Walter Mercado is a Puerto Rican astrologer, actor, dancer, and author who is best known as a television personality for his show Astrologer. He is also known as “Shanti Nanda” and “Miracle Walter”.
Wiki/Biography
Walter Mercado was born “Walter Mercado Salinas” on Wednesday, March 9, 1932 (87 years old at the time of his death) on a ship sailing from Spain to Puerto Rico. He grew up in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His star sign is Pisces. He majored in pharmacology at the University of Puerto Rico. He also majored in psychology, astrology, cosmology, parapsychology, theater and dance. He studied music with Dr. Ludwig Sajovich. He was also an expert in dream interpretation and numerology. He studied astrology with a teacher from Jamaica. He studied classical ballet with Austrian teacher Mrs. Herta Brauer. His teachers were Ruth Vera, Gloria Belmonte and Gilda Navarra in flamenco, Ana Garcia in modern ballet and Luisa Navas in folk ballet.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 9″
Eye color: dark brown
Hair color: Blonde
Family and Race
Walter Mercado’s father, José María Mercado, is from San Herman, Puerto Rico, and his mother, Aida Salinas, is from Catalonia, Spain. He has a brother named Henry. In 2003, he revealed that he was in a relationship with Mariette De Toto, and the two had appeared in a TV show together.
Walter Mercado and Mariette Detotto
Profession
As a dancer
He began his career as a dancer and is one of the most prolific dancers in Puerto Rico. He has danced with Velda González, a famous Puerto Rican dancer, actress, comedian, politician and former senator. He has also danced with Zaida Acosta, Irma Toro and Candy Camerón.
Walter Mercado strikes a dance pose
As an actor
His debut was Esther Palés, while the television series Un adiós en el recuerdo (Farewell to Memory) and Larga distancia (Long Distance) were his first and most remembered works. He starred in television series such as Yo no pedí vivir Historia de mi vida (1963), Ana Rosa (1965), La mujer de aquella noche (1968), Recordar (1968), Entre el puñal y la cruz (1969), Una noir (1970) and La intrusa (1970). He then began to tour and perform in many countries. He is remembered for his performances in the plays “Anastasia”, “Bodas de sangre”, “La dama de las Camalias”, “Androcles y el león”, “Los cuatro coroneles”, “El tríptico de amor dolor y muerte”, “Todos los hijos de Dios tienen alas” (1960). , and Mirando hacia atrás con ira (1970).
As a celebrity astrologer
His career as a television personality began when he was asked to replace a guest who failed to appear on a show produced by Puerto Rican actor, comedian and producer Irene Ortiz. He was arranged to fill a 15-minute slot on the show by doing astrological predictions. His performance was so impressive that he was chosen as a regular on the show, where he used to do astrological predictions. In 1970, he became a regular on the show El Show de las 12. He used to host a weekly astrology show on the WKAQ-TV network. Years later, when the channel changed its programming schedule, he moved his weekly show to WRIK-TV. In the 1980s, his show was broadcast on many channels in Latin America and the United States. After a stint at WRIK-TV, he moved his show to WKBM-TV. He also appeared on many radio shows.
An old photo of Walter Mercado before his astrology show
In addition to television, he has written forecasts for various newspapers, magazines and web pages, and has been a daily columnist for the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Día in Puerto Rico, Hoy in Chicago, Hoy in Los Angeles, Listín Diario in the Dominican Republic, and other newspapers in South and Central America. From the 1980s to the 1910s, his show aired on the Univision network throughout the Americas. From 1994 to 2009, he also appeared in the show Primer Impacto, which aired on the Univision Network.
Walter Mercado in Primer Impacto
In 2014, she became a business partner at Entertainment Events AZ, a Phoenix-based marketing and mobile app development company.
Other works
By the end of the 1980s, Mercado had authored seven books, one of which, Más allá del horizonte (Beyond the Horizon) (1997), was published in three languages: Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
He also co-authored the books Mensajes Para Vivir, Enciclopedia De Walter Mercado (Tomo 1) (1983), Guia Para Una Vida Mejor (1997) and El Mundo secreto de Walter Mercado (Spanish version) (2010) with Dr. Leon Alberto Vasquez (date unknown). He also founded a school of dramatic arts, Walter Actors Studio 64, of which he is the director, with Estrella Artau (musician) as co-director and Laura Martell as one of the teachers. He also taught dance and drama at the school.
