Antonio Sánchez (Puerto Rican host)
Encyclopedia
Antonio Sánchez is a Puerto Rican
radio
and television
personality, show host and producer. Very famous across Puerto Rico
for his crass humor, he is also known for his nickname: El Gangster. As of 2008, his television show, No te Duermas
, has been on the air for 19 years.
to Antonio Sánchez, Sr. and Zoraida Casiano. He was the oldest of four children. When he was 9 years old, his family returned to Puerto Rico
, specifically to the town of Hormigueros
.
in San Germán, and he began working as a disc jockey
at college parties with his now partner Angél Santiago. He was also in the midst of the late 70's CB Radio craze where he used the handle "Tony Toyota".
In 1979, while studying, he started working at a local station called Radio Disco. He was then called to work at Cosmos 94 in Mayagüez with two shows called La Hora del Rusheo (1981) and El Meneo (1982). He also worked for Salsa 63. It is during this time that he donned the name of "El Gangster". According to him, he is extremely shy, and his radio persona was a way to let go a more extroverted attitude.
In 1983, he was asked to work in San Juan
, so Sánchez left his studies and moved to the capital. He started working at QBS AM Radio with El Pon de la Mañana with "Funky Joe", and later started working in El Gufeo Matutino at Z-93 with "Moonshadow".
In 1994, he returned to work with his friend, hosting El Bayú de la Mañana
at SalSoul radio station. They remained together in the show from 1994 to 2007 when they were replaced due to differences with management. On January 2008, they started hosting a new show called El Circo de La Mega
at 106.9 FM. www.elcirco.net
), El pueblito Nius and El Show del mediodía. The next year, he hosted the game show
Lo tomas o lo dejas.
In 1987, Sánchez and friend Hector Marcano
were cast as co-hosts of television game show La Hora de Oro on Puerto Rico's Super Siete channel. The show enjoyed a successful run for two years in Puerto Rico, period in which Sanchez's face also became familiar to the Puerto Rican public. During this time, he also performed in comedies like El Cuartel de la Risa
(1989) and Adultos Solteros (1990), both with Rafael José
.
In 1989, Sánchez was approached by producer Gabriel Suau to intervene in a show called No te Duermas
. Although originally the idea was to have another host while Sánchez performed comedic sketches, Sánchez presented Suau an idea he had about a television program, and he gave him the opportunity. On February 1990, No te Duermas debuted on Channel 7 (Super Siete). After a year of success, the show moved to Channel 2 (Telemundo
) on October 1991. For two years, the show peaked at #1 on local TV popularity lists, and for the following years it remained among the Top 10.
In 1992, Sánchez also began production of Minga y Petraca
, where he plays one of the main characters. The show was a spin-off
of a sketch from No te Duermas, where two ladies (played by Sánchez and Johnny Ray) would constantly gossip
on their balcony about local celebrities. On March 2005, the show was cancelled because Telemundo Puerto Rico wanted to open a new telenovela
spot at 9:00pm, making all the sitcoms and programs at this spot to be axed, only leaving Sanchez's No Te Duermas, as a daily show.
In 2008, after 18 years, Sánchez announced he would retire the show to take a break and dedicate himself to other ventures. The last show will be aired on December 30, 2008.
singer, Giselle.
Sánchez enjoys fishing and is the owner of a Harley Davidson motorcycle
.
, the musical guest, slapped another show guest as the show was being shown live. As a consequence, both Serrano and Sánchez now face lawsuits and could lose 450,000 dollars each if found responsible for the act.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality, show host and producer. Very famous across Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
for his crass humor, he is also known for his nickname: El Gangster. As of 2008, his television show, No te Duermas
No te Duermas
No te Duermas is a Spanish-language television program, a late-night talk and variety show from Puerto Rico. It started airing in 1990 as a late night show with comedian Antonio Sanchez El Gangster in WSTE-TV SuperSiete...
, has been on the air for 19 years.
Early life
Antonio Sánchez was born in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Antonio Sánchez, Sr. and Zoraida Casiano. He was the oldest of four children. When he was 9 years old, his family returned to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, specifically to the town of Hormigueros
Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Hormigueros is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the western region of the island, northeast of Cabo Rojo; northwest of San Germán; and south of Mayagüez. Hormigueros is spread over 5 wards and Hormigueros Pueblo...
.
Radio Host
Sánchez started studying at the Interamerican University of Puerto RicoInteramerican University of Puerto Rico
The Inter American University of Puerto Rico —or Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico in Spanish, and often referred as "Inter"— is a private university system in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1912 in San German, Puerto Rico. The University has campuses in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Barranquitas,...
in San Germán, and he began working as a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
at college parties with his now partner Angél Santiago. He was also in the midst of the late 70's CB Radio craze where he used the handle "Tony Toyota".
In 1979, while studying, he started working at a local station called Radio Disco. He was then called to work at Cosmos 94 in Mayagüez with two shows called La Hora del Rusheo (1981) and El Meneo (1982). He also worked for Salsa 63. It is during this time that he donned the name of "El Gangster". According to him, he is extremely shy, and his radio persona was a way to let go a more extroverted attitude.
In 1983, he was asked to work in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, so Sánchez left his studies and moved to the capital. He started working at QBS AM Radio with El Pon de la Mañana with "Funky Joe", and later started working in El Gufeo Matutino at Z-93 with "Moonshadow".
