Movie Review: Walter Mercado Sent Us All “Mucho, Mucho Amor”
For the Latinx community/ Boricuas, Walter Mercado was like a god. He felt cosmic and, literally, read the stars for 50 years; becoming the most famous, renowned astrologer EVER. Most of us argue whether being born at 5:45 on March 4, 1996 at a certain longitude and latitude really determines the fate of our life or even our week, but Walter made you believe in him because, in truth, he was all about making you believe in yourself. In the new documentary, Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado, directors Kareem Tabsch and Cristina Costantini show that Walter Mercado was the best motivational speaker our community has ever had.
Millions upon millions, across the world, would gather to watch Walter’s hour long special on astrology or catch his 15 minute segment during Latinx’s legendary, new program: Primer Impacto. As Lin Manuel Miranda put it, generations of one family would be silent until he read their sign, and, for a moment, they felt hope because Walter Mercado never gave a dark reading. For him, the whole point of being a fortune teller was to show people that they are and can be fortunate: not in lotto wins or owning 20 million properties. Instead, fortune lied in staying present with those who love you and putting all your energy in celebrating your uniqueness: so much so that a 20 pound cape could not hold you down.
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado | Official Trailer | Netflix
Gaudy! Flashy! Fabulous! Are the words that instantly entered my brain as Walter is interviewed about his own life. The documentary finds him at 87: looking back and, unbeknownst to him, enjoying what would be his final year on earth. For being “old and frail,” Walter has more energy and brightness than the sun, which is why the film uses everything, from archived television footage to stunning cartoons, to reveal a life so well-lived that watching a movie about it makes you want to live better. With his family and his FIERCE assistant, Willie Acosta, remarking on Walter’s personality, triumphs, and trials, audiences will realize that the grandiose mystique of Walter Mercado comes from two simple things: his good nature and inability to be anything but good-natured.
As you watch Walter stare into the camera with a deep smirk and his boyish eyes or watch him put on his “humble” jewelry while curling his hair like every abuela on the planet, you will become instantly charmed. More importantly, he will make you feel for himself and yourself in seeing that life is about how you keep your smile in the face of those who want to take it from you; in his case, ex-manager and full-on thief Bill Baculo… I mean Bill Bakula. This segment was, particularly, important to me as someone who consistently warns artists that, at times, kinds words are apart of darker plots. Walter Mercado was very sweet man with a larger than life personality and faith in the universe, but, in business, you have to read contracts and trust no one; two things he failed to do with the man he saw as a son.
Secretos del Zodiaco por Walter Mercado
Despite tribulations and health scares, Walter Mercado’s sunny disposition was never lost, but it did take him from the limelight.As the film wraps, two discoveries are made that strikes me and shows the tenderness and respect Constantini and Tabsch have for Walter Mercado. The first discovery is that Walter spread hope to the Latinx community, especially its immigrants, by saying he saw their plights and also saw it was not vain. He embodied our community’s cheerful and caring nature, while also giving it back to us; realizing that we have been wounded but en “la union hay la fuerza.” The second discovery is how MASSIVE Walter Mercado is to younger generations, like mine, because he was a human Instagram post: a gender-fluid, fashion icon who walked and talked like he was doing a one-man Broadway show for Jesus. Can we all give that a collective like? Or in the words of Walter Mercado, “Mucho Mucho Amor?!” Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado Comes out Netflix on July 8.
