Ektor Rivera
Héctor "Ektor" Ramón Rivera Alicea on February 11 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican actor, singer and visual artist. Musical Theatre. Broadway He initiated his Broadway career in the leading role of Emilio Estefan for the musical On Your Feet!, featured at the Marquis Theatre, New York. The musical is based on the life and music of Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio Estefan. During this period, he performed in various concerts and special events like the Tony Awards Billboard's Series, CBS Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the renowned New Year Eve's celebration , Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, held at New York City's Time Square for ABC. Years before, he joined the cast of "Broadway and Beyond", responsible for the opening of the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Florida. The show was directed by Richard Jay-Alexander and included the participation of Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis, Chris Mann, Deborah Voigt and Jane Monheit among others. All accompanied by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. Ektor was recognized as one of the Ambassadors of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. London  In 2019, he performed in the leading role of Juan Perón for the musical Evita featured at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, UK. Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics and book by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine President Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death. The musical was directed by Jamie Lloyd. In 2020, this version of the musical was nominated for two Laurence Olivier Award for  best Musical Revival and Best Choreography by Fabian Aloise. Las Vegas Ektor is known for being one of the lead singers in the USA TV & Live Show Q'Viva! The Chosen, produced by Jennifer López, Marc Anthony and "The billion-dollar tour director" (Variety) choreographer Jamie King. The show, created by Simon Fuller, was the first show of its kind to be broadcast on both Univision and FOX simultaneously to a viewership of over 30 million people nationwide, and was presented live at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas before an audience of over 10,000 people. During the show, López  praised Ektor's voice saying "Having so much talent, it makes me wonder why someone hasn't seen it before". Puerto Rico His first role in theater was in the musical "Fama" (as Tyrone Jackson) produced by Sonia Valentín and Alba Nydia Díaz. After that, he has appeared as leading actor in adaptations of plays like "Barrio arriba, barrio abajo", "Rent" (as Benjamin Coffin III), "High School Musical" (as Troy Bolton), "Hairspray" (as Seaweed Stubbs), "Godspell" (as Jesus), "and "The Outsiders" (as Dallas Winston) among others. In 2008, critic Ileana Cidoncha praised Ektor's "scenic presence" in the play "Hairspray , where he interpreted the role of Seaweed Stubbs. TV. In 2017 He participated as one of the stars to dance in the popular tv program Mira Quien Baila for Univision, becoming one of the finalists, representing Puerto Rico and the foundation Cabecitas Rapadas" (‘Little Shave Heads’), non-profit entity for cancer patients in Puerto Rico. Among his roles in films are: "NCIS" (TV Series), "La Ultima Gira" (Will be released in 2021) “Lucia, Ignacio y otras historias”, “Nene lindo”, "Tercera", "Pasión de mil amores", "Incógnita" (TV Series), and "Ill Viaggio". Ektor appeared in a recurring role in Crackle series "StartUp  (as Eddie). As a Voice Over actor, Rivera recently joined the cast of the upcoming film The Shallows" by Sony Pictures. Since 2014 he is part of a various promotional sketches in the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show for ABC in Hollywood, CA. Ektor has also been the face of marketing campaigns such as Kellogg's "Zucaritas" (Frosted Flakes), Fruit of the Loom, Intel, JCPenney, McDonald's, Sony, Coors Light, and Heineken, among others. Music. Rivera adopted the stage name of "Joker" as he started his musical ventures in 1996, when he participated in an underground rap album titled "Reggae Mania  with DJ Joel. After that, he was part of a tropical music group named Magia", a quartet directed by dominican singer and composer Raldy Vázquez. During that time, producer Edgardo Díaz (MENUDO, MDO) encouraged him to audition for the reality show "Objetivo Fama". Ektor auditioned for the first season of the reality/talent show "Objetivo Fama", which was held in 2004. He ended up as the second finalist of the competition, before winner Janina Irizarry and finalist Sheila Romero. Despite not winning, Ektor still managed to get a record deal. In August 2005, he released his first album titled "Un  Paso del Amor". The album spawned a hit single titled "Te Voy a Amar" that was used in a soap opera from Univision. Luny Tunes, a famous duo of producers, expressed interest in working with Ektor during an interview in Puerto Rican TV show "Anda Pa'l Cara". This prompted each party to initiate conversations for a collaboration, as well as rumors of a second album produced by the duo. However, the album never materialized. Still, Ektor collaborated with them in the song "I Think I'm in Love", which also features Tainy. The song was included in the album "". Host . Ektor Rivera was the MC for La Musa Awards in 2018 – The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in Miami. Together with news anchor Marjorie Ramírez, Ektor hosted "Aventura Científica" (Scientific Adventure) for SITV (Channel 40), a TV program that received the Environmental Excellency Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. It also received an Emmy Award as the best environmental program in 2015. In 2011, Ektor was co-host of the show "Yo Canto", alongside Daniela Droz in Telemundo, Puerto Rico. Visual Artist. For many years, Ektor Rivera worked as an independent graphic artist in various companies dedicated to entertainment; designing  concepts in large format for buses, banners, logos, musical productions, graphics for tv, movies and theater. His first individual exhibit was Persuasions (2007), he explored the meaning of imperceptible emotions through figures. Ektor holds a bachelor's degree in Arts, with honors (Magna Cum Laude), on Imaging and Digital Design from the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico. One of his paintings (“Don Quijote”) made history at the “Miss World International 2010” competition held in Shanghai, China. The same was auctioned during the Charity Gala and it was designated as the piece of art with the highest collections. http://www.ektorriveraart.com  SOLO EXHIBITIONS: GROUP EXHIBITIONS: Early years and education. Héctor Rivera Alicea was born on February 11 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. His parents are Iris Alicea and Héctor Rivera Sr. He completed a Bachelor's degree in Image and Digital Design from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico, graduating magna cum laude. As for the acting, he has taken courses and independent workshops in Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. His acting mentors and acting schools are: Idalia Perez Garay, Vicente Juarbe, Yamaris Latorre, Alex Taylor, Courtney Burr, Margie Haber and Ivana Chubbuck, among others. On the other  hand, as a singer, two of his main mentors are: Francisco "Vale" Rodríguez & Hilda Ramos. Personal life. Ektor married Yara Lasanta in December 2013 in a ceremony in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.