‘Mucho Mucho Amor’ Depicts Walter Mercado, ‘Larger-Than-Life’ Television Personality

Mercado was known across Latin America and in Spanish-speaking American homes for his message of love and hope – and his capes.

By Kristen CabreraJuly 8, 2020 3:54 pm

The new documentary, “Mucho Mucho Amor,” chronicles the life of beloved Puerto Rican television personality and astrologer Walter Mercado.

One of the filmmakers, Kareem Tabsch, told Texas Standard Host David Brown that Mercado wasn’t much different in real life than he was on television.

“He was very, very loving, he was very, very charismatic, he was larger than life but he was also down to earth,” Tabsch said.

Tabsch grew up watching Mercado, who charmed viewers with his dramatic costumes and capes. Tabsch said his family was drawn to Mercado’s message of love and hope.

“Which meant so much to our families who were immigrants, and had come to this country, and sometimes days were hard. It really kind of gave them a little push to keep going,” Tabsch said.

The completion of “Mucho Mucho Amor” was bittersweet for Tabsch and his team. The day before Mercado died, they submitted the documentary to the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered a few months later.

“He would have killed [at] Sundance with those capes and that look. Nobody would have known what hit them,” Tabsch said.

Mercado’s family attended the festival, and brought some of his capes for the filmmakers to wear.

“While he wasn’t with us physically, it really did feel like we had his embrace around us wearing those capes, walking onstage and sharing Walter with the world,” Tabsch said.

“Mucho Mucho Amor” premieres on Netflix on July 8.

Web Story By Sarah Gabrielli

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