Felipe Humberto Camiroaga Fernández (8 October 1966 – 2 September 2011) was a Chilean television presenter, actor and comedian, one of the most popular in his country.[2][3][4]
Camiroaga hosted many shows for Chilean television station TVN, including the morning talk show Buenos Días a Todos and a late-night talk show Animal Nocturno. He also acted in several TV series, such as Jaque Mate and Rojo y Miel, and in two films. Camiroaga twice hosted the Viña del Mar International Song Festival[5] in 2009 and 2010. He was nicknamed "Halcón de Chicureo" ("Falcon of Chicureo") because he bred falcons in his residence in Chicureo, a rural area north of Santiago.[4]
Camiroaga died on 2 September 2011 after the military plane which was taking him and twenty others to Juan Fernández Archipelagocrashed in the sea. Camiroaga's death was officially announced seven days later, and after a funeral oration at TVN's headquarters, he was buried in Santiago. He has been posthumously awarded several prizes, including the "Social Communicator Special Award" by the National Council of Television in 2011.
Early life and studies
Camiroaga was born in Santiago, Chile. His parents were Jorge Camiroaga Puch and María de la Luz Fernández Stemann; he was the second of three brothers.[6] Camiroaga and Fernández separated when Felipe was four years old. His mother moved to the Canary Islands in Spain, leaving her children with their father.[7] In the Canaries, Fernández married Fernando Bontempi, with whom she had three children, including Spanish actress Paola Bontempi.[8][9] Camiroaga was of Basque, German,[10] and Peruvian descent;[11] he traces his Peruvian ancestry to his paternal grandmother Irene Puch de Olazábal who was born in Arequipa; Camiroaga's German blood is traced to his mother and paternal grandmother. His paternal grandfather was Carabineros de Chile colonel Humberto Camiroaga, Director of the Escuela de Carabineros de Chile.[12][13]
During his childhood, Camiroaga regularly visited rural places such as Villa Alegre, where his aunt Lavinia "Mirnia" Camiroaga lived, and Robinson Crusoe Island, marking his love for animals and the countryside.[14] In 1981, while spending his vacations at the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Camiroaga offered to work as a camera assistant for a TV crew from Televisión Nacional de Chile that was in the location, his first ever interaction with TV.[15] Camiroaga was named an "Illustrious Son" of Villa Alegre in May 2011.[16]
Camiroaga completed his primary studies at Colegio San Ignacio de El Bosque, and his secondary studies at Colegio Marshall. In 1987, he completed studies of TV Production and Direction at Instituto Incacea. He also studied journalism at Las Condes University, but did not complete the course, and theater at Academia de Actuación Fernando González Mardones.[17]
Career in television
Felipe Camiroaga started working as a camera assistant at the press department of television channel Red de Televisión Universidad de Chile (RTU, now Chilevisión) in 1988, and later as a production assistant at the channel's production department. But he quickly went from off to on-camera; his first job was as a host in a music video programme called Videotop, that was previously hosted by Pablo Aguilera and Justus Liebig.[18] Later, he presented Extra Jóvenes, RTU's teenage-oriented show, which he co-hosted with Katherine Salosny.[17] His chemistry with Salosny proved successful and he became her co-host a few months later. In 1991 he declined an offer to become a news anchor and continued at Extra Jóvenes, now co-presenting with Claudia Conserva.[17][19]
Camiroaga was hired by Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) in 1992 to co-host Buenos Días a Todos with Tati Penna, a breakfast programme first transmitted that year; however, the couple were later replaced by Margot Kahl and Jorge Hevia.[18] Later, he had a brief television acting career, debuting in Jaque Mate, and later he portrayed an antagonistic character in Rojo y Miel.[17] Despite being advised by actress Ana Reeves,[18] Camiroaga did not receive good reviews for his acting performances.[20]
At the same time, he hosted some unsuccessful programmes, such as La Gran Apuesta and El Chapuzón, and others with mixed results, such as Motín a Bordo and Contigo en Verano.[18] However, at the end of the 1990s, he achieved success with prime time programme La Noche del Mundial, which was broadcast during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and Pase lo que Pase, a miscellaneous evening programme which he co-hosted with Karen Doggenweiler.[21]
Camiroaga also hosted prime time programmes during the 2000s such as Con Mucho Cariño and Ciudad Gótica, both of which did not complete a full season for their "controversial contents", and the first two seasons of the reality show Pelotón.[21] In 2004 he co-hosted Pasiones with Bárbara Rebolledo, but he left the programme later that year and was replaced by Martín Cárcamo.[22] He returned to Buenos Días a Todos in 2005, sharing duties with Tonka Tomicic, then with Katherine Salosny, and finally Carolina de Moras. The replacement of Salosny by de Moras was not well received and the local entertainment media blamed Camiroaga for it, which later resulted in a mass booing while Camiroaga was being awarded a Premio Copihue de Oro for "Best TV presenter" at the Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, in 2010.[23] In 2006, he began hosting his own talk show, Animal Nocturno.[17] In February 2009 he co-presented the Viña del Mar International Song Festival with Soledad Onetto, and also co-presented the 2010 edition.[17]
