Type to search

General Biz News

Gossip TV personality Santarrosa walks off ‘SuperXclusivo’

Antulio “Kobo” Santarrosa alter-ego, “La Comay,” and sidekick Héctor Travieso during a recent airing of Puerto Rico's top-rated television show, “SuperXclusivo." (Credit: WapaTV.com)

Antulio “Kobo” Santarrosa’s alter-ego, “La Comay,” and sidekick Héctor Travieso during a recent airing of Puerto Rico’s top-rated television show, “SuperXclusivo.” (Credit: WapaTV.com)

About five weeks after becoming the target of an unprecedented boycott from a segment of Puerto Rico residents and advertisers, Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa the man behind the “La Comay” gossip puppet, allegedly walked off the show and the WAPA (Ch. 4) station late Tuesday.

Several sources confirmed to this media outlet that Santarrosa, who had conducted the island’s number one rated show for most of the past 12 years, quit after butting heads with WAPA executives over the decision to no longer air the “SuperXclusivo” gossip program live. However, management reportedly did not accept his resignation.

Santarrosa — who came back from vacation Monday — was also allegedly asked to cut back on his $4 million annual budget, which he refused, sources said.

Upon quitting, Santarrosa reportedly informed his staff of about 10 people that they no longer had jobs. Tuesday’s show was a rerun.

The whirlwind leading up to Tuesday’s events began in early December, when Santarrosa’s female alter-ego “La Comay” commented on the gruesome murder of 32-year-old former advertising executive José Enrique Gómez-Saladin, who was allegedly kidnapped, burned and beaten to death a few days earlier, after reportedly being forced to withdraw $400 from his bank account.

In his assessment of the incident, the gossip show’s creator questioned what the victim was doing cruising an area in the town of Caguas known for prostitution and drug trafficking and why he had allegedly allowed his attackers to get in his car.

His comments sparked an almost immediate social media frenzy and the creation of the “Boicot La Comay” Facebook page, which clamored for the cancellation of the island’s top-rated show, saying it promoted a “culture of hate and lack of solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico.”

Antulio "Kobbo" Santarrosa (Credit: Carlos Anguita)

Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa (Credit: Carlos Anguita)

Buckling under pressure
The group, which now has 76,000 members, pressed advertisers to no pull their sponsorships from the gossip program. Many who joined the unprecedented Facebook movement took exception to “La Comay’s” comments, which they said implied he had provoked his own death.

During the first two weeks of the boycott, major advertisers such as telecommunications companies Claro de Puerto Rico and AT&T Puerto Rico, insurer Triple-S, Lanco Paints, Vanilla Gift Card and Dish Networks — among others — quickly announced their decisions to drop “SuperXclusivo” from their media plans, cancelling ads on the show.

Based on its current rate card, this media outlet estimated WAPA would be losing about $1.3 million a week from the advertiser walkout.

Although station officials were unavailable Tuesday, late last month, WAPA President José “Joe” Ramos confirmed that as a result of the public outcry, “SuperXclusivo” would be taped several hours so that its content could be reviews and edited prior to airing.

The sources who spoke to News is my Business said Santarrosa rejected the change, saying it would constitute censorship.

Editor’s note: This story is developing. More information will be added as received.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
Tags:

3 Comments

  1. SWS January 9, 2013

    The comment made by “La Comay” regarding that case was nothing new; the police interviewed by reporters at the scene stated pretty much the same thing hours before “La Comay” aired that day. Only someone who did not watch the news was unaware of the suspicious circumstances surrounding the case.

    I can’t stand “La Comay”, but if one is going to be outraged by something “she” said, this should not be it.

    Reply
  2. gladys morales January 11, 2013

    gladys from orlando fl., LA COMAY WHAT A SHAME FOR P.R. KOBITO LO ESTAS HACIENDO MUY BIEN, ESTE SHOW TIENE QHE CONTINUAR ESTOY HABLANDO POR MUCHAS PERSONAS DE FLORIDA. EL JOE RAMOS QUE SE ACUERDE QUE EL NO ES BIEN QUERIDO ACA EN ESTADOS UNIDOS SON MUCHOS LOS COMPANEROS QUE TENIA ACA QHE NO LO PUEDEN VER. NO ES UNA PERSONA INTELIGENTE. WAPA ESTAMOS CELEBRANDO TU ENTIERO. KOBO RECUERDE QUE SU SHOW TIENE QUE SALIR EN TODOS LOS SITIOS QUE ESTABA ANTES. LO ESPERAMOS ANCIOSA MENTE. VENGA PARA ACA POR QUE AQUI SI QUE HAY LIBRE EXPRESION,. QUE MUCHA JENTE HAY EN P.R. INORANTES USTED NO A HECHO NADA MALO, DICE LAS COSAS COMO SON. LO QUEREMOS MUCHO, JOE RAMOS SE LE

    FUERON LOS HUMOS A LA CABEZA. KOBO RECUERDE QUE NO HAY MAL QUE POR BIEN VENGA. TODO EN ESTE MUNDO PASA PORQUE HAY UN PROPOSITO
    PERDONE MI ESPANOL ESPERO QUE ENTIENDA ESTSAS LINEAS, QUE DIOS LO VENDIGA PORQUE USTED ES BENDECIDO, Y MUCHAS MAS BENDICIONE VAN A VENIR PARA USTED.

    LO QUREMOS MUCHO , HEY HECTOR WE LOVE YOU TOO.

    Reply
  3. Carmen Garcia February 1, 2013

    no va aver otro programa mejor que la comay sr joe ramos la comay tiene muchos fans en philadelphia vuelvan a poner el programa

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *