Hotuiti Teao
Hotuiti Teao | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2022 | |
| Constituency | District 7 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 August 1977 |
| Party | Renovación Nacional (2013–2018) Independent (2018–present) |
| Spouse | Francisca Ayala[1][2] |
| Children | Two |
| Parent(s) | David Teao Hey Silvia Drago |
| Alma mater | University of the Alba |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Business administrator |
Hotuiti Rangi Teao Drago (born 1 August 1977) is a Chilean–Rapa Nui politician who serves as deputy.[2]
He began his career in television as a model in the early 2000s and later worked as a host on programs such as Yingo. Alongside his media career, he has been involved in business activities and cultural events linked to Rapa Nui traditions.
Teao entered politics in the late 2000s, initially as a prospective candidate for the Chamber of Deputies. He later ran unsuccessfully for parliament and for the Constitutional Convention before being elected as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for District 7 in the 2021 parliamentary elections, serving from 2022 to 2026. In 2025, he was re-elected until 2030.
Political career
[edit]He began a career in television as a model in 2003 on the television program Sábado gigante, in the segment recorded in Chile and hosted by Vivi Kreutzberger. He later appeared in a similar role on the program Gigantes con Vivi. At the same time as he pursued modeling, he studied business administration at the Mariano Egaña University, current University of the Alba.
In 2007, he worked as a television host on the program Yingo on Chilevisión, where he met fellow model Francisca Ayala, whom he married in 2009. He adopted his wife’s son, Sebastián, then aged 14,[3] who subsequently changed his surname to Teao. Following this adoption, the couple had a second child, named Hotunui O Te Rangi (b. 2012), whose name means Hotu (“beauty”) and Nui (“great”), while O Te Rangi means “fallen from” or “sent from heaven.”[4]
In 2009, he was considered a potential candidate for the Chamber of Deputies of Chile by the Independent Democratic Union (UDI); however, the candidacy did not materialize.[5] In 2013, he was nominated by National Renewal (RN) as a candidate for deputy in District 10; according to RN, he was the only parliamentary candidate nationwide belonging to an Indigenous people.[6] He finished in fourth place and was not elected.
For the election of members of the Constitutional Convention held on 15 and 16 May 2021, he ran as an independent candidate for the Constitutional Convention on the Vamos por Chile list in the 7th District, Valparaíso Region. He obtained 4,974 votes, corresponding to 1.5% of the total valid votes, and was not elected.
He was a candidate for deputy in the 2021 parliamentary elections for District 7 (Algarrobo, Cartagena, Casablanca, Concón, El Quisco, El Tabo, Easter Island, Juan Fernández, San Antonio, Santo Domingo, Valparaíso and Viña del Mar), and was elected, serving from 11 March 2022 to 11 March 2026.
During his tenure as a deputy, in March 2023 he was identified as one of the lawmakers who arrived late to congressional sessions. He justified these delays by citing flight schedules from Easter Island; however, he was later found to have been untruthful, as his social media showed records of his attendance at a wedding in Arica with his wife. Teao stated that the matter was private and related to family affairs.[7][8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ubicado en el "corazón" de Rapa Nui: Así es el hotel que tienen Hotuiti Teao y Fran Ayala en Isla de Pascua". Mega. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Francisca Ayala denuncia uso no autorizado de su imagen por hotel en Rapa Nui: diputado Hotuiti Teao solicitó reunión con Sernatur". Mega. 4 November 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ ""Hago de todo": Hijo de Hotuiti Teao y Francisca Ayala administra hotel familiar ubicado en Rapa Nui" (in Spanish). Meganoticias. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "Esto significa el nombre del futuro hijo de Fran y Hotuiti" (in Spanish). Terra. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "Hotuiti Teao y su frustrada candidatura a diputado: "Todavía estoy esperando que me llame Lavín"" (in Spanish). The Clinic. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Comité Electoral de RN ratificó candidatura a diputado de Hotuiti Teao" (in Spanish). El Dínamo. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "Fue pillado en la mentira: Hotuiti Teao justificó su atraso en el Congreso culpando a un vuelo de Rapa Nui pero venía de boda en Arica" (in Spanish). Publimetro Chile. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "Diputado Hotuiti Teao y sus retrasos en el Congreso: Venía de matrimonio en Arica" (in Spanish). SoyChile. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.