Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado
Midway into Netflix’s “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado,” the documentary features an old interview with talk show host Cristina Saralegui where she asks the glamorous television astrologer why he mixes so many different religions — Santeria, Christianity and Catholicism — in his sign-by-sign horoscopes that aired across the world.
“No one has a monopoly on God. It’s ridiculous to think so,” Mercado responded. “I got the best from Buddhism, the best from Hinduism, the best from Christianity.”
The film encompasses Mercado’s childhood — in which he recalls praying for and healing a dying bird — and documents Mercado’s rise to fame. It also explores his disappearance from the public eye after 2006. He made his first public appearance during a museum exhibit honoring his life, not long before he died in 2019.
Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Mercado embodied an alluring persona that made him a star across the United States and Latin America. He wore makeup, colorful and bedazzled capes and big gemstone rings. His androgynous image also made him a beloved icon among LGBTQ people in Latino communities. Mercado relayed a message of hope and love in his horoscopes.
The film features interviews with celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda, who worshipped Mercado as a “great moral authority.” It highlights conversations between Mercado and TV personalities like journalist Jorge Ramos, who acknowledged he’s agnostic and asked Mercado: “When we die, what happens?” To which Mercado said, “You are reincarnated,” adding that “you begin from earth, to return to earth.”
Toward the end of the film, as Mercado reflects on his personal and career achievements, he said he felt as if he was in heaven.
“I don’t expect another heaven. Heaven is today and heaven is now,” Mercado said. (Alejandra Molina)
