Walter Mercado, popularly known as Shanti Ananda, is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer, director, and famous for his astrology prediction show. Further, he has been working as an astrological predicter for over decades in Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the United States. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 87 due to kidney failure at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Moreover, he had changed his name to “Shanti Ananda”(peace happiness in Sanskrit) in 2010. He had also a legal issue with the company Bart Enterprises International which he had signed in 1995. In January 2012, he lost a lawsuit against the company while he was trying to prevent it from using his name and likeness in future commercial ventures. Let us scroll over to know more information on the late astrologer.
Caption: Walter Mercado, the Puerto Rican director, and astrologer.
Source: New York Post
Walter Mercado: Bio, Family, Career
Shanti Ananda was born on 9 March 1932 in Ponce, Puerto Rico to the parents José María Mercado and Aída Salinas from Catalonia, Spain. It is unclear whether he has siblings or not. Also, as a kid, he believed that he had spiritual abilities. He attended university majoring in pedagogy, psychology, and pharmacy.
Mercado has tried out his hands in different fields like dancing, singing, and directing. He debuted as an actor in the 1960s Puerto Rican telenovelas and later he debuted as a TV entertainer. He got the 25-minute allotment scheduled for making astrological predictions for other guests when Elin Ortiz asked him. In 1970, he happen to began his own regular astrology segment in El Show de las 12.
After a while, he moved his show to WRIK-TV and hosted for many years. Then, he again moved his show to WKBM-TV after two years and wrote his astrological predictions in newspapers and magazines too. He also appeared in radio shows and web pages, as well as, he awarded the title Mr. Television by the Asociación de Cronistas del Espectáculo de Nueva York. He has co-authored a few books including Mensajes Para Vivir, co-authored with Dr. Leon Alberto Vasquez and (1997) Guia Para Una Vida Mejor.
Walter Mercado: Personal Life, Wife, & Death
Walter aka Shanti Ananda had never married to anybody until his demise nor reported to date. However, back in 2003, he had announced that he has had a “spiritual relationship” with the Brazilian actress and dancer Mariette Detotto until her death according to the documentary on his life released in 2020.
The television personality died at the age of 87 on the night of Saturday on 2 November 2019. He was hospitalized at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and reported from kidney failure, according to hospital spokeswoman Sofia Luquis. Following his death, he was buried at Señorial Memorial Park in Cupey Barrio in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Caption: Walter Mercado died due to kidney failure
Source: YouTube
Walter Mercado: Net Worth & Social Media Profiles
Speaking of his earning, he surely had made a huge amount from his career. Further, he had an estimated net worth of around $5 million from his career as a director, actor, and writer at the time of his death in 2019.
On Instagram, we can see an unverified account under his name @waltermercadotv with 46.7k followers. Also, there is a Twitter account @waltermercadotv with 15.1k followers.
Walter Mercado: Body Measurements
He has an average-looking body that stands to a height of 5 feet 9 inches or 1.68 meters. His body weighs around 66 kg with unknown body measurements. He has blonde hair color and dark brown eyes color.
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