Lydia Echevarría (born October 14, 1931 in

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founde ...

) is a Puerto Rican

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

who was convicted of plotting the murder of her husband, Puerto Rican television show producer,

Luis Vigoreaux Luis Vigoreaux Rivera (April 12, 1928 – January 17, 1983) was a Puerto Rican radio and television show host, announcer, comedian and producer. Vigoreaux was considered a pioneer in the television business in Puerto Rico, and enjoyed success ...

Early years

Echevarría met producer

in 1960 during the presentation of a show called "La Hora Cero" (Zero Hour), which Vigoreaux produced with actor Mario Pabón. On February 10, 1960, after they were married, Echevarría joined her husband as co-host in the 1960s and 70s in the

television shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

''Pa'rriba Papi Pa'rriba'' and ''Sube Nene Sube'' transmitted through

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, which is 84% owned by InterMedia Partners. WAPA-TV's studios are located on Avenida Luis Vigoreaux in ...

. Vigoreaux and Echevarría had two daughters, Vanessa and Glendaly Vigoreaux.

Films

Among the films and Novelas (soap operas) in which Echevarría has participated are the following: *Doña Ana (film) - as Dona Ana (2003) *

Life During Wartime (film) ''Life During Wartime'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by filmmaker Todd Solondz. The film is a loose sequel to his 1998 film '' Happiness'', with new actors playing the same characters. ''Life During Wartime'' premie ...

- as Evangelina (2009) Novelas *Vivir para tí (TV series) - as Clara (1982) *Yo sé que mentía (TV series) - (1982)

Conviction

In 1982, Luis Vigoreaux allegedly began an affair with model Nydia Castillo, and in 1983, he was found burnt to death inside his car. Almost immediately, a large part of the public started pointing fingers at different people, and in 1984, Echevarría was formally accused of her husband's death. Her trial was one of the most sensational in

Puerto Rican history The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people between 430 BC and AD 1000. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taínos. The Taín ...

, with a

media circus Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event for which the level of media coverage—measured by such factors as the number of reporters at the scene and the amount of material broadcast or published—is perceived t ...

atmosphere because of the celebrity status of the couple. In 1986, she was found guilty and sentenced to 208 years in a women's prison in

Vega Alta, Puerto Rico Vega Alta () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico. Vega Alta is on the northern coast of the island, north of Morovis and Corozal; east of Vega Baja; and west of Dorado with an area of . Vega Alta is subdivided into seven barrios and Veg ...

. However, her health deteriorated and in 1999,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, a ...

allowed her to leave jail to live at home under a curfew. In 2001, she resumed her acting career with the presentation of a play titled (meaning, women prisoners) in the same prison where she served her time. Since then she has appeared in plays and some TV shows, on the condition that she be home by 8 p.m. every night. Glendaly Vigoreaux, the couple's eldest daughter, died by suicide in her Arizona residence on July 15, 2008, however, her lawyer, Fátima Seda Barletta, stated that she may have been murdered and that the investigation was incomplete.

References

1931 births Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Living people Mariticides Puerto Rican film actresses People from Caguas, Puerto Rico People convicted of murder by Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people convicted of murder Puerto Rican stage actresses Puerto Rican telenovela actresses 20th-century Puerto Rican actresses 21st-century Puerto Rican actresses 1983 crimes in Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-bio-stub

Early years

Films

Conviction

See also

References