José Luis Rodríguez was born in
Caracas, Venezuela to José Antonio Rodríguez from the
Canary Islands, Spain and Ana González a Venezuelan housewife. He lost his father at the age of six, and was raised by his mother (an illiterate then, learned to read as an adult to read
the Bible) along with 11 brothers and sisters. He grew up in very modest conditions, having to shine shoes, and pack bags in a supermarket for a living at an early age. Without an academic formation, he shaped himself as a singer and actor by empirical means. As his mother participated in the revolt against
Marcos Pérez Jiménez (holding weapons and hiding politicians in her home), Rodríguez lived in exile in
Ecuador with her and his brother, for a couple of years. In 1974, Rodriguez was selected by
Venevision to represent
Venezuela in the
third edition of the prestigious
OTI Festival which was held in the Mexican city of
Acapulco. There, his entry, the song "Vuélvete" (Return) found a warm reception, therefore gaining recognition for his country by winning the third-place prize with 11 points. Rodríguez surfaced in his homeland in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was able to build a fan base there. He also participated in a famous commercial, along with his family during that time, for Ace detergents. Rodríguez went to
Puerto Rico, where he participated in the
Telenovela Cristina Bazán, alongside
Johanna Rosaly and young
Adamari López. It was there that he received his nickname,
El Puma. Later, he also made the telenovela,
El ídolo, with
Cuban actress
Marilyn Pupo, playing Omar Contreras (a.k.a.
El Puma). Rodríguez's main money revenue, however, was his singing career. His hits included
Dueño de nada,
Pavo real and
Agárrense de las manos. With the second, he caused controversy at the 1982 contest of
Miss Universe, which was being held in
Lima,
Peru; the song's main issue was interracial marriage. Later, Rodríguez participated in the Latin American Spanish version of
Meet the Robinsons,
La Familia del Futuro, as Wilbur Robinson's father.
El Puma also starred in an advertising campaign for Wrigley's Eclipse gum, with the spot drawing on his persona, using humor and kitsch to highlight the tagline, "Libera el Puma que hay en tí" (Free the puma within). Another commercial that drew on his puma persona during that era was one for
Snickers chocolate bars. In May 2009, Rodriguez joined the cast of the miniseries,
Gabriel, produced for the Hispanic audience in the United States by Megafilms and transmitted by Mega TV. The miniseries, released in November of the same year is based on the themes of vampirism and occultism. In July 2012, he was a judge and voice trainer on
La Voz... Argentina (Argentine version of The Voice) that was broadcast on Telefe. Along with co-presenters Fernán Martínez and Carolina Ramírez, he served as a judge on a dance program called
La Pista which was aired on
Caracol TV in Colombia. In the same year he also made a cameo appearance in the film, Casa de mi Padre, starring
Will Ferrell. In August 2013, Rodríguez was part of the first season of
La Voz Perú, where he was coach for one of the four teams. On 20 December, one of his pupils, young Daniel Lazo, placed first in the competition, making Rodríguez the first winning coach in the history of La Voz Perú. In September 2013 in an interview with the Peruvian newspaper, La República, Rodríguez expressed that he would continue to perform music but cease to produce records because of piracy. ==Personal life==