Shanom

Shanom (born Luis Antonio Vázquez) is a Puerto Rican personality who reached the height of his popularity between the mid-1980s and 2000s. Shanom is best known for his musical parodies, comedy stunts and his political satire. His morning show , El meneo de la mañana, has been the only radio show to be aired in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland simultaneously.

Shanom had the second longest-running morning show in the island of Puerto Rico up to 2004 and has received countless distinctions for his radio work as well as his charitable work for the handicapped. Luis's stage name was "created" by another famous radio personality; José Vallenilla a.k.a. "Funky Joe" who hired him as an assistant producer for a popular morning show (El Meneo, WOYE FM, Cosmos 94) where, because of the nature of the presentation he was motivated to create countless parodies and bits that had to compete with the best in the business, which was probably what developed his comedy production style. Later he became the director of the show. Being a musician Luis, had the added benefit of producing very convincing reproductions of the songs he parodied and this became his signature. As a radio producer, he holds two outstanding distinctions: longest-running morning show at the number one spot in its market (WOYE FM and WCMN, Delta) and as "the most gimmicks and elements produced for a morning show" to date. Also on this show, he included numerous outstanding features that brought continued attention such as his Soap Opera's parodies, political musical satire, live gimmicks and presentations, and even a "mentalist" (ELSIE), whose predictions were 100% accurate at the time and gained momentum. International stars and many internet "firsts" placed El Meneo at the top of pop culture at the time. But it was Shanom's interviews and productions that impacted the most, gaining various features in the island news.

As a musician, Shanom has been influential in the development of what was then considered underground genres, such as reggaeton, Latin Rap, and tropical techno music. Influenced by Jose Vallenilla AKA; Funky Joe, he produced some of the first-ever "reggaeton" albums, a Puerto Rican insular genre that became known worldwide as an Urban Genre, but this remained underground at the time. He focused mainly on radio parodies for which he was becoming an icon in his market. It was through his radio show that the first ever commercially produced "Latin Rap" album was released when "Prime Records" a local company signed a young artist known as Vico C and it was picked up by a Spanish international Record Company. Shanom then went on to "makeover" his personal presentations to include the new developing genre and brought it to the mainlight. It was thru this that artists like "Dinamic two", "Vico-C", "Evy Queen" and Falo" found their very first outlets to bring their brand of music into the spotlight. (Without Vico C, Dinamic Two and Evy Queen the reggaeton genre would probably not exist.)

Shanom is credited for having launched the career of many radio professionals in the island, mainly young aspiring students who later became active radio professionals. Some of his most outstanding parodies include a song that was created for the then-upcoming movie "Batman" (La Baticueva) an original song that gained international attention and also the early salsa versions of Michael Jackson's songs. The Batman song was very successful and it led to a record label deal. Management decided that it was better to include various songs for which they asked "Wilfred Morales" who at the time was working as a co-producer in (WOYE)Cosmos, to re-create commercially the next parody which was beginning to take popularity: "Mi Abuela". This song became the most successful parody ever recorded in PR and was a hit in both The Americas and Europe. Shanom's parodies continued to impress the audience and that lead to yet another album, this time featuring most of Luis's work and out of the control of the radio station.

He produced a morning show with international actor "Braulio Castillo" and local diva Mirayda Chavez and co-produced a radio network dedicated to children. He is credited for introducing the very first surround simulation over the airwaves to complement his comedy productions, a technique that won him an award as a production man but he has never revealed how it was done. Luis was instrumental in the revolution of internet radio in PR. His group was the first to air an internet show in the island and had the most popular website for many years, using interactive techniques still fresh to this day. Shanom later paired with one of his students and launched a successful internet radio station dedicated to [reggaeton]: Radio Actitud. This radio station has been re-broadcast in FM radio in both Mexico and Perú and helped launch the careers of various reggaeton artists. Today, Shanom remains a most familiar voice in the Caribbean and an authority in urban music styles. Shanom is considered an influential musician and continues to work with some of the best in the field. He currently works an adviser to radio stations in the island and the mainland. Shanom belongs to the elite group of DJ's that is credited for having developed the new style of radio in America including (but not limited to)air personalities from Puerto Rico such as: Antonio Sánchez (El Gangster) José Vallenilla (Funky Joe), Pepe García, Billy Furket, Red Shadow, Franky Jay, Gilbert Merle, etc. And in the Mainland: Rick Dees, Paco Rabanne, Howard Stern, Ryan Seacrest, etc. Shanom co-produces the Mayagüez Jazz and the Puerto Rico Strongest People Search event.

References

• la Nueva Enciclopedia de Medios 2005, editorial Navarro, radio personalities
• Gilbert Merle
• El Meneo