por Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Sandro de América
LEGEND GONE: The Argentine singer known to millions of Latin American fans as Sandro de América died Jan. 4 of complications from heart and lung transplant surgery. He was 64.
Sandro, who recorded 52 albums, acted in 16 movies and was the first Latin American performer to sing in Madison Square Garden, suffered from chronic lung disease. He had been hospitalized for weeks and had the Nov. 20 surgery at the Italian Hospital in the Argentine city of Mendoza, where he died.
The grandson of Romanian immigrants, he was born Roberto Sánchez in Buenos Aires. As a youth he played guitar in various rock groups. For one legendary performance with Los del Fuego, the group’s singer lost his voice and another guitarist broke his guitar, so Sánchez relinquished his instrument and took over singing duties. He drove the audience wild with his singing style and moves, which he copied from Elvis Presley. He became the group’s frontman and adopted the name Sandro, which is what his mother had wanted to give him at birth but the Civil Registry refused.
Sandro y los del Fuego debuted on Argentine TV in 1964 and went on to record a couple of albums. He soon went solo and began recording romantic ballads, with titles such as Así, Rosa rosa and Como lo hice yo — that became huge hits throughout Latin America.
In 1969 he starred in his first film, Quiero llenarme de tí. He toured and performed through the ’80s, and received a 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Recording Academy.
In an interview with an Argentine radio station in 2009, Sandro blamed his lifelong smoking habit for his illness.
“I am to blame for the condition that I am in,” he said. “I deserve it, I sought it out. I picked up this damn cigarette.” Thousands attended the singer’s public funeral at the nation’s Congress in Buenos Aires. He is survived by his wife, Olga Garaventa, whom he married in 2007. He had no children.
DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING: Puerto Rican actor turned astrologer Walter Mercado said Univisión committed and “error” by not renewing his contract with the TV network.
Mercado says he refused to continue doing his daily astrological forecast segments on Univisión’s afternoon tabloid magazine, Primer impacto, because the network insisted on airing ads for a psychic line controlled by his ex-manager, Guillermo Bakula. Mercado has pending litigation against Bakula, whom he accuses of using his name and image illegally.
Univisión has not commented on Mercado’s departure. Mercado, believed to be in his mid to late 70s, told Puerto Rico’s El Nuevo Día last week that he is considering offers from other networks. In the meantime, he is readying the Feb. 2 release of his latest book, El mundo secreto de Walter.
