El Vacilón de la Mañana
Encyclopedia
El Vacilón de la Mañana is New York City's top Spanish language morning radio show. It is broadcast from La Mega
(97.9 MHz) and it is syndicated live to a number of different markets in the US such as Providence, Rhode Island; Miami and Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Hartford, Connecticut; and Puerto Rico.
network, but is prevented by previous non-competitive agreements to air any new program in New York City during El Vacilón's alloted time slot until 2008. Most of the program's crew has chosen to remain contracted to La Mega.
As of mid January 2007, Spanish Broadcasting System
(SBS) owned WSKQ (La Mega 97.9 FM) brought two new hosts to the show, Dominican-born Juan Carlos Alonso (who sounds just like Luis Jiménez), and Puerto Rican Frankie Jay (who also sounds like Moonshadow) which are now replacing Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow. Juan Carlos Alonso was relocated from another SBS station in Orlando, Florida and Frankie Jay was relocated from another SBS station in Puerto Rico. Juan Carlos and Frankie Jay voice resemblance to the former hosts have sparked a number of accusations of trying to imitate the former Vacilón hosts Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow (the main reason SBS brought them to NY).
During 2007 Luis Jiménez and SBS were involved in a legal fight because SBS claims Luis Jiménez was cashing in on the name of the morning show through the release of his DVD movie El Vacilón the Movie which was released on January 30, 2007. Luis Jiménez filed a counter-lawsuit accusing SBS of trying to fool the audience by having Juan Carlos and Frankie Jay imitate the voices and style of Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow, and also accuses his former team members of betrayal and stealing his intellectual property by using characters such as Dr. Hector Tilla and Madam Melo. In early January 2008 Spanish Broadcasting System officially won the legal fight.
Since February 21, 2007, Luis Jiménez
started producing his own show The Luis Jiménez Show
and it is being broadcast in several cities in the US, such as Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, among others through different Univision Radio stations. It is expected to expand into more cities during this year as Univision Radio introduces the show to new markets, but it is not expected to make it into NYC until 2008. Only two of the members of the old "Vacilón de la Mañana" have followed Luis Jiménez to his new show. These are "Yun Yun" and "Sonny Flow", the latter one being "DJ Chucky" who just became part of "The Luis Jiménez Show" crew. Alma, who is Luis's producer, is also part of the new show in Univision Radio.
Moonshadow has come back to El Vacilón de la Mañana and together with Juan Carlos and Franky Jay had been able to stay ahead of the Luis Jiménez Show (3.9 to 2.0 in the ratings). Although when The Luis Jiménez Show made it to NYC early in 2008.
Upon his departure from El Vacilón de la Mañana Luis Jiménez also took the morning show's website with him. For the entire year of 2007 the domain name "www.elvacilon.com" belonged to his producer Maria Alma and therefore SBS and WSKQ La Mega 97.9 FM were unable to use the website address for the show. A new website for El Vacilón was created www.elvacilon.org.In early 2008, after the lawsuit the domain name "elvacilon dot com" was returned to SBS and is run on the web servers of Spanish Broadcasting System(SBS)
An equally named program was broadcast by another SBS affiliate station in Miami WXDJ "El Zol 95 FM", a fact that raised confusion among some listeners in both markets until March 2003. The hosts of El Vacilón Miami were Enrique Santos (a former police officer turned funny man) and "The Professor" Joe Ferrero both of Cuban-American descent.
The two jokesters achieved national and international notoriety when on June 18, 2003 they prank-called Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez
, which brought them plenty of press. They later used the same technique to prank call Cuba's then-President Fidel Castro
, the more notorious and more better known of the pranks. The team was fined by the FCC when an anonymous source filed a complaint with said government agency (as a result of the latter prank). The duo took to the streets of Miami and collected in pennies the entire amount of the fee and then some. Luckily, the radio station's legal eagles resolved the issue regarding the fine and all of the money collected was then donated to a local charity. They later used the same technique to crank call . In the history of radio broadcast this was the first time that a morning show had cranked called the leaders of two countries.
Despite of the huge success of El Vacilón Miami, hosted by Enrique and Joe it all came to a halt on March 5, 2007 when the hosts fed up with the string of unfulfilled promises by Spanish Broadcasting Systems (SBS) and other issues decided to walk out on air. They trashed the company for four hours of broadcast until they were eventually pulled off the air by management. The morning show was replaced with pre-recorded bits soon after. One week later the only one of the show's main producers Miguel "Mikey" Reyes alias: Mikey Machete was let go by the company. Reyes hosted the Saturday morning "Best Of" show which he also produced and achieved the number one spot in ratings for a Saturday morning show in the Tropical market. While SBS refused to give details on Mr. Reyes’ firing, it appeared to be the result of the fall out following the early departure of the show's two hosts.
At that point it was quite evident to SBS that they were to suffer in ratings now that both Luis Jiménez "El mejor de la radio" of N.Y. and Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero of Miami were on their way to sign multi-million dollar contracts with competing network Univision Radio. Univision.com
Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero can currently be heard on Univision's WRTO, Miami, La Kalle 98.3 FM for the time being. Luis Jiménez's and his morning show are being syndicated in various markets. Univision Radio returned both shows to their respective cities to take on SBS directly on early 2008. Mike Reyes, former producer for Enrique Santos & Joe Ferrero, is also currently awaiting the termination of his non-compete in order to return to radio also in early 2008
From March 22, 2007 to March 1, 2008, "El Zol 95 FM" was broadcasting New York's lackluster El Vacilón de la Mañana which is also being syndicated in Puerto Rico. Since March 3, 2008, El Zol started El Vacilón de Miami with Neo Encendido and Los Pichy Boys Alejandro González and Maikel Rodriguez from 6 to 10 pm on El Zol 95.7 The latter show was replaced in less than a year by Al Fuentes, former P.D. of various radio stations and Pio Ferro V.P of Programming of SBS. Soon after that, Pio Ferro's employment was terminated and that morning show has become a one-man show.
The Enrique and Joe Show (with sidekick and producer Mikey Machete) on Miami's La Kalle 98.3 FM, in less than a years time, has become the number one rated Tropical morning show in South Florida with ratings numbers reaching double digits. In May 2009 the dynamic duo of Miami radio split up and two shows were created. In the morning The Enrique Santos Show followed by Joe Ferrero y La Animalada (originally hosted for 5 months by Mikey Machete and ALbertico Rodriguez) on La Kalle 98.3FM. The station currently has 3 entertainment shows on all 3 day parts solidifying its current programing and image of entertainment and music station.
El Vacilón de Miami hosted by Al Fuentes continued to lag in 7th place on the top 10 Hispanic morning shows and overall in 15th place general market. In 2009 El Vacilóns and the station's ratings, in general, plummeted. Eventually, Mr. Fuente's declining numbers and lackluster programming skills were the main reason why he was let go.
In early spring 2010 changes started to take place in both radio stations and by mid year Enrique Santos was the only one from the original morning crew to be retained on 98.3's morning show as Univision restructured the station to fit Arbitron's new ratings methodology. The station now re-branded as MIX 98.3 assumed a more bilingual style programing and carbon copied Clear Channel's Mega 94.9's format in order to compete.
Joe Ferrero was let go by Univision Radio on June 4, 2010 along with Mikey Machete. In October 2010 Joe Ferrero consequently took over El Vacilón de la Mañana on Spanish Broadcasting System's (WXDJ) El Zol 95.7 FM with new co-host Albertito Rodriguez as his sidekick and female co-host Betzy Vazquez. Mikey Machete has since retired from radio and, according to rumors, is currently living in the Florida Keys. Update: 08/22/2011 - Joe Ferrero is no longer at SBS Miami he was let go for no apparent reason.
s, musical parodies
, comedy sketches, humorous commentary about straight and odd news, and open telephone lines.
The program's key player is Luis Jiménez
(born on March 26, 1970 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
), who has been its main host for more than twelve years. Jiménez co-hosts the broadcast with Raymond Broussard (born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 20, 1953, of Cajun
and Puerto Rican descent) and who uses the stage name Moonshadow.
Luis Jiménez started his radio career in his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico
as a teenager, working as a part-time disc-jockey in various local radio stations. He later moved to Orlando, Florida
, achieving some recognition there as a morning radio host after holding various odd jobs. He was referred to La Mega's management as a suitable candidate for hosting a Spanish-language radio show in New York City and moved there in 1993. The program's first airing occurred on August 9.
Jiménez modeled his show after El Bufeo Matutino (The Morning Goof), a successful radio program in Puerto Rico that lasted twenty-two years in its various inceptions, and always had Moonshadow as its main producer and host. Luis Jiménez cohosted the show with long time friend Junior Hernandez. Hernandez suffered from asthma, and died of a heart attack. Fans streamed to the station to pay tribute to Hernandez the Thursday night after his death; the popular radio personality was only 34 years old. After Broussard's move to New York City in 1997, and after the death of Hernandez's in 1998, the program had a succession of co-hosts, with Moonshadow joining the show for good in 2000. Moonshadow can claim poetic justice about the fact that WZNT-FM, also known as Z-93, (Puerto Rico's main salsa radio station), which was the same radio station who fired him for being too controversial, now airs El Vacilón de la Mañana to Puerto Rico in direct Internet audio feed from La Mega every morning after a management change (SBS currently owns both stations). The first audio feed to Puerto Rico occurred on February 9, 2004. The program has since gone into syndication by ABC Networks
in a few Latino markets within the United States; the first syndicated airing to Orlando, Florida and other Latino markets occurred on January 9, 2006.
While Moonshadow has gone on record in numerous times about modeling his original show after Howard Stern
's (with a very strong dose of Puerto Rican cultural elements), Jiménez's numerous original contributions give the show a unique pan-Latino flavor (its largest audience appears to be the Dominican
and Puerto Rican community in New York City). The result "out-Sterned" Stern's show, and El Vacilón's audienceship ratings surpassed Stern's for three years, until Stern's departure to satellite radio in 2005.
Jiménez and Moonshadow do not act alone: besides a sizeable audience participation, the show's announcers and assistant producers (called the Mequetrefes, or Whippersnappers) are key to the success of the show. This ragtag group feature a female traffic announcer (Carolina Cadillo, born in Newark, New Jersey
, of Peru
vian and Nicaragua
n descent), a rather peculiar news announcer (Francis Méndez, born in Jarabacoa
, Dominican Republic
), the show's main audio producer (DJ Chucky), its call screeners and production assistants (Tony Sánchez, Bocachula, El Papichulo, etc.), and the like. The show's executive producer, María Eugenia Alma, appears sporadically in the show, particularly as female singer and occasional phone call prankster.
Each member of the team is known for a perceived self-avowed defect or particularity: Luis Jiménez claims to have undersized genitalia and hypospadias
, Moonshadow has an inguinal hernia
but reportedly has the fastest tongue in American radio history; Francis Méndez is allegedly a former cocaine
addict who now suffers from erectile dysfunction
as a result, Carolina Cadillo is a proud nymphomaniac who speaks Spanish with a noticeable English accent (Spanish is her second language) and who has virtually no buttocks
, and so on.
by Jiménez, who played the part of a viciously irate jealous husband. Manolo's enraged, expletive-laden response has become the most copied and broadcast anecdote in the show's history. Manolo's son Israel, who coordinated the phone call, was in turn pranked in another memorable call.
