Mercadante @ Univision’s Dance Part Program.

Univision Network’s dance party Program, ‘Caliente’ (Hot), announced that Rafael Mercadante will debut as the new host beginning in March. An accomplished television celebrity, Mercadante’s first appearance on the show will be on Saturday, March 1. ‘Caliente,’ a weekly dance show targeted to young adults featuring live performances and music videos, airs every Saturday, 2-3 p.m./1-2 p.m. Central.

A native of Mexico City, Mercadante has been active in the entertainment industry for over a decade, working as an actor, TV presenter, video jockey, radio host, and emcee of numerous music festivals and award ceremonies including the prestigious “Premios Furia Musical” and “Acapulco Fest”.

Mercadante has also hosted several popular programs on Mexican broadcast television as well as on the international digital satellite/cable music networks Ritmo Son and Banda Max: ‘El Reventón Musical,’ ‘Sigue La Furia Dando,’ ‘La Ley del Top,’ and ‘Todo Se Vale’ (game show), among others. He has acted in top rated novelas such as ‘El Privilegio de Amar,’ ‘El Manantial,’ and ‘Agujetas de Color de Rosa.’ Additionally, Mercadante has appeared in numerous major theatrical productions including ‘Grease,’ ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ ‘The Hypochondriac,’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

Along with the addition of Mercadante, show producers will launch a newer and fresher look on the small screen. Two of the show’s new segments include ‘Karaoke Caliente,’ where the dancers and audience sing to chart topping songs and ‘DJ Caliente’, where local DJs showcase a remix of the latest songs. Some locations on schedule this year include El Salvador, Antigua, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo (Mexico), Dominican Republic, Spain, & Italy.

‘Caliente’ will maintain its signature segments ‘Chica Caliente,’ which features the country’s hottest Latin women and models and ‘Moda Caliente,’ a segment, which features the latest in fashion, young designers and boutique stores. In addition, ‘Caliente’ specials this year will include ‘Caliente en tu Casa,’ ‘Salseros Calientes’ and a Jenny ‘La Grupera’ Rivera special straight from her ranch in Los Angeles.

Caliente aired for the first time on April 8, 1995, and since that time has visited more than 45 cities in 15 countries. Caliente has hosted the biggest artists in Latin Music including Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Las Ketchup, Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio, Celia Cruz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Luis Enrique, Jerry Rivera, Elvis Crespo, Wilfrido Vargas, Los Tigres del Norte, Graciela Beltran, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Huracanes del Norte, Pablo Montero, Lupillo Rivera and Jenny Rivera.