Silverio Pérez
Encyclopedia
Silverio Pérez is a musician
, comedian
, entrepreneur
and broadcasting media host
, born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
. He is known for several reasons, among them:
He is the composer of songs, among them, the Danza
dedicated to the island of Vieques ("Isla Nena").
are of Hebrew Spanish Anusim
origin. While Pérez was a teenager he became involved in various church singing groups and in the Puerto Rican production of Up With People
. He later formed a duo, Silverio y Roxana, that specialized in Puerto Rican music, and as a result, was a guest -and later hosted- an autochthonous Puerto Rican music television program, "Borinquen Canta", along with news broadcaster Guillermo José Torres
. He later studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
, but remained active as a part-time singer while completing his studies. He then realized that Engineering, while a lucrative career, did not fulfill his vocation as a singer.
Pérez formally started his career
with the singing group Haciendo Punto en Otro Son
with four debut concerts at a night club called "La Tea" in San Juan (October 30 - November 2, 1975). This band, whose original members included Irvin Garcia, Jossy Latorre, Nano Cabrera
and Tony Croatto
, toured all of Puerto Rico and some other countries, recording various albums and 8-tracks. The group faced blacklisting in some Puerto Rican towns due to the political nature of some of its songs, and experienced numerous personnel changes over time (most notably Croatto's, who as a non-native Puerto Rican felt uncomfortable by the situation). Haciendo Punto would "break up" twice during the 1980s, to be reformed in the late 1990s.
After the group
went into a hiatus, Pérez went into Puerto Rican television with the Los Rayos Gamma
show. In Los Rayos Gamma, he teamed up with Sunshine Logrono
, Jacobo Morales
and Horacio Olivo
to satirize Puerto Rican politics. Later on, he became the show host of the successful program, En Serio Con Silverio.
In 1987, he was credited with coining the term Chupacabra
, referring to creatures around Puerto Rico with a habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.
In 2000, he debuted in the show Anda Pa'l Cara
. He also wrote, in 1996, a book named Humortivacion, which promotes motivation through humor. Currently, Pérez also hosts a radio show, Arranca en Fa!. Humortivacion had a sequel, Mas Humortivacion, and a follow-up, "Domesticando tu dinosario"
Pérez also writes a column in El Nuevo Día
newspaper.
In the mid-1990s, an electric gate caught Pérez's right arm and fractured various arm and hand bones, for which he underwent surgery
in at least four occasions. On October 31, 2005, Pérez had a cancer
ous tumor removed from his prostate
. Until then, Perez had been fairly successful in hiding his illness from the Puerto Rican public.
(2008) He is currently hosting a TV show Buenas Noches con Silverio (Good Evening with Silverio) on channel 13 in Puerto Rico.
He is one of the leaders of the Movimiento Unión Soberanista
.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and broadcasting media host
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Guaynabo is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas; south of Cataño; east of Bayamón; and west of San Juan...
. He is known for several reasons, among them:
- hosting several successful Puerto RicanPuerto RicoPuerto 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...
television shows during his career. - performing with the known group of political satireSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
called Los Rayos GammaLos Rayos GammaLos 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:* Sunshine Logroño - comedian, actor, host, singer, producer...
(The Gamma Rays) - performing with the Nueva TrovaNueva trovaNueva trova is a movement in Cuban music that emerged around 1967/68 after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and the consequent political and social changes....
group called Haciendo Punto en Otro SonHaciendo Punto en Otro SonHaciendo Punto en Otro Son is a Nueva Trova band from Puerto Rico, founded in 1975. They recorded fourteen albums and performed in Latin America, the Caribbean and USA....
. - his motivational lectures which are usually called "Humortivación" (Humortivation).
- allegedly coining the term chupacabraChupacabraThe chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
s to name the mythical creature responsible for various attacks on animals in Puerto Rico, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the United States
He is the composer of songs, among them, the Danza
Danza
Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence dances, performed to a pattern, usually of squares, to...
dedicated to the island of Vieques ("Isla Nena").
Biography
Pérez is the oldest of eleven brothers and sisters. The PerezPérez
Pérez is a surname with at least two distinct origins. One is a Spanish surname meaning "son of Pero, Pedro, or Peter." In Castilian Spanish, the name is pronounced ; in Latin America, . In American English, it is often the hyperforeign ....
are of Hebrew Spanish Anusim
Anusim
Anusim is a legal category of Jews in halakha who were forced or coerced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically while forcibly converted to another religion...
origin. While Pérez was a teenager he became involved in various church singing groups and in the Puerto Rican production of Up With People
Up with People
Up with People is an international education organization founded in 1968 by J. Blanton Belk, building from roots in the similar "Sing-Out" program of 1965. Up With People is best known for their musical performances by international casts consisting of 70–100 students from, on average, 20...