After the deportation of the section's producer, Rubén Ithier, also known as Rubén El Moreno, back to his country of origin, the Dominican Republic
in late 2004, this section went into limbo for close to a year and a half. Prank reruns were (and are still) played on the section's regularly slotted time.
During the hiatus, the current cast tried to pull some pranks of their own with mixed success, including repeated Manolo Cabeza 'e Huevo pranks, perhaps the most successful after Ithier's departure.
The cast resumed production of regularly scheduled ¡Caíste! pranks in early 2006.
In a similar sidenote, the Miami programme is also known for its share of pranks. Its notoriety came with the ¡Caiste! jokes made to Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro (The former being pranked before the other) while using pre-existing tape conversations (for the former, it was with a conversation between Castro and then-Mexican President Vicente Fox
, while for the latter, the snippets of the prank which was done on Chávez was used). Both pranks had Joe Ferrero pretending to be a sergeant in some army. Needless to say, while the reaction of the former victim was absolute silence, Castro replied after Ferrero tripped up his (Castro's) words ("¿Estás conforme con toda la mierda que has hecho en la isla, asesino?" ["Are you conformed with all the shit that you did on the island, murderer?"]) with a slightly peeved response: "¿En qué caí, comemierda? ¿En qué caí, maricón? ¿En qué caí, mari-cón-són?" ("What DID I fall in, shiteater? What did I fall in, queer? What did I fall in, you gay-fer?"). However, the FCC complained and slapped a fine to the two disc jockeys (Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero); both chose not to pay, relying instead on a penny-drive. Its (the programme's) second-funniest joke is one that is called ¡Píntame! (Paint me!), in which the two prank a painter by asking him "¿Usted es el pintor?" ("Are you the Painter?"), whereupon by using his response (which was always "¡Sí, yo soy el pintor!" ["Yes, I'm the painter!"]) they played a sample of Elvis Crespo
's song "Píntame" (the first line of the song, to be exact: "Pintame', le dije yo al pintor"; "'Paint me', I told the painter"), thus aggravating the man and pissing him off even further, thus launching a tirade of Dominican insults. Another famous prank made by the 2 DJs was their "Gonzalo Créo" saga; the first joke of which, "La vieja puta" ("The Old Bitch"), revolved around Santos pranking a Cuban by making said Cuban believe that he was in a telephoned confession booth, whereupon the Cuban said that he was being stalked by the grandmother of a friend of his. When one of Santos's associates is heard, the Cuban is outraged, and hangs up on him, whereupon, we hear Santos saying that he didn't get a chance to ask for the Cuban's money; the rest of the prank (although it is funny) revolves around then trying to get the Cuban's money. More of the "Gonzalo Créo" jokes occurred, including "El Dolor del Vecino", using the same premise of pretense of a telephoned confession booth, which involves a man struggling with his apparent bisexuality. A lot of the prank calls made by Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero (During and after El Vacilón including the Enrique & Joe Show) have now been made available at EnriqueSantos.com but by far the largest amount of crank calls made by Enrique and Joe can be heard on their producer/sidekick's website www.MikeyMachete.com
who preys on geriatric women; El Chef Pipí, a parody on Cuban chef and Univision
television personality José Hernández, better known as Chef Pepin
, being Chef Pipí's main trait his questionable masculinity; Rebeca Larica, a hyperventilating, gum-chewing woman who craves for male attention (played by Moonshadow); Dr. Héctor Tilla, a self-proclaimed medical doctor with very rude manners and a long history of malpractice lawsuits; Paca Garmentí and Silvia Penacho Chafrías; two civic-minded single women, both over 60 years-old, who love to bicker with each other (both names are plays on Spanish words: "Pa' cagarme en tí" is the informal way of saying "En tí me' cago", which means "I shit on you", while Silvia's name, whilst parts of it are normal, The clang comes with the word "chocha fría", which means something to the effect of "cold pussy"); Madam Melo (originally called Mamá Melo), a hyperkinetic Dominican
santería
practitioner (both names are plays on sexual references: "Madam Melo" is a play on "mandamelo", which means "Fuck me", whilst "Mamá Melo" is a play on the insult "mamamelo", which means "Suck it (my dick) for me"); Goyito and Memin, two schoolkids (Memin being a straight arrow, while Goyito is a perennial foul-mouthed prankster) and Federico "Pedrito" Rivera Rodriguez, better known as Findingo, a chronic marijuana smoker with a strong speech impairment.
Some of the ideas behind these characters are not entirely original: Cornelio Toro is the updated version of Toribio Tauro, a similar television character played by Puerto Rican comedic actor Adrián García on Puerto Rican television (and provided with an accent closely resembling that of Don Pulula, one of José Miguel Agrelot
's characters); El Chulo evolved from a real human being who was a production assistant for one of Puerto Rico's radio morning shows who had a liking for geriatric women (and became famously made fun of by being called El Chupaviejas by the show's hosts), and Dr. Hector Tilla was another one of moonshadow creations wild in the toylet. Goyito and Memin were originally created by Moonshadow after Pellín and Pillín, two animated characters from a Puerto Rican public service announcement, while Findingo's name was taken from a similarly named (although completely different) comedic character played by the Puerto Rican actor, René Rubiella; the original character shared a low intelligence quotient
with the newer one, besides the name. The parody on Chef Pepin was rumored to be hated by the parodied celebrity because of its homoerotic undertones, but this was dispelled recently when Chef Pepín himself was invited to participate in a racy sketch along its comedic counterpart, the result being a hilarious interaction between the two characters which Chef Pepín clearly enjoyed.
