Maximiliano de la Cruz

Maximiliano Ricardo de la Cruz Reffino was born on March 11, 1976, the son of Hada Helena Reffino and Argentine Uruguayan actor, comedian, presenter and producer Cacho de la Cruz.^[1][2] He has two children: Candelaria (born 2001) and Santino (born 2017).^[3][4]

He began his career in the media in the early 1990s presenting El Club de las Tortugas Ninja on Teledoce with Paola Bianco.^[5] Then they both hosted Maxidibujos on National Television, and Maxanimados again on Teledoce, which brought them national recognition.^[6][7] At the age of 18, he joined the comedy show Plop!, which was a spin-off of the well-known show Telecataplúm.^[8] In 2001, he joined the cast of El Show del Mediodía, remaining in it until it went off the air in 2008.^[9]

In the 2000s, he hosted other successful programs aired on Teledoce, such as Telemental, and the Uruguayan version of El casting de la Tele with Eunice Castro and filmed at the Ideas del Sur studios in Buenos Aires.^[10] In 2013, De la Cruz presented the comedy show Sinvergüenza, which featured comedians Luis Orpi and Luciana Acuña.^[11] For his performance in this show he won the award for Best Male Television Presenter at the 20th Iris Awards, held on September 17, 2014, at the National Auditorium.^[12]

In 2014, De la Cruz presented the talent show Yo me llamo, whose panel of judges was composed of Roberto Musso, Lea Bensasson and Omar Varela.^[13][14] In 2015, he presented its second season and participated in Me Resbala, the Uruguayan version of the French format Vendredi, tout est permis avec Arthur.^[15] In 2017, he played Damo Gómez in Quiero vivir a tu lado, a soap opera broadcast on El Trece.^[16]

In 2020, he returned to television to host the game show Trato Hecho, the local version of Deal or no deal.^[17] At first, he presented the spin-off featuring celebrities, but after Sebastián Abreu resigned from hosting the original format, De la Cruz took over it until 2021.^[18] Since 2020, he has also been part of the cast of the male version of the comedy show La culpa es de Colón.^[19] In 2021, he began hosting the revival of 100 Uruguayos Dicen,^[20] and in 2022 the singing contest ¿Quién es la Máscara?, an adaptation of the South Korean format Masked Singer.^[21]

In August 2022, it was announced that he would leave 100 Uruguayos Dicen and that starting with the season to be released in September he would be replaced by Christian Font.^[22] In May 2023, De La Cruz was confirmed as a celebrity participant for Bailando 2023.^[23]