In 1994, he returned to work with his friend, hosting El Bayú de la Mañana
El Bayú de la Mañana
El Bayú de la Mañana was a popular Puerto Rican morning radio show that aired on SalSoul radio station. "Bayú" loosely means "party" or "mingling". The show started airing on May 6, 1994, and remained popular throughout its run...
at SalSoul radio station. They remained together in the show from 1994 to 2007 when they were replaced due to differences with management. On January 2008, they started hosting a new show called El Circo de La Mega
El Circo de La Mega
El Circo de La Mega is a morning radio show in Puerto Rico that airs on La Mega 106.9. The show started airing on February 27, 2008, starting at 5:30 am until 10:00 am....
at 106.9 FM. www.elcirco.net
Television works
In 1985, Sánchez started working on several television shows like A Gozar (WAPA-TVWAPA-TV
WAPA-TV is an independent television station located in San Juan, Puerto Rico transmitting over digital channel 27, virtual channel 4. The station is owned by InterMedia Partners and is branded as WAPA Television....
), El pueblito Nius and El Show del mediodía. The next year, he hosted the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Lo tomas o lo dejas.
In 1987, Sánchez and friend Hector Marcano
Hector Marcano
Hector Marcano is a Puerto Rican comedian, producer, and game show host in Puerto Rico.Hector Marcano was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on November 3, 1956. Marcano's career took off after Luis Vigoreaux's death...
were cast as co-hosts of television game show La Hora de Oro on Puerto Rico's Super Siete channel. The show enjoyed a successful run for two years in Puerto Rico, period in which Sanchez's face also became familiar to the Puerto Rican public. During this time, he also performed in comedies like El Cuartel de la Risa
El Cuartel de la Risa
El Cuartel de la Risa was a Puerto Rican comedy show broadcast on WSTE. It was one of the most successful comedy shows during its run.The show revolved around what happened in a generic police station in the fictional town of Trujillo Bajo, Puerto Rico...
(1989) and Adultos Solteros (1990), both with Rafael José
Rafael José
Dr. Rafael José Diaz is a Puerto Rican television show host born in Manatí, Puerto Rico, where his father, a physician born in the Dominican Republic, was the medical director of the local hospital. His family eventually moved to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, where he was raised...
.
In 1989, Sánchez was approached by producer Gabriel Suau to intervene in a show called No te Duermas
No te Duermas
No te Duermas is a Spanish-language television program, a late-night talk and variety show from Puerto Rico. It started airing in 1990 as a late night show with comedian Antonio Sanchez El Gangster in WSTE-TV SuperSiete...
. Although originally the idea was to have another host while Sánchez performed comedic sketches, Sánchez presented Suau an idea he had about a television program, and he gave him the opportunity. On February 1990, No te Duermas debuted on Channel 7 (Super Siete). After a year of success, the show moved to Channel 2 (Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
) on October 1991. For two years, the show peaked at #1 on local TV popularity lists, and for the following years it remained among the Top 10.
In 1992, Sánchez also began production of Minga y Petraca
Minga y Petraca
Minga y Petraca was a television show produced in Puerto Rico by Antonio "El Gangster" Sanchez since 1992 up until early 2005 on Telemundo Puerto Rico, channel 2....
, where he plays one of the main characters. The show was a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of a sketch from No te Duermas, where two ladies (played by Sánchez and Johnny Ray) would constantly gossip
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
on their balcony about local celebrities. On March 2005, the show was cancelled because Telemundo Puerto Rico wanted to open a new telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
spot at 9:00pm, making all the sitcoms and programs at this spot to be axed, only leaving Sanchez's No Te Duermas, as a daily show.
In 2008, after 18 years, Sánchez announced he would retire the show to take a break and dedicate himself to other ventures. The last show will be aired on December 30, 2008.
Other works
Sánchez also became a manager of other entertainers. Among the people he has managed is merengueMerengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
singer, Giselle.
Personal life
Sanchez married with Nelva Rodríguez on June 4, 1983 after meeting her in college. They have three children: Francheska, Gabriel, and Anaís. Sánchez has been known for rarely commenting about his personal life.Sánchez enjoys fishing and is the owner of a Harley Davidson motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
.
Controversies and legal problems
On May of 2005, chaos broke in his No Te Duermas show when singer Banchy SerranoGrupo Manía
Grupo Manía is a popular merengue group from Puerto Rico that released its debut album in 1993. The group was formed by brothers Héctor, Edwin and Oscar Serrano together with Alfred Cotto in the early 90s...
, the musical guest, slapped another show guest as the show was being shown live. As a consequence, both Serrano and Sánchez now face lawsuits and could lose 450,000 dollars each if found responsible for the act.
See also
- No te DuermasNo te DuermasNo te Duermas is a Spanish-language television program, a late-night talk and variety show from Puerto Rico. It started airing in 1990 as a late night show with comedian Antonio Sanchez El Gangster in WSTE-TV SuperSiete...
- List of talk show hosts
- Telemundo Puerto RicoTelemundo Puerto RicoThe name Telemundo Puerto Rico may represent:* WKAQ-TV, a Telemundo station in San Juan, Puerto Rico* Telemundo Puerto Rico , a former Spanish-language cable network...
- List of Puerto Ricans