The hunt is on for a new actor to wear the straw hat of coffee marketing icon Juan Valdez.
Carlos Sanchez, the 71-year-old actor who played the coffee bean farmer for almost four decades, is retiring. A replacement is to be named by Colombia's national federation of coffee producers by July.
The character Juan Valdez has been used to promote Colombian coffee since 1959. Print and television campaigns have featured Valdez with his mule Conchita.
The next Valdez will be drawn from than 400 candidates, who have been interviewed by the coffee federation with the help of U.S. consultants.
The winner will be chosen from a list of 10 finalists.
Whoever is picked to play the part will have his work cut out for him. While Colombia trails only Brazil in coffee production, a worldwide glut has pushed down prices.
Colombia's coffee exports in 2005 were roughly $1.5 billion US, down about $100 US million from a decade earlier.
Carlos Sanchez, the 71-year-old actor who played the coffee bean farmer for almost four decades, is retiring. A replacement is to be named by Colombia's national federation of coffee producers by July.
The character Juan Valdez has been used to promote Colombian coffee since 1959. Print and television campaigns have featured Valdez with his mule Conchita.
The next Valdez will be drawn from than 400 candidates, who have been interviewed by the coffee federation with the help of U.S. consultants.
The winner will be chosen from a list of 10 finalists.
Whoever is picked to play the part will have his work cut out for him. While Colombia trails only Brazil in coffee production, a worldwide glut has pushed down prices.
Colombia's coffee exports in 2005 were roughly $1.5 billion US, down about $100 US million from a decade earlier.