Special mention has to be made about a real "character" who happens to be a regular caller to the show, and as of October 2005 has joined the cast on a part-time basis. Metadona is a real-life reformed robber, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
, who had a chronic drug addiction before rehabilitation. There are strong doubts about him being completely drug free, but he vows to have abandoned his criminal past for good. His slow delivery (evoking a chronically drug-induced state) and daring stories about botched robberies and juvenile pranks entitled him to the alias, which is the Spanish word for methadone
. He has a habit of loudly opening a beer
can for breakfast
every time he calls.
' s musical parodies have recently become the show's bread and butter. Popular Latino songs are typically parodied in the show, generally changing the lyrics to sexually suggestive, humorous lyrics. Some original compositions are featured as well, and generally along the same subject matter. A few program guests, mainly reggaeton
artists, have parodied their own regular songs in the show (and therefore have contributed with their own material). A few English-language songs are also parodied, but mostly fragments of them.
Newer songs are introduced in a weekly section called El Joyón Musical (joyón can be an augmentative
for either the word joya (jewel), or joyo (an alternate spelling for hole, and Puerto Rican vulgar slang for anus
)). The songs are then placed in heavy rotation as filler between sections (and, in the Puerto Rico broadcast of the show, to cover local New York radio spots that are irrelevant to the Puerto Rican market).
Some listeners have complained these musical parodies take more show time than warranted. The authors of most of these parodies, DJ Chucky who is now part of The Luis Jiménez Show
and Gerpis Correa, also known as Shino/Aguakate.
The Miami Vacilón did their share of musical parodies, until the hosts Enrique and Joe left to Univision Radio. None of the new hosts capitalized on that aspect of the show, mostly for lack of production and talent. Both Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero continued to produce phenomenal parodies which dealt with political satire, current events, making fun of people, and even the City of Hialeah (Second largest city in South Florida, mostly Cuban). The parody sung, written and performed by Enrique Santos, "Sweet Home Hialeah", has been one of their most famous, locally. The video was shot on location in the City of Hialeah and has almost become its emblem. The lyrics were sung to "Sweet Home Alabama" but with a twist. (See YouTube)
).
The same is done for odd news in the section called Noticias Locas (Crazy News). Most are taken from the Odd News segment of Yahoo!
News.
Francis Méndez reads regular news at the top of the hour (not the same as Hablando Plepla), but injecting humorous slang phrases to the headlines. This goes in sharp contrast to the serious, almost dead-panned delivery of the show's sports announcer, Cuba
n-born Renato Murphy, as well as that of Cadillo's traffic report. The result is almost as odd as the Noticias Locas segment itself.
Listeners' calls tend to have a somewhat stringent quality control:
WSKQ-FM
WSKQ-FM, known on-air as Mega 97.9, is a radio station in New York City owned by Spanish Broadcasting System . Currently located at 97.9 FM, the station has a tropical format, which consists of such musical styles as Bachata, salsa, merengue, and Reggaeton.-History:The 97.9 FM facility's heritage...
(97.9 MHz) and it is syndicated live to a number of different markets in the US such as Providence, Rhode Island; Miami and Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Hartford, Connecticut; and Puerto Rico.
History
During the first two weeks of January 2007, new airings of this program were discontinued, and only pre-recorded programs were aired, coinciding with Luis Jiménez's departure from the program. He has signed a contract with the Univision RadioUnivision Radio
Univision Radio is the radio division of media giant Univision Communications, Inc., which also ownsthe Univision television network. The company was formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation. It is the eighth largest radio company in the United States, and the largest Hispanic radio...
network, but is prevented by previous non-competitive agreements to air any new program in New York City during El Vacilón's alloted time slot until 2008. Most of the program's crew has chosen to remain contracted to La Mega.
As of mid January 2007, Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet properties, deriving the majority of its income from advertising through its media products.SBS owns the internet portal LaMusica.com...
(SBS) owned WSKQ (La Mega 97.9 FM) brought two new hosts to the show, Dominican-born Juan Carlos Alonso (who sounds just like Luis Jiménez), and Puerto Rican Frankie Jay (who also sounds like Moonshadow) which are now replacing Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow. Juan Carlos Alonso was relocated from another SBS station in Orlando, Florida and Frankie Jay was relocated from another SBS station in Puerto Rico. Juan Carlos and Frankie Jay voice resemblance to the former hosts have sparked a number of accusations of trying to imitate the former Vacilón hosts Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow (the main reason SBS brought them to NY).
During 2007 Luis Jiménez and SBS were involved in a legal fight because SBS claims Luis Jiménez was cashing in on the name of the morning show through the release of his DVD movie El Vacilón the Movie which was released on January 30, 2007. Luis Jiménez filed a counter-lawsuit accusing SBS of trying to fool the audience by having Juan Carlos and Frankie Jay imitate the voices and style of Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow, and also accuses his former team members of betrayal and stealing his intellectual property by using characters such as Dr. Hector Tilla and Madam Melo. In early January 2008 Spanish Broadcasting System officially won the legal fight.
Since February 21, 2007, Luis Jiménez
Luis Jiménez
Luis Jiménez may refer to:*Luis Antonio Jiménez, Chilean football player*Luis Jiménez , Venezuelan baseball player*Luis Jiménez , Dominican Republic baseball player*Luis Jiménez , Mexican Olympic fencer...
started producing his own show The Luis Jiménez Show
The Luis Jimenez Show
The Luis Jiménez Show is New York City's number one Spanish language morning radio show . It is broadcast from X 96.3 new york and it is syndicated live to a number of different markets in the US Philadelphia,PA Tampa, Miami & Orlando, FL, New York, NY, Hartford, CT- History :During the first two...
and it is being broadcast in several cities in the US, such as Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, among others through different Univision Radio stations. It is expected to expand into more cities during this year as Univision Radio introduces the show to new markets, but it is not expected to make it into NYC until 2008. Only two of the members of the old "Vacilón de la Mañana" have followed Luis Jiménez to his new show. These are "Yun Yun" and "Sonny Flow", the latter one being "DJ Chucky" who just became part of "The Luis Jiménez Show" crew. Alma, who is Luis's producer, is also part of the new show in Univision Radio.
