This next installment of Behind the Poems, “Weeknights With Walter,” was originally published in Resurrection Magazine – La Ley Del Karma, an online publication that I can’t find a working link to anymore.
It’s the evening ritual with mom. Every night at 5:30, after she came home
from a long day at work and I had finished my homework, we’d climb
into her bed together, laying side by side and turned on Telemundo.
Or was it Univision? Whatever, it was time for Walter y las estrellas.
I sat and listened to his astrological predictions, never quite catching
all of it. His Spanish was too fast for me. But Mami always translated.
We listened for Tauro, my mom, the symbol of Earth and wisdom.
Next came Libra, my brother, the bearer of truth. Then Escorpio, my father
and abuela, born under hot blood. Of course, Mami listened for Capricornio,
for Ricky, our favorite singer. Mine always came last, Acuario, the water bearer.
I don’t remember any of his predictions. What I do recall is how alive
and himself he always seemed. The grand, theatrical atmosphere.
Spectacular, shining garments like better versions of what the ministers
of the church wore. Graceful hand gestures as he excitedly told you to expect
the best, because the best was always yet to come. But it’s his voice
that sticks to my memory. Almost raspy like a smoker’s. The musical trill
as he rolled his R’s. And always, full of mucho, mucho amor.
Many Latin American kids who grew up in the US probably know who I’m talking about here. Walter Mercado is a legend and an icon in Latine communities. He became an integral part of our many cultures.
I don’t remember much of what he predicted in his astrological readings. I actually couldn’t follow most of them because my Spanish has never been particularly good. But it’s part of what brought my mom and I so close together. She passed on to me her beliefs in the stars as she translated this stranger’s love in words I could understand.
For me, that’s what always stood out the most about Walter. He exuded love in every way. Love for himself, love for the viewers and love for the universe, despite the controversy surrounding him.
I was always aware of it, this flamboyant horoscope reader who never claimed any specific identity that satisfied the newscasters and pop culture fans. I think perhaps seeing this strange spellcaster thriving on a TV show within a culture that sometimes felt so stifling struck a chord with a part of myself I hadn’t come to define yet.
There were always the rumors about his sexuality. Always the whispers about him being gay (and other more derragotary terms I often heard said about him). But I still found him magical. I loved the way he always ended by sending out, “Mucho mucho amor.” I felt a more genuine, spiritual love emanate from him than I ever did from so-called religious authority figures.
Looking back at this, it’s easy to see how I became interested in things like tarot. Walter just always made it feel like the universe could hold so much more than we give it credit for.