Manolo Rivera Morales
Encyclopedia
Manuel Rivera Morales (1923–1996) was a Puerto Rican
sportscaster, radio announcer and marketing sales executive. Rivera Morales is considered by many to be the best sportscaster in Puerto Rican history
. "The achievements of 'El Olimpico' (The Olympic) have given him national and international regard and have left huge prints in our hearts." (Puerto Rican Legislature, Law #228, 1998)
Rivera Morales was born in Trujillo Alto
on May 14, 1923. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame for Puerto Rican Sports on November 22, 1992. In 1998 the Government of Puerto Rico honored Rivera by naming a main highway after him: PR-181 Road, "Expreso Manuel Rivera Morales", also known as "El Expreso de Trujillo Alto" (Trujillo Alto Expressway).
Manuel Rivera Morales gained nationwide fame in Puerto Rico during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when he covered BSN basketball
games live, first on radio
, and later on television
, for various broadcasters (most famously WAPA-TV
), along other famous Puerto Rican sportscasters such as Johnny Flores Monge, Rafael Bracero
and Fufi Santori
. Rivera Morales became a cultural icon in Puerto Rico
: His phrases, many of which he invented, were commonly repeated by many Puerto Ricans and became part of colloquial Puerto Rican dialogue.
When he accompanied the Puerto Rican team that played the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo to broadcast the games through radio, his style was so colorful and attracted so much attention that a local Japanese newspaper covered him. In Japan, he was also recognized with a medal as "The World's Best and Most Dramatic Narrator". He started as a Olympic sportscaster in the 1960 Olympics held in Rome and continued during the following games: 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico, 1972 Munich y 1976 Montreal. Due to this vast Olympic experience, he was nicknamed "El Olimpico" (The Olympic). He also was a narrator for the Pan-American Games and for the famous "Roller Derby" television show (Puerto Rico's Spanish version).
Morales was also recognized for giving nicknames to some of Puerto Rico's basketball players. José Ortiz
, for example, was nicknamed "El Concorde" by Rivera Morales. Mario Morales
became "El Quijote" (was better known by his nickname than by his real name), José Sosa "El Galgo" (The Greyhound), Angel "Cachorro" Santiago "El Orgullo del Caserio" (The Pride of the Housing Projects), Hector "El Mago" Blondet (The Magician), Rolando Frazier "El Principe" (The Prince), Mario Butler "El Expreso Panameño" (The Panamanian Express), Ruben Rodriguez "Sharp Shooter", and Martín Ansa got the nickname "El Señor" from Morales.
During the 1970s and 1980s, local laws established that boxing
fights held in Puerto Rico could not be transmitted live on television; this to encourage fans to pay tickets to see the fights live. They were, however, transmitted live by radio
, and Rivera Morales also became a well-known boxing commentator on the Puerto Rican radio stations.
Some phrases popularized by Manuel Rivera Morales include:
- "¡Apuntenlo!!" (score it!!) - His trademark phrase, and a reminder to the radio crew's scorer to write down the latest successful two-point basket.
- "¡Manos Arriba!! Manos Arriba!" (Hands up! Hands up!) After a three-point shot had been made, alluding to the gesture that basketball referees do after a three-point basket.
- "¡Que juego señores... que juego!" (What a great game gentlemen... what a great game.)
- "¡Me va a poner a gozar... y me puso a gozar!" (He's going to make me enjoy... he made me enjoy.) Referring to a dunk.
- "Yo lo conozco... va a tirar..." (I know him... he's going to shoot.) Anticipating a play.
- "¡Miralooooooooo!" (Look at him.) Anticipating a basket.
- "¡Ayúdanos, divina Pastora, a salir de aqui con vida!" (Help us, "Divine Shepherdess", to get out of here alive!!) A religious imploration used by him in a playfull tone when a basketball game was close enough for the visiting team to steal a win during the closing minutes.
- "Wonderful!!"
- "¡Sensacional!" (Sensational) He'd say this after an impressive play.
- "Mi abuela decía: '¡Son de goma, Manolo, son de goma!'" (My grandma used to say: "they're made out of rubber, Manolo, they're made out of rubber"!) - Said after a player fell dramatically and recuperated quickly.
- "¡Wes... Wes... Wes... WES!!" -Whenever local (and later international) player Wesley Correa charged to the basket.
- "¡Este juego es no apto para cardiacos!" (This game is not suitable for cardiac patients!) - Said during close games, particularly those that ended up in overtime (at a particular one that had five OT's he almost had a cardiac incident himself).
Sources:
http://www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/ley1998/LEX98228.htm
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
sportscaster, radio announcer and marketing sales executive. Rivera Morales is considered by many to be the best sportscaster in Puerto Rican history
Sports in Puerto Rico
Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak tribes which inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose...
. "The achievements of 'El Olimpico' (The Olympic) have given him national and international regard and have left huge prints in our hearts." (Puerto Rican Legislature, Law #228, 1998)
Rivera Morales was born in Trujillo Alto
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
-Barrios :*Carraízo*Las Cuevas*Dos Bocas*La Gloria*Quebrada Grande*Quebrada Negrito*Saint Just*Trujillo Alto Pueblo*Cooperativa Jardines de Trujillo Alto-Geo/Topography:*Carraízo dam...
on May 14, 1923. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame for Puerto Rican Sports on November 22, 1992. In 1998 the Government of Puerto Rico honored Rivera by naming a main highway after him: PR-181 Road, "Expreso Manuel Rivera Morales", also known as "El Expreso de Trujillo Alto" (Trujillo Alto Expressway).
Manuel Rivera Morales gained nationwide fame in Puerto Rico during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when he covered BSN basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
games live, first on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and later on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, for various broadcasters (most famously WAPA-TV
WAPA-TV
WAPA-TV is an independent television station located in San Juan, Puerto Rico transmitting over digital channel 27, virtual channel 4. The station is owned by InterMedia Partners and is branded as WAPA Television....
), along other famous Puerto Rican sportscasters such as Johnny Flores Monge, Rafael Bracero
Rafael Bracero
Rafael Bracero is a famous Puerto Rican sportscaster. Bracero graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez then known as Colegio de Artes Mecánicas with a degree in civil engineering, and then he joined Puerto Rico's Perez Perry Channel 11 to cover sports as their main reporter.The...
and Fufi Santori
Fufi Santori
Jose Santori Coll , better known as Fufi Santori, is a well known former BSN basketball player, coach and television sportscaster. He was also a physical education, basketball and tennis instructor at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez for close to thirty years...
. Rivera Morales became a cultural icon in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
: His phrases, many of which he invented, were commonly repeated by many Puerto Ricans and became part of colloquial Puerto Rican dialogue.
When he accompanied the Puerto Rican team that played the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo to broadcast the games through radio, his style was so colorful and attracted so much attention that a local Japanese newspaper covered him. In Japan, he was also recognized with a medal as "The World's Best and Most Dramatic Narrator". He started as a Olympic sportscaster in the 1960 Olympics held in Rome and continued during the following games: 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico, 1972 Munich y 1976 Montreal. Due to this vast Olympic experience, he was nicknamed "El Olimpico" (The Olympic). He also was a narrator for the Pan-American Games and for the famous "Roller Derby" television show (Puerto Rico's Spanish version).
Morales was also recognized for giving nicknames to some of Puerto Rico's basketball players. José Ortiz
José Ortiz
José Rafael Ortiz , better known as Piculín or Picu, is a retired Puerto Rican professional basketball player...
, for example, was nicknamed "El Concorde" by Rivera Morales. Mario Morales
Mario Morales
Mario Morales , aka "Quijote" Morales, for his ability to conquer both scoring and team championships in the Puerto Rican BSN league, is one of Puerto Rico's most famous basketball players.-Professional career:...
became "El Quijote" (was better known by his nickname than by his real name), José Sosa "El Galgo" (The Greyhound), Angel "Cachorro" Santiago "El Orgullo del Caserio" (The Pride of the Housing Projects), Hector "El Mago" Blondet (The Magician), Rolando Frazier "El Principe" (The Prince), Mario Butler "El Expreso Panameño" (The Panamanian Express), Ruben Rodriguez "Sharp Shooter", and Martín Ansa got the nickname "El Señor" from Morales.
During the 1970s and 1980s, local laws established that boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
fights held in Puerto Rico could not be transmitted live on television; this to encourage fans to pay tickets to see the fights live. They were, however, transmitted live by radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and Rivera Morales also became a well-known boxing commentator on the Puerto Rican radio stations.
Some phrases popularized by Manuel Rivera Morales include:
- "¡Apuntenlo!!" (score it!!) - His trademark phrase, and a reminder to the radio crew's scorer to write down the latest successful two-point basket.
- "¡Manos Arriba!! Manos Arriba!" (Hands up! Hands up!) After a three-point shot had been made, alluding to the gesture that basketball referees do after a three-point basket.
- "¡Que juego señores... que juego!" (What a great game gentlemen... what a great game.)
- "¡Me va a poner a gozar... y me puso a gozar!" (He's going to make me enjoy... he made me enjoy.) Referring to a dunk.
- "Yo lo conozco... va a tirar..." (I know him... he's going to shoot.) Anticipating a play.
- "¡Miralooooooooo!" (Look at him.) Anticipating a basket.
- "¡Ayúdanos, divina Pastora, a salir de aqui con vida!" (Help us, "Divine Shepherdess", to get out of here alive!!) A religious imploration used by him in a playfull tone when a basketball game was close enough for the visiting team to steal a win during the closing minutes.
- "Wonderful!!"
- "¡Sensacional!" (Sensational) He'd say this after an impressive play.
- "Mi abuela decía: '¡Son de goma, Manolo, son de goma!'" (My grandma used to say: "they're made out of rubber, Manolo, they're made out of rubber"!) - Said after a player fell dramatically and recuperated quickly.
- "¡Wes... Wes... Wes... WES!!" -Whenever local (and later international) player Wesley Correa charged to the basket.
- "¡Este juego es no apto para cardiacos!" (This game is not suitable for cardiac patients!) - Said during close games, particularly those that ended up in overtime (at a particular one that had five OT's he almost had a cardiac incident himself).
Sources:
http://www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/ley1998/LEX98228.htm