Roberto Vigoreaux Lorenzana (born January 12, 1956, in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican producer, TV show host, actor, singer, and former
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
Roberto Vigoreaux was born on January 12, 1956, to producer Luis Vigoreaux and Rosaura Lorenzana. He is the youngest of two sons, the other being Luisito Vigoreaux.
Vigoreaux studied at the
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5, ...
, and then at
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans ( , ,Walt Disney Production ''Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt'', when he was still a young teenager. After growing up, he worked as a radio broadcaster in several stations, as well as acting in plays. Throughout his career, he has worked for stations like Radio Rock, WAPA Radio, Radio Aeropuerto and Radio Luz.
In 1984, Vigoreaux hosted the show ''Son del Caribe''. Some time later, he moved to WAPA-TV where he starred hosting a game show called ''Parejo, doble, y triple'' with his brother, Luisito. He also hosted the show ''Sábado en Grande''. After performing a duet on his show ''Sábado en Grande'', with singer Lourdes Robles, Vigoreaux decided to start a musical career. In 1988, he released his first and only album titled ''Amores de mi vida''. The album received a lukewarm response.
In 1986, both Roberto and his brother Luisito appeared in a
Burger King
Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant c ...
commercial for the Puerto Rican market, where they acted and sang.
Vigoreaux has also worked as a host of several beauty pageants. He also had roles in comedies and shows like ''Generaciones'', and musicals like ''Clemente'', where he played the role of his father, Luis Vigoreaux. In the late 1980s he played the role of Joe Hardy in a revival of the Broadway musical ''
Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...
Vigoreaux opened a series of ice cream franchises called Scoops, with stores in San Juan, Cayey, and Bayamón.
Career in politics: 1996–2004
Representative: 1996–2000
In 1993, Vigoreaux retired from show business and began to pursue a career as a politician. In 1996, he was elected as a member of the
Puerto Rico House of Representatives
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral state legislature (United States), territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. ...
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
as a senator.
Candidate for Mayor of San Juan: 2003
Vigoreaux announced his interest in running for mayor of the city of
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
during the elections of 2004. However, he lost in the 2003 primaries against Eduardo Bhatia. After that, he has continued to work as an adviser to the
Senate of Puerto Rico
The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control ...
.
Return to politics: 2011–present
In September 2011, Vigoreaux announced his candidacy to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...