Shanom (born Luis Antonio Vázquez) is a Puerto Rican personality whom reached the height of his popularity between the mid-1980s and 1990s. Shanom is best known for his musical parodies, comedy stunts and his political satire. His morning show 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. Shanom'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 forced to create countless parodies and bits that had to compete with the best in the business, this was probably what developed his comedy production style. Later he became the director of the show. Because Luis, had been a musician for most of his life, he had the added benefit of producing very convincing reproductions of the songs he parodied. As a radio producer he holds two outstanding distinctions: longest-running morning show at the number one spot in its market (WCMN, Delta) and as the "show with the most gimmicks and elements produced" to date. Also on this show he included numerous outstanding features that brought continued attention to the presentation such as a mentalist (ELSIE), who's predictions were 100% accurate, international stars and internet "firsts" that placed El Meneo at the top of pop culture at the time. As a musician Shanom has been very 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, but this remained however an underground phenomena, his main interest at the time seemed to be the radio parodies for which he was becoming an icon. It was through his radio show that the first ever commercially produced Latin rap album was aired and released when Prime Records hired a young artist known as Vico C. Prior to this, reggaeton and rap were only "street music" and part of the comedy bits presented by a character played by Shanom in his morning show. Shanom then went on to "make over" his personal presentations to include the new developing music. It was here that artists like "Dinamic two", "Vico-C", "Evy Queen" and Falo" found the very first outlets to bring their brand of music into the spot light. (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. This probably started as a gimmick when in the early 1990s any one who dared to enter the production studio would somehow end up in a parody or satire. That included even family members, (some remember his very young son playing some characters in the show) but mainly young aspiring students who later became active radio professionals. Some of Shanom's 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 salsa versions of Michael Jackson's songs. The Batman song was very successful and it led to a record label deal. The station's 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 America's 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 (censorship) of the radio station. Shanom updated the production of radio-novels (a audio comedy version of a Spanish soap opera) by creating the very first surround simulation over the airwaves, this technique won him an award as a production man but he has never revealed how it was done. Luis had a lot to do with the revolution of internet radio in PR. He 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 : Radio Actitud. This radio station has been re-broadcast live in Mexico and Perú and has helped launch the careers of various reggaeton artists. Today, Shanom remains one of the most familiar voices in the Caribbean and an authority in urban music styles. He currently works an adviser to radio stations in the island and the mainland. He produced a morning show with the international actor Braulio Castillo and co-produced a radio network dedicated to children. Shanom is considered an influential musician and continues to work with some of the best in the field producing Jazz and popular music as well. 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 currently directs WVID FM, co-produces the Mayagüez Jazz and the Puerto Rico Strongest People Search event. His production company serves media clients nationwide.