The Story of ‘El Mandril’: The Janitor That Became The Top Latino Radio Host In L.A.
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Listeners of the Spanish-language radio station KLAX-FM 97.9 La Raza have come to know and love the usual high-jinks and interviews with celebrities when they tune into Ricardo Sánchez’s show.
But it’s “El Mandril’s” rag-to-riches story on how he became the number one radio host in Los Angeles that makes him a fascinating Latino.
The story starts more than 20 years ago in Mexico City and at the very bottom: he was a janitor at a radio station. In June, the 47-year-old Mexican immigrant became the top-rated local morning radio host in Los Angeles, beating Ryan Seacrest and Rush Limbaugh – and most notably Spanish-language radio celebrity Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo.
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“I got the (janitor’s job) when I was working at a school – doing miscellaneous jobs,” Sánchez told Fox News Latino. “I had a wife and four kids and one did not have health care. So I asked a student to help me get a job.”
The student’s father was the director of a local radio station.
After a short while, Sánchez eventually saw the opportunity and became an ad salesman. And when an announcer did not show to record a commercial, he filled in. This soon led to Sánchez becoming a radio host, gaining fame at a station in Tijuana.
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There the station’s owner said Sánchez was in need of a nickname. A producer came up with “Mandril,” after the quick-witted mandrill in the Disney movie “The Lion King.”
“He said I was quick-witted in the radio booth,” Sánchez said. “I didn’t know what it was.”
But the nickname stuck and Sánchez’s show “El Show Del Rey Mandril” took off.
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“This was some 22 years ago,” he said.
Then came Juan Carlos Hidalgo, vice president of West Coast Programming for the Spanish Broadcasting System — the company that owns KLAX. Sánchez said Hidalgo was driving through Tijuana and heard him broadcasting.
“He turned around and waited for me to get out of work,” Sánchez said.
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Hidalgo told Sánchez he would do his best to get him on the radio in the U.S. — and he did.
In 2002, “El Mandril” crossed the border in San Diego and found work as a Hidalgo’s sidekick on KLAX.
“That first Christmas I was sitting on a bench watching a holiday parade and I was so sad because my kids and wife could not experience it with me — it was my first time seeing a holiday parade,” Sánchez said, recollecting about the early day in December. “Four years later, I was the Grand Marshall for the same parade.”
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Eventually Sánchez’s wife and four children joined him in the U.S., and when another station offered him a job with help getting a work permit, he jumped at the chance.
In 2007, Sánchez returned to KLAX and in the last three years began to climb in the ratings, most recently reaching No. 1 in both English and Spanish-language radio.
“Just this weekend we got the ratings back and we were still No. 1,” he said. “I feel very normal – I do give thanks to God (for the opportunity), but I feel pretty normal.”
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Sánchez attributes his humble nature to his family – especially his wife, who he says is very tranquil – “Her way of being helps me a lot,” he said.
“I feel very proud of being here,” Sánchez said. “I am flattered by all the attention I have received … we have worked hard to get here and we will continue to work hard.”
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