
Efraín López Neris is a Sephardi Puerto Rican actor, producer and cinematographer that has had a long trajectory in Puerto Rico's national artistic scene....
was hired to replace him. However, at every show an empty chair would be left on stage as a tribute to López. Shortly after, López Neris was also replaced with comedian Sunshine Logroño
Sunshine Logroño
Emmanuel Logroño , better known as Sunshine Logroño is a Puerto Rican actor, radio announcer, television show host, singer, comedy writer, entrepreneur and comedian...
.
After that, the group decided to take an indefinite break. In the late 70s, however, Pérez contacted his friends to regroup. Enjoying the same level of success, they even had several programs on Puerto Rican television.
The group has continued their shows around the island, while each member also pursues his individual endeavors. They roughly reconvene every two years, usually previous to an election year.
The group
The "classical" line-up of Los Rayos Gamma features them all dressed in black (as to not allude to any political party in Puerto Rico, or more precisely, their insignia's colors). It features Silverio Pérez on guitar, Horacio Olivo in bongos and minor percussion, and Jacobo Morales using percussion only occasionally. A running gag among the group is that Morales can only sing by following visual cues (usually from Olivo, who is a strong percussionist and even dances onstage when propped) as to stay in rhythm; salsa singer Rubén BladesRubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
(who has sung onstage with the group in various occasions) joked about this by calling Morales "the black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
of clave
Clave (rhythm)
The clave rhythmic pattern is used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as rumba, conga de comparsa, son, son montuno, mambo, salsa, Latin jazz, songo and timba. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Afro-Cuban rhythms...
". In reality, Morales can keep rhythm using clave sticks
Claves
Claves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...
, or sing, but not do both at the same time. At the same time, Morales -for some unexplained reason, his partners claim- comes across as a very convincing tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
singer.
Logroño, on the other hand, besides using the group's common black uniform, may also feature distinctive props, usually those alluding to his own comedic characters (for example, Vitin Alicea
Vitin Alicea
Victor Alicea Arévalo, better known as Vitín Alicea, is a fictional comedic character created and portrayed by Emmanuel Sunshine Logroño. Created in the mid-1980s, Vitín remains a popular radio and television character in Puerto Rico...
's beret), depending on a song's lyrics. He may play guitar, minor percussion, or other instruments, again, depending on each song.
The group's augmented lineup usually features a full orchestra, complete with horn section and chorus singers. It is frequently directed by keyboardist José "Cuqui" Rodríguez, who was also the musical director of many of Logroño's comedy programs.
Recent activity
On August 15, 2008, the group performed in the first of a series of presentations in the Centro de Bellas Artes de San Juan. This was one of their "farewell" tour's presentations and included Vico CVico C
Vico C is an Puerto Rican rapper and rap artist. He is considered one of the founding fathers of rap and has played an influential role in the development of Latin American hip hop....
as special guest.
On November 19, 2011, the group (without Horacio Olivo, who did appear in a comedic interview caught on video -he was recuperating from open heart surgery) performed in yet another series of presentations at the the Centro de Bellas Artes de San Juan, this time billed as "Enfortuñados."