Moonshadow has come back to El Vacilón de la Mañana and together with Juan Carlos and Franky Jay had been able to stay ahead of the Luis Jiménez Show (3.9 to 2.0 in the ratings). Although when The Luis Jiménez Show made it to NYC early in 2008.
Upon his departure from El Vacilón de la Mañana Luis Jiménez also took the morning show's website with him. For the entire year of 2007 the domain name "www.elvacilon.com" belonged to his producer Maria Alma and therefore SBS and WSKQ La Mega 97.9 FM were unable to use the website address for the show. A new website for El Vacilón was created www.elvacilon.org.In early 2008, after the lawsuit the domain name "elvacilon dot com" was returned to SBS and is run on the web servers of Spanish Broadcasting System(SBS)
The Miami Vacilón
El Vacilón de la Mañana (Miami)An equally named program was broadcast by another SBS affiliate station in Miami WXDJ "El Zol 95 FM", a fact that raised confusion among some listeners in both markets until March 2003. The hosts of El Vacilón Miami were Enrique Santos (a former police officer turned funny man) and "The Professor" Joe Ferrero both of Cuban-American descent.
The two jokesters achieved national and international notoriety when on June 18, 2003 they prank-called Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, which brought them plenty of press. They later used the same technique to prank call Cuba's then-President Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, the more notorious and more better known of the pranks. The team was fined by the FCC when an anonymous source filed a complaint with said government agency (as a result of the latter prank). The duo took to the streets of Miami and collected in pennies the entire amount of the fee and then some. Luckily, the radio station's legal eagles resolved the issue regarding the fine and all of the money collected was then donated to a local charity. They later used the same technique to crank call . In the history of radio broadcast this was the first time that a morning show had cranked called the leaders of two countries.
Despite of the huge success of El Vacilón Miami, hosted by Enrique and Joe it all came to a halt on March 5, 2007 when the hosts fed up with the string of unfulfilled promises by Spanish Broadcasting Systems (SBS) and other issues decided to walk out on air. They trashed the company for four hours of broadcast until they were eventually pulled off the air by management. The morning show was replaced with pre-recorded bits soon after. One week later the only one of the show's main producers Miguel "Mikey" Reyes alias: Mikey Machete was let go by the company. Reyes hosted the Saturday morning "Best Of" show which he also produced and achieved the number one spot in ratings for a Saturday morning show in the Tropical market. While SBS refused to give details on Mr. Reyes’ firing, it appeared to be the result of the fall out following the early departure of the show's two hosts.
At that point it was quite evident to SBS that they were to suffer in ratings now that both Luis Jiménez "El mejor de la radio" of N.Y. and Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero of Miami were on their way to sign multi-million dollar contracts with competing network Univision Radio. Univision.com
Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero can currently be heard on Univision's WRTO, Miami, La Kalle 98.3 FM for the time being. Luis Jiménez's and his morning show are being syndicated in various markets. Univision Radio returned both shows to their respective cities to take on SBS directly on early 2008. Mike Reyes, former producer for Enrique Santos & Joe Ferrero, is also currently awaiting the termination of his non-compete in order to return to radio also in early 2008
From March 22, 2007 to March 1, 2008, "El Zol 95 FM" was broadcasting New York's lackluster El Vacilón de la Mañana which is also being syndicated in Puerto Rico. Since March 3, 2008, El Zol started El Vacilón de Miami with Neo Encendido and Los Pichy Boys Alejandro González and Maikel Rodriguez from 6 to 10 pm on El Zol 95.7 The latter show was replaced in less than a year by Al Fuentes, former P.D. of various radio stations and Pio Ferro V.P of Programming of SBS. Soon after that, Pio Ferro's employment was terminated and that morning show has become a one-man show.
The Enrique and Joe Show (with sidekick and producer Mikey Machete) on Miami's La Kalle 98.3 FM, in less than a years time, has become the number one rated Tropical morning show in South Florida with ratings numbers reaching double digits. In May 2009 the dynamic duo of Miami radio split up and two shows were created. In the morning The Enrique Santos Show followed by Joe Ferrero y La Animalada (originally hosted for 5 months by Mikey Machete and ALbertico Rodriguez) on La Kalle 98.3FM. The station currently has 3 entertainment shows on all 3 day parts solidifying its current programing and image of entertainment and music station.
El Vacilón de Miami hosted by Al Fuentes continued to lag in 7th place on the top 10 Hispanic morning shows and overall in 15th place general market. In 2009 El Vacilóns and the station's ratings, in general, plummeted. Eventually, Mr. Fuente's declining numbers and lackluster programming skills were the main reason why he was let go.
In early spring 2010 changes started to take place in both radio stations and by mid year Enrique Santos was the only one from the original morning crew to be retained on 98.3's morning show as Univision restructured the station to fit Arbitron's new ratings methodology. The station now re-branded as MIX 98.3 assumed a more bilingual style programing and carbon copied Clear Channel's Mega 94.9's format in order to compete.
