Background
Morales was born in the town of Lajas, Puerto Rico, to parents of Sephardic roots.
Morales was born in the town of Lajas, Puerto Rico, to parents of Sephardic roots.
Many consider him the most influential film director in Puerto Rico"s history. He started acting in radio and theater when he was only 14 years old. He started in television at its inception in 1954 working as an actor, writer and director
Some of his works have been: Desafiando a los Genios, Esto no tiene Nombre, Louisiana Tiendita de la Esquina, among many others
During this time, he also started working with the political satire and comedy group Los Rayos Gamma, together with journalist Eddie López. The group still performs at theaters occasionally, and in the 80s and 90s had several shows on television In theatre, he has starred in over 30 plays, and he has written and directed five.
In the 1970s, he had the opportunity to work in Hollywood productions like Woody Allen"s Bananas and Up the Sandbox with Barbra Streisand. His first directing work was the film Dios los cría in 1980.
The film was an important event in the Puerto Rican film history and received several awards.
lieutenant was also selected as one of the 25 most significant films of Latin America. He followed it with Nicolás y los demás in which he also had the starring role. In 1994, he followed it with Linda Sara which starred singer Chayanne and former Mission Universe Dayanara Torres.
In 2004, Morales directed the sequel to his first film, Dios los cría II, which was exhibited through WIPR-television in Puerto Rico.
In 2007, Angel, his latest full-length feature film was released to much critical praise. lieutenant was considered for submission for the 80th Academy Awards but it lost to Maldeamores in a voting of the Puerto Rico Film Corporation.