. He later formed a duo, Silverio y Roxana, that specialized in Puerto Rican music, and as a result, was a guest -and later hosted- an autochthonous Puerto Rican music television program, "Borinquen Canta", along with news broadcaster Guillermo José Torres
Guillermo José Torres
Guillermo José Torres is a Puerto Rican television reporter and news anchorman.-External links:*...
. He later studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in Spanish , is a land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico...
, but remained active as a part-time singer while completing his studies. He then realized that Engineering, while a lucrative career, did not fulfill his vocation as a singer.
Pérez formally started his career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
with the singing group Haciendo Punto en Otro Son
Haciendo Punto en Otro Son
Haciendo Punto en Otro Son is a Nueva Trova band from Puerto Rico, founded in 1975. They recorded fourteen albums and performed in Latin America, the Caribbean and USA....
with four debut concerts at a night club called "La Tea" in San Juan (October 30 - November 2, 1975). This band, whose original members included Irvin Garcia, Jossy Latorre, Nano Cabrera
Nano Cabrera
Nano Cabrera is a singer, guitarist, and composer born in Condado, Puerto Rico, who was a member of Haciendo Punto en Otro Son, the musical group that brought popularity to typical Puerto Rican music during the last quarter century...
and Tony Croatto
Tony Croatto
Hermes Davide Fastino Croatto Martinis, better known as Tony Croatto was an Italian singer and composer best known for his interpretations of Puerto Rican folk music. He was also a television presenter.-Biography:Born in Attimis, a comune in the province of Udine, Italy...
, toured all of Puerto Rico and some other countries, recording various albums and 8-tracks. The group faced blacklisting in some Puerto Rican towns due to the political nature of some of its songs, and experienced numerous personnel changes over time (most notably Croatto's, who as a non-native Puerto Rican felt uncomfortable by the situation). Haciendo Punto would "break up" twice during the 1980s, to be reformed in the late 1990s.
After the group
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
went into a hiatus, Pérez went into Puerto Rican television with the Los Rayos Gamma
Los Rayos Gamma
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:* Sunshine Logroño - comedian, actor, host, singer, producer...
show. In Los Rayos Gamma, he teamed up with Sunshine Logrono
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...
, 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:...
and 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....
to satirize Puerto Rican politics. Later on, he became the show host of the successful program, En Serio Con Silverio.
In 1987, he was credited with coining the term Chupacabra
Chupacabra
The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
, referring to creatures around Puerto Rico with a habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.
In 2000, he debuted in the show Anda Pa'l Cara
Anda Pa'l Cara
Anda Pa'l Cará was a Spanish-language television program, a late-night talk and variety show from Puerto Rico. It started in 2000 on WLII-TV Tele Once as a late night show with comedian Silverio Pérez as host, but has evolved into a more youth-oriented format with a focus on celebrity news and...
. He also wrote, in 1996, a book named Humortivacion, which promotes motivation through humor. Currently, Pérez also hosts a radio show, Arranca en Fa!. Humortivacion had a sequel, Mas Humortivacion, and a follow-up, "Domesticando tu dinosario"
Pérez also writes a column in El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día is a Puerto Rican newspaper based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and distributed daily throughout Puerto Rico and some parts of the United States.- History :...
newspaper.
In the mid-1990s, an electric gate caught Pérez's right arm and fractured various arm and hand bones, for which he underwent surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
in at least four occasions. On October 31, 2005, Pérez had a 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...
ous tumor removed from his prostate
Prostate
The prostate is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male reproductive system in most mammals....
. Until then, Perez had been fairly successful in hiding his illness from the Puerto Rican public.
(2008) He is currently hosting a TV show Buenas Noches con Silverio (Good Evening with Silverio) on channel 13 in Puerto Rico.
He is one of the leaders of the Movimiento Unión Soberanista
Movimiento Unión Soberanista
Movimiento Unión Soberanista is a Puerto Rican political movement. The movement was founded in November 2010 in the city of Caguas, PR. They are presently attempting to get 60,000 endorsements required by the new electoral law of the Commonwealth to enroll in the State Elections Commission .The...
.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican songwriters
- University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez people