It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since the one and only Walter Mercado left this world, but it’s true. That he died during Day of the Dead, on November 2, 2019, seems significant somehow because the holiday celebrates the lives of those who have passed and their connection to those they have left behind on this worldly plane. Walter Mercado may no longer be alive, but he lives on in the hearts and memories of so many of us. We saw him on TV, we heard him on the radio, and he felt like someone who had always been a part of our lives and somehow always would be. Let’s dedicate the next few moments to celebrate the life of the most iconic Latin television psychic of all time by learning some surprising things about Walter Mercado Salinas also known as Shanti Ananda.
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One of the most surprising things about Walter Mercado is that despite being such an incredibly public figure, unlike other celebrities, his private life was actually very private. It’s not like he made scandalous headlines. Nope, his public persona was very manicured and deliberate, he wasn’t trying to let us all in on his day-to-day behind closed door activities. That was part of his enigma. In 2020, Netflix posthumously released a documentary about his life that gave the world more insight into who Walter was when he was at home. Perhaps it was his parting gift to all of us. So, let’s dive into some surprising and less know facts about our dearly departed Walter Mercado.
Walter was born on a boat.
Walter was born Walter Mercado Salinas on March 9, 1932. His birth happened on a boat that was sailing from Spain to Puerto Rico. His father, José María Mercado was from Puerto Rico and his mother, Aída Salinas, was from Spain.
He had psychic abilities from a young age.
When he was 6 years old, he told a teacher that the bell at school was going to fall the next day. Well, guess what? The next day there was an earthquake and sure enough, what Walter predicted happened.
He started being called Walter 'Milagros.'
It was when he was 6 years old that he started being called Walter “Milagros” and not just for predicting that the bell at his school would fall. He seemed to have the ability to help cure animals.
He wasn’t a healthy child.
On more than one occasion he shared that he was not a healthy child. “I was very sick, but always dreaming,” Walter told CBS Miami. “Always asking about the stars. Never looking to the earth or to the mud. The mud is not for me. To the heavens. I was a dreamer. And dreams come true.”
His mother always knew he was destined for greatness.
CBS Miami reported that his mother “often told him he was destined for greatness, for a life and legacy he truly believes was written in the stars since the beginning.” Perhaps she had psychic abilities as well, because she wasn’t wrong.
His mother wasn’t the only one who thought he was special.
"Since I was very little I had revelations and visions. The people followed me so I can touch them for good luck or for health. I’m always giving that touch of love and they believe that that touch of love makes a miracle. That’s why they call me Walter of the Miracles."
He was no dummy.
Walter was a very educated person. He majored in pedagogy, psychology, and pharmacy at the University of Puerto Rico. He used the skills he learned to help others understand the human mind and how to use medicinal plants.
He was a trained dancer.
Not only did he study pedagogy, psychology, and pharmacy, he also studied modern and classical ballet. Ballet wasn’t the only form of dance he knew, he was also a flamenco dancer. Before his career as an astrologer took off, he was a very successful dancer in Puerto Rico.
He had a successful acting career.
Walter was a theater actor and also starred in Puerto Rican telenovelas. He was in Un adiós en el recuerdo and Larga distancia. Not only that, he also taught dramatic arts at his very own school called Walter Actors Studio 64.
He didn’t plan on having a career in astrology.
He was into astrology and always talking about it with friends, but he wasn’t seeking a career as an astrologer. He got his professional start in the field when he was asked to fill in for an astrologer who didn’t show up for a 15-minute TV segment. He was so good that he was asked to be a regular on the show.
He could speak multiple languages.
You probably already know that Walter could speak Spanish and English, but those weren’t the only languages he knew. He was fluent in Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Greek.
He gave away the rights to his name.
At the start of his career Walter has a manager named Bill Bakula. He definitely helped Walter get his career off the ground, but he also had Walter sign a contract saying Bill Bakula owned the rights to Walter’s work and the name Walter Mercado. Walter signed without reading the contract because his lawyer advised him to.
In 2009, he sued his former manager.
Walter sued Bill Bakula to get him to stop using his name. Sadly, because Walter had signed away his rights without reading the contract, the court denied his requests and Bill Bakula was allowed to keep the Walter Mercado trademark.
He changed his name.
In 2010, he changed his name to Shanti Ananda, which means “peace, happiness” in Sanskrit. He said he felt that Shanti Ananda was his “authentic spiritual name.” It probably also felt more authentic because no one else could claim to own the rights to that name.
He had a heart attack in 2011.
At the time his health issuers were not publicized, but according to the Associated Press he was hospitalized in December 2011. Later, he shared that during the experience he saw angels in heaven.
He never labeled his sexuality.
People often wondered about Walter’s sexuality, but he never felt the need to label it. “I have sexuality with the wind, the flowers, the garden,” Walter said in the Netflix documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado. “I don’t need a person to make me happy.”
He challenged conventional gender stereotypes.
“The people want to know is Walter straight, homosexual, metrosexual, bisexual — I don’t care,” he once said. “Here I am, I am who I am, that’s it. I’m so connected to people and to the divine for that. That I look feminine with a cape? Everyone knows we have two energies — yin and yang — and I know how to balance them. If I have to be a warrior, then I’ll be that. If I have to be soft and subtle, I can be that too.”
In 2014, he launched a dating website.
Even though Walter himself said he never needed a person to make him happy, he realized that other humans were prone to wanting to have relationships with other humans and not the “wind, the flowers, the garden,” which is probably part of the reason why he launched a dating website called Passion Latinos in 2014. It no longer exists.
He was a published author.
He wrote multiple books. The titles include:
- Mensajes para vivir
- Enciclopedia de Walter Mercado
- Guia para una vida major
- El mundo secreto de Walter Mercado
He died at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in Puerto Rico.
Walter reportedly died of kidney failure on November 2, 2019. He was buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Señorial Memorial Park. He was 87 years old at the time of his death. That’s pretty impressive for someone who described himself as a sickly child.
