Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.
The Amor Fest: Mucho Mucho Amor
We have to confess: we’d never heard of Walter Mercado, the internationally-famous Spanish language psychic, before the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. That’s where we first caught Mucho Mucho Amor, the documentary biopic of Mercado’s life, and where we fell in love with his unique mix of glamour, camp and positivity. Unlike the charlatan psychics we’re used to here in the US, Mercado’s fortune-telling felt more like life coaching rather than predictions for the future. Maybe that’s why, at his peak, Mercado became a fixture of millions of households in North and South America.
Mucho Mucho Amor delves into Mercado’s life and career, with special mind paid to his flamboyance, and his own gender & sexual fluidity. It also argues that Mercado’s greatest love affair was the one he had with his audience, and even features footage of Mercado hobnobbing with fans just three months before his death. Very funny, tender and always engaging, Mucho Mucho Amor, if nothing else, has the perfect title: we fell in love with Walter Mercado, and have a feeling most viewers will too.
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Streams on Netflix.
Chrisk
Never heard of him till I watched the netflix documentary. Definitely worth the watch.
Creamsicle
I would catchy him on bad daytime television whenever I was stuck at home and sick on the couch when I was a kid in the ’90s. He had a huge following, and would appear on both english and spanish television programs.
Invader7
Oh El Walter Mercado was a divine force to be reckoned with. He had quite the following. A lot of STRAIGHT men watched secretly him -they have that Latino machoismo facade to maintain…
Kangol2
Such a legend! I used to turn to his shows just to watch him BE, rather than paying attention to any horoscopes or other advice he was giving. He was so ahead of his time, and so larger than life.
Chrisk
Except for the whole gay thing. I found it fascinating that he was gayer then Liberates closet but still couldn’t come out and never did no matter how much pressure was put on him.
Jerry
I had never heard of him until drag race all stars five, I think it was.
Bromancer7
Wait, that’s not Leona Helmsley?
lather
Ok, that WAS funny!
Joking aside, it was a great documentary. I’d never heard of him either. And the pics of when he was young show he was stunningly handsome.
Charlie in Charge
The documentary was wonderful, his story was such a joy to watch.
rallidriver
Great documentary! My hispanic grandma was in love with this guy back in the day.
justgeo
Kind of reminds me of Julie Andrews In Star Victor Victoria with a sagging jaw line. Wierd F’ing Queen with a cape! ICK.
AVD9
While he was an amazing figure in the Latin world, his private torment was not illustrated much at all. It’s as if no one really knew him
And just accepted the outer flamboyant figure as his true self. His sad terrible feminizing plastic surgery hints at his inner desire to be something or someone different and the doc never travels in this territory. A missed opportunity