Raúl Velasco

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Raúl Velasco
Born	April 24, 1933 Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
Died	November 26, 2006 (aged 73) Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
Occupation	Host, Producer

Raúl Velasco (April 24, 1933 - November 26, 2006) was born in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. For 30 years, he was the Mexican host/producer of Siempre en Domingo (Always on Sunday) which is his hallmark contribution to the Latin American world and eventually to other parts of the world where Spanish entertainment programs are broadcast.

While IMDB incorrectly lists Siempre en Domingo^[1] as originating in 1984, Raúl Velasco began this program as co-host of a Sunday afternoon special in 1969 called Domingos Espectaculares (Sunday's Specials). One of Raúl Velasco's catch phrases was, "Aun hay mas" ("There's more to follow"). For a short while, Siempre en Domingo was known as Aun hay mas^[2] because Raúl Velasco would always say these words prior to each intermission or commercial, with the hand gesture that corresponds to a request for a commercial break, similar to what Frank Sinatra might have said or sung, The best is yet to come. . . The phrase and hand gesture became popular in Mexico as a result. (y aún hay más... amigos!)

1 Biography
2 Career
3 Siempre en domingo
4 Death and family
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Biography

Raúl Velasco Ramirez was born in Celaya, Mexico on April 24, 1933. Coming from a family with few resources, Velasco started working at an early age. He worked first at his family store, called La Violeta, a small grocery. He also worked as messenger, tractor operator (agriculture machinery), and driver.

When he was very young, he got married to Hortensia Ruiz. They had three children; Raul, Claudia and Arturo. Some years later, he divorced from Ruiz and got married with Dorle Klokow. In this second marriage with Dorle, Karina and Diego were born.

When he was twenty years old, he fulfilled one of his dreams: to move to Mexico City. He started to working as accountant for the National Bank of Mexico. At the same time, his writing spirit began to take hold. He wrote many sports articles and then he started writing in a magazine called Novelas de la radio. Furthermore, he wrote for Cine Universal, Cine Novelas and Cine Álbum.

Velasco made his mark in the world of the theater when he became the head of the entertainment section of the El heraldo de Mexico newspaper. He also worked on the radio station Radio Variedades. In addition, he started working on the Independent Television of Mexico (TIM) as a host, first with the program La reseña cinematografica de Acapulco, and then he participated in some open TV programs like Confrontación 68, Media Noche and Domingos espectaculares.

After hard work, on December 13, 1969, Siempre en Domingo was born. This program was one of the most popular TV musical programs in history. It was broadcast in the United States, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. It was a program of TELEVISA Company. With the passing of the time, Velasco became an international artistic icon. He created some TV shows too. Some of them were Estrellas de los ochenta, Juguemos a cantar, Festival OTI and Galardón a los grandes.^[3]

[edit] Career

His career started with his first contact with journalism in a sports magazine that was published in Celaya, Guanajuato where he wrote articles about frontenis, the sport he practiced. At the age of 20, Velasco traveled to Mexico City to work for the magazine Radio Novels. After that, he collaborated with Cine Universal, Cine Novelas and Cine Álbum. From these publications, other newspapers came through like Novedades and then El Heraldo, where he was the editor of the entertainment and show section.

In 1969, he joined Televisa, which is one of the biggest and popular TV networks in Mexico in December 13 of 1969 with the famous program Siempre en Domingo. In 1998, he was fired by Televisa even though his show had high ratings because of some differences with his co-workers. Despite his bad relationship with Televisa, the popularity of the host influenced many important artists to give him a tribute for his brilliant career, and also for entering Mexican homes for almost 30 years.

He started as an actor in Independent Television of Mexico (TIM) with some programs like Medianoche, Domingos espectaculares, Reseña cinematográfica de Acapulco, Confrontación 68 and El tigre.

In 2002, he published his first book, Reflexiones, para vivir mejor. It was composed of stories, tales and reflections where the author makes reference to topics of ethics and essential elements of spiritual life. The book was dedicated to all the people that search within their souls for all the feelings that have been hidden since childhood.^[4]

[edit] Siempre en domingo

On September 13, 1969, a new musical TV show came out, becoming the most popular and traditional in Mexico: Siempre en Domingo (Always on Sunday). This TV show achieved fame in USA, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Siempre en Domingo was a TV show where many artists performed and debuted. In the beginning, most of the artists performing in Siempre en Domingo were from Spain, Central and South America. However, the TV show became more and more popular, so that many Mexican singers wanted to performed in Siempre en Domingo.

Velasco, the host, encouraged many singers such as Lucía Méndez, Chayanne, Lucero, Emmanuel, Mijares, Gloria Trevi, Timbiriche and more. Moreover, Velasco inspired foreign artists such as Julio Iglesias, Raphael, Miguel Bose and Ricky Martin. Furthermore, he encouraged announcers, commentators, producers, reporters, and writers. Some of these artists became famous around the world. Many festivals such as OTI, Valores Juveniles (Juvenile’s values), Juguemos a Cantar (Let’s play singing) were promoted.

Later, Siempre en Domingo became the most popular TV show in Latin America. Velasco's most popular phrase, "patada de la suerte" (lucky kick), sponsored many artists that every Sunday performed in his popular TV show.

Siempre en Domingo had about 420 million television viewers around the world. Many singers, choreographers, recording companies and fans found their roots in this TV show. Thanks to Siempre en Domingo, show business in Mexico was able to thrive. All good things come to and end and Siempre en Domingo closed a chapter in musical history of Spanish-speaking nations.

Siempre en Domingo was on air until 1998 when Velasco was diagnosed with Hepatitis C.

Some years later, in 2003, the announcer Marco Antonio Regil planned to direct a new TV show similar to Siempre en Domingo, keeping the familiar values and originality. This new musical TV show expected to have popular acts and not so popular acts in order to maintain happy and satisfied fans.^[5]

[edit] Death and family

Raul Velasco developed several heart and liver problems. He had been in the hospital several times, but the last time he became ill, he decided to be taken care at home. On November 26, 2006, Raul Velasco died of natural causes at 7:15 am. He was 73 years old. He died surrounded by his family in his house located in Polanco, Mexico City.

Raul Velasco's funeral was a national event. His body was buried in the “Panteon Frances” where many fans, artists, and press congregated to give Raul the last goodbye. His death impacted not only Mexico, but also Central America and the Caribbean. People from Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, etc., showed they cared about the death of the TV host.

Velasco was survived by 3 sons and 2 daughters: Arturo, Claudia, Raul Diego and Karina who followed her father footsteps by becoming a TV host herself. At the time of his death, he had one granddaughter.^[6]^[7]