Puerto Rico lowered its flags to half-staff Thursday and Gov. Wanda Vázquez declared a “day of mourning” to honor Walter Mercado, the astrologer and television personality who died Saturday due to renal failure.
While Vázquez had sent her condolences via Twitter shortly after his death, some wondered why she hadn’t played a more prominent role in sending off one of the island’s most famous celebrities.
“Many people asked me why I didn’t do this earlier,” Vázquez said of the day of mourning. “Because of the admiration I’ve had for him since I was a little girl — and that the entirety of Puerto Rico has for him — I had to do this in person.”
Read more at our news partner, .