 |
| Ricardo Sanchez (LA Times) |
Ricardo Sanchez was a young radio host in Ensenada when the station owner decided that
he was a guy in need of a nickname. A producer was put on the case.
According to a profile in Sunday’s LA Times, the producer
stared through the studio window as Sanchez — short and pudgy, not exactly
early Ricardo Montalban — worked. He listened to Sanchez's voice, took a stroll
to the garden and had a smoke, deep in thought.
"I have your name now," the producer told him the
next day, snapping his fingers. "You're a mandrill!"
And that's how Sanchez became a baboon-like monkey: El
Mandril.
It's a nickname to keep anyone humble, but El Mandril is on
a roll that would challenge anyone's humility. In June, the 47-year-old Mexican
immigrant became the top-rated local morning radio host, beating Ryan Seacrest
and Bill Handel/Rush Limbaugh — and, most notably, Spanish-language radio
celebrity Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo.
He was at home this summer when one of his sons told him
that he was the new No. 1 radio host. At first, Sanchez said he thought he meant he had the No. 1
Spanish-language show.
"He said, 'But also in English. You came out No. 1,'
" Sanchez recalled. "I said, 'Ay caray!' I had not imagined the
magnitude of how well we'd done."
Sanchez has gotten even more attention since media giant
Univision fired Piolin Sotelo in August. His show has replaced Sotelo's in
several markets and his rise has been contrasted with the ratings drop Piolin experienced. Sanchez
said people often ask him what he thinks about Piolin and his firing.
"I think they expect me to say something bad about
him," he said. "But I have nothing to say. People think we hang out
on weekends and party. But we've said 'hi' in my life like three times and just
for a few minutes. I wish him well."
No comments:
Post a Comment