Awards and Achievements
- New York Latin Entertainment Critics Association named him “Mr. Television”
- Won the title of Mr. Television at the Cordasos Festival in the Dominican Republic in 1972
- New Jersey House of Representatives
- The United States General Assembly proclaims June 21 as Walter Mercado Day
Conference Declaration
- Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Miami Beach
- A bronze cast of his hand is housed in the Immortals Gallery in Mexico City
Walter Mercado Bronze Die
- Received the Achievement Award from Miami Mayor Alex Penelas
- Doctoral Laureate degree from the Church of Filippino Santina in Valencia, Spain
- In 1990, he was named the King of Astrology in New York.
- 1999 New Millennium Astrologer Title
- In 2000, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award (in recognition of a lifetime of commitment to the arts and spirituality) from the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Institute for Aging.
- Honored at the 2004 Puerto Rico Gala with Benicio Del Toro, Justino Díaz and other Puerto Rican celebrities
dispute
- In 1995, Walter and Bart International Enterprises signed an agreement under which the company could use the “Walter Mercado” trademark, as well as Mercado’s name and likeness, to produce material featuring Mercado’s psychic services. Under the agreement, Walter received a base salary of $25,000 per month from Bart, as well as $7,000 per month for clothing and additional work. However, in 2006, Walter suddenly stopped producing material for Bart, and Bart also stopped paying Walter. In November 2006, he decided to terminate his contract with Bart for unpaid damages, and around the same time, his company Astromundo also applied for the Walter Mercado trademark. This led to both parties filing lawsuits against each other. The ruling was in Bart’s favor; it was declared that Bart could continue to use Mercado’s name and likeness in future commercial projects. He later settled the lawsuit and got the rights to his name back.
- In 1998, Walter was sued by a group of fans who invested in a jewelry brand called Unique Gems International Corp. because the beads he endorsed had special healing properties. In 2006, the company’s president was sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 16,000 people of $90 million.
die
In January 2012, he was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, for a heart attack. Later, his health declined. On Saturday evening, November 2, 2019, he died of kidney failure at the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is buried at the Señorial Memorial Park in Cupey Barrio, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Walter Mercado’s funeral
Facts/Trivia
- As a child he was known as “Walter de los Milagros”. At the age of six he made his first prediction, warning his teacher that the school bell would fall. The next day an earthquake struck and the bell fell, fulfilling his prediction.
- According to Walter, he has had super powers since he was a very young child. Speaking about this, he said:
I have had revelations and visions since I was a child. People follow me so that I can touch them and bring them good luck or health. I always give them that loving touch and they believe that that loving touch works miracles. That is why they call me “Miracle Walter”.
- In October 2010, he changed his name to “Shanti Ananda”, which means “peace and happiness” in Sanskrit.
- He named himself after different regions, such as Swami Shyam and Swami Rama Chaitanya in New Delhi, Swami Chidvilas in Pune, Mumbai, and Swami Shanti Ananda in Oregon.
- Walter Mercado and Entertainment Events AZ launched “www.waltermercado.com” on February 2, 2015. The website is designed to allow Mercado’s fans to get daily horoscopes, tarot readings, zodiac compatibility, predictions, and ask questions to Walter Mercado.
- In 2014, he founded the dating website “www.passionlatinos.com” and “Línea Cautivadora”, which includes Zodiac soaps, lotions, body sprays, scented candles and beaded jewelry.
- In May 2015, Walter Mercado and Entertainment Events AZ launched mobile apps for iOS (iTunes) and Android.
- He is multilingual and speaks fluent Spanish, French, English, Italian, Portuguese and Greek.
- He is also known for his resemblance to the American pianist, singer and actor Liberace.
Liberace
- Walter used to wear a flamboyant cape whenever he appeared on television, and in 2019 he put most of his famous capes and sculptures on display at the Miami History Museum.
Walter Mercado’s cape at the exhibition
- He often ends his performances with this catchphrase,
Pero sobre todo, mucho, mucho, mucho armor”
- Walter has always challenged the concept of gender. He believes in the philosophy of duality in nature (yin and yang) and considers himself to have both feminine and masculine energies. When asked about his sexual orientation, he said,
People want to know if Walter is straight, gay, metrosexual or bisexual — I don’t care,” he said. “I am here and I am who I am and that’s it. I am so connected to people and spirit. Do I look feminine in a cape? Everyone knows we have two energies — yin and yang — and I know how to balance them. If I have to be a warrior, then I’ll be that. If I have to be gentle and subtle, I can do that, too.”
- Walter studied many religions, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam (Sufism), and Taoism.
- He made predictions for many people, two of the most famous being that Bill Clinton would be elected President of the United States and that Madonna would play “Eva Perón” in the film Evita (1996).
- He loves dogs very much and has a pet dog named Runa.
Walter Mercado and his dog
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education