Joe Ferrero was let go by Univision Radio on June 4, 2010 along with Mikey Machete. In October 2010 Joe Ferrero consequently took over El Vacilón de la Mañana on Spanish Broadcasting System's (WXDJ) El Zol 95.7 FM with new co-host Albertito Rodriguez as his sidekick and female co-host Betzy Vazquez. Mikey Machete has since retired from radio and, according to rumors, is currently living in the Florida Keys. Update: 08/22/2011 - Joe Ferrero is no longer at SBS Miami he was let go for no apparent reason.
Overview
El Vacilón de la Mañana (roughly translated as the "Morning Party") has various key elements: prank callPrank call
A prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
s, musical parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, comedy sketches, humorous commentary about straight and odd news, and open telephone lines.
The program's key player is Luis Jiménez
Luis Jiménez
Luis Jiménez may refer to:*Luis Antonio Jiménez, Chilean football player*Luis Jiménez , Venezuelan baseball player*Luis Jiménez , Dominican Republic baseball player*Luis Jiménez , Mexican Olympic fencer...
(born on March 26, 1970 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
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...
), who has been its main host for more than twelve years. Jiménez co-hosts the broadcast with Raymond Broussard (born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 20, 1953, of Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
and Puerto Rican descent) and who uses the stage name Moonshadow.
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...
as a teenager, working as a part-time disc-jockey in various local radio stations. He later moved to Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, achieving some recognition there as a morning radio host after holding various odd jobs. He was referred to La Mega's management as a suitable candidate for hosting a Spanish-language radio show in New York City and moved there in 1993. The program's first airing occurred on August 9.
Jiménez modeled his show after El Bufeo Matutino (The Morning Goof), a successful radio program in Puerto Rico that lasted twenty-two years in its various inceptions, and always had Moonshadow as its main producer and host. Luis Jiménez cohosted the show with long time friend Junior Hernandez. Hernandez suffered from asthma, and died of a heart attack. Fans streamed to the station to pay tribute to Hernandez the Thursday night after his death; the popular radio personality was only 34 years old. After Broussard's move to New York City in 1997, and after the death of Hernandez's in 1998, the program had a succession of co-hosts, with Moonshadow joining the show for good in 2000. Moonshadow can claim poetic justice about the fact that WZNT-FM, also known as Z-93, (Puerto Rico's main salsa radio station), which was the same radio station who fired him for being too controversial, now airs El Vacilón de la Mañana to Puerto Rico in direct Internet audio feed from La Mega every morning after a management change (SBS currently owns both stations). The first audio feed to Puerto Rico occurred on February 9, 2004. The program has since gone into syndication by ABC Networks
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in a few Latino markets within the United States; the first syndicated airing to Orlando, Florida and other Latino markets occurred on January 9, 2006.
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's (with a very strong dose of Puerto Rican cultural elements), Jiménez's numerous original contributions give the show a unique pan-Latino flavor (its largest audience appears to be the Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Puerto Rican community in New York City). The result "out-Sterned" Stern's show, and El Vacilón's audienceship ratings surpassed Stern's for three years, until Stern's departure to satellite radio in 2005.
Jiménez and Moonshadow do not act alone: besides a sizeable audience participation, the show's announcers and assistant producers (called the Mequetrefes, or Whippersnappers) are key to the success of the show. This ragtag group feature a female traffic announcer (Carolina Cadillo, born in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n descent), a rather peculiar news announcer (Francis Méndez, born in Jarabacoa
Jarabacoa
Jarabacoa is a town and the second largest municipality in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic.- History :In 1805, during the Haitian invasion of the Cibao, survivors from the massacres of Santiago de los Caballeros and La Vega escaped to the mountains of the Cordillera Central and settled in the...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
), the show's main audio producer (DJ Chucky), its call screeners and production assistants (Tony Sánchez, Bocachula, El Papichulo, etc.), and the like. The show's executive producer, María Eugenia Alma, appears sporadically in the show, particularly as female singer and occasional phone call prankster.
Each member of the team is known for a perceived self-avowed defect or particularity: Luis Jiménez claims to have undersized genitalia and hypospadias
Hypospadias
Hypospadias is a birth defect of the urethra in the male that involves an abnormally placed urinary meatus...
, Moonshadow has an inguinal hernia
Inguinal hernia
An inguinal hernia is a protrusion of abdominal-cavity contents through the inguinal canal. They are very common , and their repair is one of the most frequently performed surgical operations....
but reportedly has the fastest tongue in American radio history; Francis Méndez is allegedly a former cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
addict who now suffers from erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
as a result, Carolina Cadillo is a proud nymphomaniac who speaks Spanish with a noticeable English accent (Spanish is her second language) and who has virtually no buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
, and so on.
Prank calls
Prank calls are usually presented in a section called ¡Caíste! (You Fell for It!), in which unwitting people are called to their homes or job places and are provoked with touchy subjects for the prank victims (generally, they are taunted with intimate subjects). These prank calls are made by request from friends or family of the victims. The most famous prank call victim on the show's history was a Dominican building superintendent given the moniker Manolo Cabeza 'e HuevoManolo Cabeza de Huevo
"Manolo Cabeza de Huevo" is a series of famous spanish prank calls made by the New York radio show El Vacilón de la Mañana ....
by Jiménez, who played the part of a viciously irate jealous husband. Manolo's enraged, expletive-laden response has become the most copied and broadcast anecdote in the show's history. Manolo's son Israel, who coordinated the phone call, was in turn pranked in another memorable call.
After the deportation of the section's producer, Rubén Ithier, also known as Rubén El Moreno, back to his country of origin, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
in late 2004, this section went into limbo for close to a year and a half. Prank reruns were (and are still) played on the section's regularly slotted time.
During the hiatus, the current cast tried to pull some pranks of their own with mixed success, including repeated Manolo Cabeza 'e Huevo pranks, perhaps the most successful after Ithier's departure.
The cast resumed production of regularly scheduled ¡Caíste! pranks in early 2006.
In a similar sidenote, the Miami programme is also known for its share of pranks. Its notoriety came with the ¡Caiste! jokes made to Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro (The former being pranked before the other) while using pre-existing tape conversations (for the former, it was with a conversation between Castro and then-Mexican President Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
, while for the latter, the snippets of the prank which was done on Chávez was used). Both pranks had Joe Ferrero pretending to be a sergeant in some army. Needless to say, while the reaction of the former victim was absolute silence, Castro replied after Ferrero tripped up his (Castro's) words ("¿Estás conforme con toda la mierda que has hecho en la isla, asesino?" ["Are you conformed with all the shit that you did on the island, murderer?"]) with a slightly peeved response: "¿En qué caí, comemierda? ¿En qué caí, maricón? ¿En qué caí, mari-cón-són?" ("What DID I fall in, shiteater? What did I fall in, queer? What did I fall in, you gay-fer?"). However, the FCC complained and slapped a fine to the two disc jockeys (Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero); both chose not to pay, relying instead on a penny-drive. Its (the programme's) second-funniest joke is one that is called ¡Píntame! (Paint me!), in which the two prank a painter by asking him "¿Usted es el pintor?" ("Are you the Painter?"), whereupon by using his response (which was always "¡Sí, yo soy el pintor!" ["Yes, I'm the painter!"]) they played a sample of Elvis Crespo
Elvis Crespo
Elvis Crespo , is a Puerto Rican-American Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning Merengue singer.-Early years:Crespo was born in New York City and was named "Elvis" after Elvis Presley...
's song "Píntame" (the first line of the song, to be exact: "Pintame', le dije yo al pintor"; "'Paint me', I told the painter"), thus aggravating the man and pissing him off even further, thus launching a tirade of Dominican insults. Another famous prank made by the 2 DJs was their "Gonzalo Créo" saga; the first joke of which, "La vieja puta" ("The Old Bitch"), revolved around Santos pranking a Cuban by making said Cuban believe that he was in a telephoned confession booth, whereupon the Cuban said that he was being stalked by the grandmother of a friend of his. When one of Santos's associates is heard, the Cuban is outraged, and hangs up on him, whereupon, we hear Santos saying that he didn't get a chance to ask for the Cuban's money; the rest of the prank (although it is funny) revolves around then trying to get the Cuban's money. More of the "Gonzalo Créo" jokes occurred, including "El Dolor del Vecino", using the same premise of pretense of a telephoned confession booth, which involves a man struggling with his apparent bisexuality. A lot of the prank calls made by Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero (During and after El Vacilón including the Enrique & Joe Show) have now been made available at EnriqueSantos.com but by far the largest amount of crank calls made by Enrique and Joe can be heard on their producer/sidekick's website www.MikeyMachete.com
Comedic characters
Luis Jiménez (and occasionally Moonshadow, who used to play all the comedic characters in his previous shows but has a more laid-back role on this one) play various characters in fifteen-minute segments on the show (usually three a day). Among them: Cornelio Toro, a naive store-owner whose wife has made a habit of being unfaithful to him with every man she comes in contact with while Toro fails to recognize it every time, even though he immediately knows when someone else is being cheated on (the name is a play on Spanish words: Cornelio sounds very much like "cuernudo", a cuckold, while Toro, or bull, evokes the bull's cuernos, or horns, the sign of the deceived man in Latin American culture); Jonathan Buford Rodriguez, better known as El Chulo, a gigoloGigolo
Gigolo may refer to:* A male prostitute, escort, or dancer, who offers services to women* Gigolo , a 2006 single by Helena Paparizou* Gigolo , a 2003 single by Nick Cannon...
who preys on geriatric women; El Chef Pipí, a parody on Cuban chef and Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
television personality José Hernández, better known as Chef Pepin
Chef Pepín
José Hernández, better known as Chef Pepín is a Spanish-language media personality and self-taught chef.-Overview:He was born in Matanzas, Cuba in 1948, where he grew up on a farm and learned to make cheese, sausages and dry beef from his mother and grandmother...
, being Chef Pipí's main trait his questionable masculinity; Rebeca Larica, a hyperventilating, gum-chewing woman who craves for male attention (played by Moonshadow); Dr. Héctor Tilla, a self-proclaimed medical doctor with very rude manners and a long history of malpractice lawsuits; Paca Garmentí and Silvia Penacho Chafrías; two civic-minded single women, both over 60 years-old, who love to bicker with each other (both names are plays on Spanish words: "Pa' cagarme en tí" is the informal way of saying "En tí me' cago", which means "I shit on you", while Silvia's name, whilst parts of it are normal, The clang comes with the word "chocha fría", which means something to the effect of "cold pussy"); Madam Melo (originally called Mamá Melo), a hyperkinetic Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
santería
Santería
Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
practitioner (both names are plays on sexual references: "Madam Melo" is a play on "mandamelo", which means "Fuck me", whilst "Mamá Melo" is a play on the insult "mamamelo", which means "Suck it (my dick) for me"); Goyito and Memin, two schoolkids (Memin being a straight arrow, while Goyito is a perennial foul-mouthed prankster) and Federico "Pedrito" Rivera Rodriguez, better known as Findingo, a chronic marijuana smoker with a strong speech impairment.
Some of the ideas behind these characters are not entirely original: Cornelio Toro is the updated version of Toribio Tauro, a similar television character played by Puerto Rican comedic actor Adrián García on Puerto Rican television (and provided with an accent closely resembling that of Don Pulula, one of José Miguel Agrelot
José Miguel Agrelot
Giuseppe Michael Agrelot , better known as José Miguel Agrelot, was a comedian, radio and television host and media icon in Puerto Rico...
's characters); El Chulo evolved from a real human being who was a production assistant for one of Puerto Rico's radio morning shows who had a liking for geriatric women (and became famously made fun of by being called El Chupaviejas by the show's hosts), and Dr. Hector Tilla was another one of moonshadow creations wild in the toylet. Goyito and Memin were originally created by Moonshadow after Pellín and Pillín, two animated characters from a Puerto Rican public service announcement, while Findingo's name was taken from a similarly named (although completely different) comedic character played by the Puerto Rican actor, René Rubiella; the original character shared a low intelligence quotient
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
with the newer one, besides the name. The parody on Chef Pepin was rumored to be hated by the parodied celebrity because of its homoerotic undertones, but this was dispelled recently when Chef Pepín himself was invited to participate in a racy sketch along its comedic counterpart, the result being a hilarious interaction between the two characters which Chef Pepín clearly enjoyed.
Special mention has to be made about a real "character" who happens to be a regular caller to the show, and as of October 2005 has joined the cast on a part-time basis. Metadona is a real-life reformed robber, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, who had a chronic drug addiction before rehabilitation. There are strong doubts about him being completely drug free, but he vows to have abandoned his criminal past for good. His slow delivery (evoking a chronically drug-induced state) and daring stories about botched robberies and juvenile pranks entitled him to the alias, which is the Spanish word for methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
. He has a habit of loudly opening a beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
can for breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
every time he calls.
Musical parodies
El VacilónReggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
artists, have parodied their own regular songs in the show (and therefore have contributed with their own material). A few English-language songs are also parodied, but mostly fragments of them.
Newer songs are introduced in a weekly section called El Joyón Musical (joyón can be an augmentative
Augmentative
An augmentative is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size, but also in other attributes...
for either the word joya (jewel), or joyo (an alternate spelling for hole, and Puerto Rican vulgar slang for anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
)). The songs are then placed in heavy rotation as filler between sections (and, in the Puerto Rico broadcast of the show, to cover local New York radio spots that are irrelevant to the Puerto Rican market).
Some listeners have complained these musical parodies take more show time than warranted. The authors of most of these parodies, DJ Chucky who is now part of The Luis Jiménez Show
The Luis Jimenez Show
The Luis Jiménez Show is New York City's number one Spanish language morning radio show . It is broadcast from X 96.3 new york and it is syndicated live to a number of different markets in the US Philadelphia,PA Tampa, Miami & Orlando, FL, New York, NY, Hartford, CT- History :During the first two...
and Gerpis Correa, also known as Shino/Aguakate.
The Miami Vacilón did their share of musical parodies, until the hosts Enrique and Joe left to Univision Radio. None of the new hosts capitalized on that aspect of the show, mostly for lack of production and talent. Both Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero continued to produce phenomenal parodies which dealt with political satire, current events, making fun of people, and even the City of Hialeah (Second largest city in South Florida, mostly Cuban). The parody sung, written and performed by Enrique Santos, "Sweet Home Hialeah", has been one of their most famous, locally. The video was shot on location in the City of Hialeah and has almost become its emblem. The lyrics were sung to "Sweet Home Alabama" but with a twist. (See YouTube)
News, straight and odd
Straight news are read and humorously discussed in the section called "Hablando Plepla" ("Talking Shit"; "Plepla" is a euphemism for fecesFeces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
).
The same is done for odd news in the section called Noticias Locas (Crazy News). Most are taken from the Odd News segment of Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
News.
Francis Méndez reads regular news at the top of the hour (not the same as Hablando Plepla), but injecting humorous slang phrases to the headlines. This goes in sharp contrast to the serious, almost dead-panned delivery of the show's sports announcer, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n-born Renato Murphy, as well as that of Cadillo's traffic report. The result is almost as odd as the Noticias Locas segment itself.
Open Lines
Lines are opened in a segment of the show for listeners to call in and tell their anecdotes, which are generally mishaps or sexual situations. Although many subject names are suggested, all calls wind up discussing the aforementioned situations. From Monday to Thursday, subjects are rotated, but the last two hours of Friday's show are devoted to randomly take calls on previous subjects, in the section called Lo Que Sobró de la Semana (What's Left of This Week).Listeners' calls tend to have a somewhat stringent quality control:
- Tony Sánchez, the program's call screener, has to judge the story as funny enough to be put on air. Then the call is broadcast on air, so the hosts can talk to the caller. Usually each call is given approximately three minutes of air time. If the story isn't funny enough (e.g., a weak punchline), or runs too long, the call is hung up to the tune of two different songs: A bolero parody which starts with the line Ay, Qué Historia Más Pendeja (Ugh, What a Stupid Story) for unfunny calls, and a "Charge" tune instrumentalized with the syllable "blah" for long calls.
- If callers start giving too much praise to Juan and Moonshadow, the cast will start singing a Puerto Rican bomba which starts Es Un Lambón (He's A Kiss-up)
- If the hosts judge a story as over-the-top, or an outright fabrication, the cast will start chanting Embustero, Embustero... (Liar, Liar...)
- If Tony Sánchez's judgement about a call produces a flat or otherwise uninteresting call, Jiménez chastises him on the air and physically strikes him (or so it seems). Many callers complain that Sánchez's judgement depends on his mood, on how well the anecdote is explained to him, or on the caller's gender. Tony Sánchez is considered a traitor by most of the audience since he and the rest of the "mequetrefes" betrayed Luis Jiménez and stole his show.
Discography
- 2001- Tortilla Party
- 2002- Vacilón 69
- 2003- Chant for Neta
- 2005- Sinñematográfico (Soundtrack)
- 2007- El Vacilón The Movie (DVD)