Sandra Zaiter (November 21, 1943 – September 25, 2022) was a Dominican-born Puerto Rican actress, children's television show host, singer, composer and athlete.

Early life and career

Zaiter was born in the Dominican Republic to

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the countr ...

s of Lebanese ancestry. Early in her life, she participated in church groups, and established her residence in Puerto Rico. Zaiter participated in the Puerto Rican production of ''Arriba la Gente''. Before she began her television career, Zaiter won the local

OTI Festival OTI Festival ( es, Festival OTI de la Canción, pt, Festival OTI da Canção), often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) ...

as a composer. Soon started, her television career took off in the late 1970s, when she began recording children's albums as a singer, as well as hosting the Puerto Rican version of ''

Romper Room ''Romper Room'' is an American children's television series that was franchised and syndicated from 1953 to 1994. The program targeted preschoolers (children five years of age or younger), and was created and produced by Bert Claster and his pr ...

'' on

WRIK-TV WSTE-DT (channel 7), branded on air as Teleisla, is a Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-language Independent station (North America), independent television station serving San Juan, Puerto Rico, that is licensed to Ponce, Puerto Ri ...

, until the station closed temporarily. She later moved to

WKAQ-TV WKAQ-TV (channel 2) is a television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, airing programming from the Telemundo and NBC networks. It is owned and operated by the Telemundo Station Group subsidiary of NBCUniversal. WKAQ-TV's studios are located on ...

, where she starred, produced, wrote, and hosted, alongside

Lou Briel Lou Briel (born October 19, 1954, Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer, composer, comedian, record producer, pianist, and host, among other things. Musical career Early years with Anexo 3 Lou Briel started his career at a very young ...

and Dagmar, a children's show called '' Teatrimundo'', and later ''

Telecómicas Telemundo Kids (in borrowed its name from Telemundo's 1995-1998 Saturday morning block Telemundo Infantil) is a former American children's programming block that airs on the Spanish-language television network Telemundo, which debuted on Octob ...

''. She was the spokesperson for the

Muscular Dystrophy Association The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with Neuromuscular disease, neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular ...

(MDA) in Puerto Rico, and a sponsor of the association's telethon. In the 1990s, Puerto Rican actress and producer

Ángela Meyer Ángela Meyer (born August 2, 1947) is a Puerto Rican actress, comedian, producer of television and theatrical works, and politician. Meyer is the founder and/or co-founder of various entertainment production companies. Among the production compani ...

wrote and produced a drama mini-series based on Zaiter's life, titled ''Gaviota de la Esperanza'' (''Seagull of Hope'') and broadcast by

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with prog ...

. Zaiter hosted a weekly show on

WIPR-TV WIPR-TV (channel 6) is a non-commercial educational public television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, owned by the '' Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública'' (English: Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation). While WIPR- ...

called ''Contra Viento y Marea'' (''Against Wind and Tide''), aimed to provide guidance and assistance to the disabled. Zaiter did many public appearances throughout her life, and participated in the yearly presentation of the Sandra Zaiter Award to those who have distinguished themselves helping the disabled. The studio where '' Día a Día con Raymond y Dagmar'' is broadcast at WKAQ-TV in Puerto Rico is named after Zaiter since the premiere of the mid-day show in 2007.

Paralyzed by accident

Zaiter was an experienced diver and swimmer until suffering a life-threatening accident in the 1970s after misjudging the depth of the water at night, hitting her head on a rock during a dive at a beach in

Fajardo, Puerto Rico Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

. The accident paralyzed her, and she used a wheelchair since.

References

Sources

External links

Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaiter, Sandra 1943 births 2022 deaths Puerto Rican Maronites 20th-century Puerto Rican actresses Puerto Rican women composers Puerto Rican composers 20th-century Puerto Rican women singers Puerto Rican people of Lebanese descent Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Puerto Rican television personalities Dominican Republic emigrants to Puerto Rico Dominican Republic people of Lebanese descent

Early life and career

Paralyzed by accident

See also

References

Sources

External links