In 2010, Camiroaga co-hosted Halcón y Camaleón with comedian Stefan Kramer. That same year, he received an offer from US television network Univisión to present a breakfast programme.[24] Camiroaga rejected this offer and renewed his contract with TVN for three years.[25]
Characters
Camiroaga proved to be versatile in his TV programmes, where he created characters such as El Washington, a poor man who lives on the street and survives on leftover food, distinguished by his humble origin. El Washington was created in Buenos Días a Todos, and subsequently developed in Pase lo que Pase, where it became popular in sketch comedies with Karen Doggenweiler, the Señorita Andrea. Camiroaga hosted a radio programme called El Almacén del Washington in Corazón FM, dedicated to the trading of articles.[26]
One of Camiroaga's most recognized characters is Luciano Bello, a TV presenter native to Maracaibo, Venezuela. He is characterized by his large teeth and is coquettish with women. His typical phrase was: "You're hot and intelligent." ("Eres rica e inteligente.") His name parodies Chilean-Venezuelan humanistAndrés Bello, and some of his moves parody those of the singer of same nationality José Luis Rodríguez. Luciano Bello appeared for the first time in La Noche del Mundial in 1998. The character was strongly criticized by deputy Enrique Krauss, who called him vulgar. ("chabacano.")[27]
Other projects
As well as acting in TV series, Camiroaga was active in theatre and cinema. In 2000, he participated in the theatrical work Venecia, directed by Boris Quercia, starring Gabriela Medina, Carmen Barros, Tichi Lobos and Javiera Contador; Camiroaga was the only male actor.[28] In 2006 he had a secondary role in the film Pretendiendo, directed by Claudio Dabed and starred by Uruguayan-Mexican actress Bárbara Mori.[29] The night before his death, on 1 September 2011, Camiroaga participated in the recording of the comedy film Stefan vs. Kramer with comedian Stefan Kramer and TV presenter Martín Cárcamo.[30] At first it was not known whether Camiroaga's scenes would appear in the film, whose release was scheduled for 2012. In late October 2011, Kramer said he would include the scenes in the film, as Camiroaga "wanted to be in it."[31]
In 2001, the programme Pase lo que Pase released the album La Banda del Pase lo que Pase, in which Camiroaga debuted as a singer.[32] The album was produced by Warner Music, and reached gold album status in Chile.[33]
Camiroaga also worked in advertising for Falabella[34] and Ripley. At the time of his death, he still had an active contract with Ripley, who decided to remove all advertising in which Camiroaga appeared.[35][36]
Camiroaga was travelling with a team from Buenos Días a Todos, personnel from Desafío Levantemos Chile and the National Council of Culture and the Arts to Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, when the Chilean Air Force (FACh) CASA C-212 Aviocar plane which was carrying them crashed into the sea and disintegrated while it was trying to land at the Robinson Crusoe Aerodrome, on 2 September 2011.[37] The aircraft tried to touch down twice unsuccessfully before it disappeared.[38][39] It was piloted by Lieutenant Carolina Fernández, one of the first female pilots in FACh's history, and Lieutenant Juan Pablo Mallea. Journalist Roberto Bruce —also part of Buenos Días a Todos— and businessman Felipe Cubillos, were also aboard the plane.[40]
On 3 September 2011, Defense Minister Andrés Allamand said it was unlikely anyone survived the accident; they may have died instantly on impact.[1][38][41] President Sebastián Piñera decreed national mourning for the days of 5 and 6 September 2011.[42] Seven days after the crash, Secretary General of Government Andrés Chadwick announced that body remains rescued from the sea were identified by DNA tests as Camiroaga, Felipe Cubillos and three other passengers.[43][44]
Camiroaga's remains were cremated in a private ceremony on 12 September 2011,[9] and the next day a funeral oration was conducted at the Televisión Nacional de Chile's headquarters, which was broadcast live by the station.[45] It was attended by five hundred people invited by his family and the TV channel. After the service, the amphora containing the presenter's ashes was moved in a hearse under a police escort, which was followed by his relatives. A crowd of around five thousand people accompanied the hearse from Barrio Bellavista to the Pérgola de las Flores, in Recoleta. After this, his remains were taken to the Parque del Recuerdo cemetery, where a private ceremony was conducted, attended by relatives and Camiroaga's closest friends.[46] On 16 November 2011, Camiroaga's ashes were taken to the Lugar de Los Hombres Ilustres of Villa Alegre's churchyard.[47]
Posthumous homages and reactions
After the announcement of Camiroaga's death in the crash, thousands of people went to the façade of the Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) headquarters, in the commune of Providencia, to express their love and affection for Camiroaga, the rest of the team from Buenos Días a Todos and the other plane passengers. Such expressions of support were repeated in regional headquarters of the TV channel, where they placed some condolence books for the public.[48]
On 5 September 2011, Julián Elfenbein, Carolina de Moras, Jorge Hevia, Karen Doggenweiler and emblematic staff of Buenos Días a Todos, friends, TVN personalities and from other channels – including competitors of the programme – joined to pay tribute to Camiroaga in his program.[49][50][51] In that episode of Buenos Días a Todos, the first since Camiroaga's death, his friend and TV director Daniel Sagüés commented that Felipe once told him that he wanted Silvio Rodríguez's song "Ángel para un Final" to be played in his funeral.[52] As soon as Rodríguez was informed of this, he commented on his blog it would be a "high honour" for him that his song was played at Camiroaga's funeral.[53] Other international personalities, such as Lucero,[54]Yuri, Ricardo Montaner, Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin, Luis Fonsi, amid others, expressed their sadness and consternation at Camiroaga's death, through the social networks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.[55]
The plane crash was extensively covered by the press, nationally and internationally, emphasizing the figure of the TV presenter, including BBC News from the United Kingdom.[38] Qatari news channel Al Jazeera covered the news on the plane crash immediately after it occurred and also emphasized the deaths of Camiroaga and Felipe Cubillos.[56] In Argentina, various media outlets referred to Camiroaga as "the Chilean Tinelli", in reference to Argentinean presenter Marcelo Tinelli.[57][58][59] An Argentinean TV programme called Duro de Domar mocked the Juan Fernández tragedy, focusing on Camiroaga and his relationships with Rocío Marengo and Cecilia Bolocco, provoking harsh attacks from Chileans in social networks.[60]
Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias caused controversy on 2 September 2011; its digital edition cover was headlined "The last flight of the Falcon" ("El último vuelo del halcón"), which generated outrage from Internet users, as Camiroaga's whereabouts were unknown at the time. The cover was replaced and the next day the newspaper said the public had misinterpreted the intention of the headline.[61]
Televisión Nacional de Chile decided to name the studio from which Buenos Días a Todos is transmitted "Felipe Camiroaga Fernández", and kept free the TV presenter's parking space to remember him.[62] The municipality of Colina, where Camiroaga lived in Chicureo, announced they would name him posthumously "Illustrious Son" of the community.[62] and the Lo Arcaya Avenue would be renamed after him.[63] Additionally, the Chilean Telethon (Teletón) paid homage to Camiroaga and the twenty other passengers of the aircraft in its opening and at the Julio Martínez National Stadium in the fundraising's 2011 edition.[64][65]
On 26 September 2011, the National Council of Television (Consejo Nacional de Televisión; CNTV) awarded posthumously Camiroaga with the "Special Award in Communications."[66][67] The Sala Felipe Camiroaga (Felipe Camiroaga Room) in the Museum of Villa Alegre was inaugurated on 3 May 2012; personal belongings, public and private photographs and a bust of Camiroaga made by Galavarino Ponce are exhibited. His father, siblings, his partner Fernanda Hansen, close friends and followers were present at the ceremony.[68]
In 2013, and as part of the student movement which started in 2011 demanding higher quality and free education in Chile – a movement which Camiroaga supported – students of the Law School of the University of Valparaíso created the Juventud Rebelde Felipe Camiroaga (Felipe Camiroaga Rebel Youth) political group, which describes itself as "[a group of] left-wing students with no defined party, who believe that organization and participation are the necessary tools to make the changes we want," specifying also that "revolution is made by parts", satirizing Camiroaga's death. The group, according to Publimetro Chile, is "partly satire, partly real facts", and is not supposed to use Camiroaga's image as a "martyr", but as "a person who puts them into a crucial movilization frame." The Juventud Rebelde Felipe Camiroaga group has been replicated in other universities, including the University of Chile and the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences.[69][70]
Personal life
Although Camiroaga had several romantic relationships within the media industry, Camiroaga never married, and was considered "one of the most coveted bachelors" by the Chilean tabloid press.[71]
Camiroaga lived in a land lot near Chicureo. He lives as a huaso-style farm owner dedicated to the breeding of horses, dogs and birds. In February 2011, his house was totally destroyed by a fire. Although it was first reported the fire was caused by an electrical failure,[81] the possibility that it was arson was later considered.[82] Felipe Camiroaga practiced polo;[83] he also was an aviation enthusiast and completed his pilot training in 1996.[84]
Political views
In his later years, Camiroaga openly demonstrated his political preferences, something uncommon in Chilean television presenters.[85]
It's hard to break the patterns in my workspace, where the TV presenters need to be direct, and neutral in some topics. It surprises me when [people] say we are opinion leaders, but actually [we] the opinion leaders can't say anything but sillinesses, unrelated to deeper issues which interest the country. I have not rebelled, I just think that [as a presenter] I have to change my mind.
Due to his frequent social and political activism, his death has often been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories concerning the Chilean government's alleged involvement in his death.[93] Just a couple of days before the accident which led to his death, Camiroaga's home in Chicureo had caight fire, which the Brigade of Special Investigations assured was "intentional",[94] which has often been cited as "proof" for the supposed killing.[94]
^Associated Press in Santiago (3 September 2011). "Plane crashes off Chilean coast". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^"Enrique Maluenda: "Felipe Camiroaga era el mejor animador chileno del último tiempo"" [Enrique Maluenda: "Felipe Camiroaga was the best Chilean TV entertainer in recent times"]. ADN Radio Chile. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2011. "Creo que era el mejor animador chileno del último tiempo, y no lo digo porque haya fallecido, sino por su carisma, su capacidad en las entrevistas y un excelente comediante, creo que lo tenía todo." ("I believe he was the best Chilean TV entertainer in recent times, and I don't say it because he died, but because of his charisma, his capacity in interviews and an excellent comedian, I believe he had everything.")
^"Felipe Camiroaga: "El "Buenos días a todos" lidera, digan lo que digan"" [Felipe Camiroaga: "'Buenos Días a Todos' leads, despite whatever they say"]. La Segunda. 30 April 2009. p. 54. "Debe ser por la influencia de la sangre vasca con la alemana que tengo, que para mí la verdad es una sola." ("It must be because of the influence of the Basque and German blood I have, that for me the truth is only one.")
^"Camiruaga". genealog.cl. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
^"Y llegó el día: ¡Descansa piolita, Pipe!" [And the day has arrived: rest quietly, Pipe!]. La Cuarta. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2011. Following the slow pace of the caravan through La Pérgola, the final destiny was the Parque del Recuerdo cemetery. The main entrance of the graveyard was also full of people. At the site, he was received by the choir of Carabineros (orfeón), because of the close relationship the TVN's personality had with the institution because of the breakfast programme and because of his grandfather, Humberto Camiroaga, who was director of the Escuela de Carabineros.
^Mario Valdés Urrutia (27 December 2011). "Ruido de sables en 1948. La conspiración en contra del Presidente Gabriel Gonzalez Videla" [Saber rattling in 1948. The conspiracy against President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla] (PDF). Archivo Chile. p. 15. Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 February 2013. "También fue llamado a retiro el Coronel Humberto Camiroaga Pérez, Director de le Escuela de Carabineros de Chile." ("Colonel Humberto Camiroaga Pérez, Director of the Escuela de Carabineros de Chile, was also called to retire.")
^"Kramer recreará el Festival de Viña del Mar" [Kramer will re-create the Viña del Mar Festival]. El Mercurio. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011. If there was someone against or if it provoked something to the family I believe it would be a good opportunity to talk and let us know about it, but I believe that in the instances in which he appears it is very beautiful and I have all my intentions to leave it there. Also, he wanted to be in it. ("Si alguien estuviese en contra o le provocara algo a la familia creo que sería una buena oportunidad de conversar y hacerlo saber, pero creo que la instancia en la que aparece está muy bonita y yo tengo toda la intención de dejarlo. Además, él quería estar.")
^"Silvio Rodríguez: Un honor que coloquen mi canción en funeral de Camiroaga". La Nación. 6 September 2011. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2011. "Chilean brothers, since yesterday I passed to my representative the following instructions: Mary; if you can please write to this lady and request her to give my condolences to Camiroaga's relatives and the Chilean people, and that for me it would be a high honour that my song was played in his funerals, as he asked so." ("Hermanos chilenos, desde ayer pasé a mi representante las siguientes instrucciones: Mary; si puedes escríbele a esta señora y pídele que de mi parte trasmita a los familiares de Camiroaga y al pueblo chileno mis condolencias, y que para mí sería un alto honor que pusieran mi canción en sus funerales, como el pidió.")
^Facundo Landívar (3 September 2011). "El "Tinelli" trasandino" [The Transandean "Tinelli"]. Clarín. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^"El oculto romance de Karen y Felipe" [The hidden romance of Karen and Felipe]. El Mercurio de Antofagasta. 30 July 2003. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^"Lucero recuerda "vieja amistad"" [Lucero remembers "old friendship"]. El Siglo de Torreón. 9 December 2003. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^ abc"Camiroaga: ¿El arma de Frei?" [Camiroaga: Frei's weapon?]. Qué Pasa. 14 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.