Yoyo Boing
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Luis Antonio Rivera (April 9, 1930 – November 30, 2023), also known as "Yoyo Boing", was a Puerto Rican actor, comedian and television show host, who was also one of the pioneers of Puerto Rican television.


Early years

Rivera Benítez was born in
Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a Humacao barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Yabucoa; south of Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Naguabo; east of Las Pi ...
on April 9, 1930 to Juan Antonio Rivera and Josefa Benítez Ortíz. His parents moved to Santurce, where he spent his childhood and adolescence, from Humacao when he was only three years old. After receiving his primary education, Rivera attended the "Escuela Superior Central de Santurce" ( Central High School of Santurce). He found a part-time job at a local radio station which opened the doors to a new world for him.Rivera's bio entry on the Puerto Rican National Foundation for Popular Culture's website
/ref> Rivera became a member of the Drama Department of the
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
. As a drama student, he participated in two of
René Marqués René Marqués (October 4, 1919 – March 22, 1979) was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright. Early years Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo. He developed an interest in writing at a ...
' plays. Having a deep baritone voice he also became a radio presenter. His radio station dramatized comedy sketches, and one of the producers suggested dramatizing
Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...
over the radio. Due to the lack of audiovisual references for the characters at the time, there were no clear cut ways of representing the characters in Spanish, nor there were exact translations for their names. Rivera came up with the name of ''Yoyo Boing'' for representing Jughead; the name "Yoyo" sounded close to "Jughead", and the "Boing" part was a gimmick Rivera developed for the character: a vocalized "boing" that he constantly repeated to fill in silence gaps during each episode. Ever since his Archie stint on Puerto Rican radio, Puerto Ricans rarely refer to Rivera using his real name, and usually refer to him by his by-now "nickname".


Pioneer in Puerto Rican television

1954 was the year that television was born in Puerto Rico. Rivera, together with
Tommy Muñiz Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (4 February 1922 – 15 January 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneering figures of ...
, José Miguel Agrelot and
Paquito Cordero Paquito Cordero (October 16, 1932 – June 30, 2009) was a Puerto Rican comedian and music and television producer. He is considered a pioneer of Puerto Rican television. Early years Cordero (birth name: Francisco Cordero Baez) was born to ...
was one of the first comedians in Puerto Rican television. In 1960, he starred alongside
Norma Candal Norma Daniela Candal Penedo (April 10, 1927 – February 5, 2006), was a Puerto Rican actress and comedian who was best known for her role as Petunia on ''La criada malcriada''. Early years Norma Daniela Candal Penedo was born in 1927 in Fajard ...
(Petunia) in a television comedy called "''La Críada Malcríada''" (The Rude Maid). In the 1970s, Rivera starred in own
sit-com A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent setting, such as a home ...
called "''Mi Hippie Me Encanta''" (I'm Crazy about My Hippie) 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 a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
. In the 1980s, Rivera starred in the situation comedies, "''Generaciones''", (Generations), with
Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce, better known under the stage name Chayanne, (born June 28, 1968) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making him one of ...
, "''Los Suegros''" (The In-Laws) and later in a spin-off of that show called "''Los Suegros y Los Nietos''" (The In-Laws and the Grandchildren), broadcast by
WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the flagship and namesake station of Guaynabo-based WAPA Media Group. WAPA-TV maintains studio facilities on Luis Vigoreaux Avenue ...
. Rivera was also the General Manager of radio stations WKBM-AM ("AM 81") and WORO-FM ("Radio Oro", or Golden Radio), the radio branches of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan The Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church– comprising the northeast portion of the island of Puerto Rico. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Dorado ...
. Various media producers arranged for many Puerto Rican performers to tour New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Rivera was one of these. As fate would have it, one particularly chilly evening Rivera and
Bobby Capó Félix Manuel "Bobby" Rodríguez Capó (January 1, 1922 – December 18, 1989) was a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. He usually combined ballads with European classical music, classical music and was deeply involved in Puerto Rican folk ...
were exiting a performance outside the ''
Teatro Puerto Rico The Teatro Puerto Rico was a music hall focused on the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino community in the Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx in New York City. During the 1940s to 1950s it presented ''la farándula, ...
'' and were looking for a place to eat. While waiting for public transportation, Rivera told Bobby Capó two jokes. These two jokes, reinterpreted by Capó and set to music, became two major musical hits: ''"El Negro Bembón"'', for
Rafael Cortijo Rafael Antonio Cortijo Verdejo (December 11, 1928 – October 3, 1982) was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, composer and percussion instrument craftsman. Early career As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and en ...
and his Combo (sung by
Ismael Rivera Ismael Rivera a.k.a. "Maelo" (October 5, 1931 – May 13, 1987), was a Puerto Rican composer and salsa singer. Early life Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a sector of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the first of five children born to ...
), and ''"El Caballo Pelotero"'', a smash hit for
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...
(original version sung by Pellín Rodríguez). For years, Rivera co-hosted "El Show del Mediodía", a midday variety show, on WAPA-TV alongside
Luis Vigoreaux Luis Vigoreaux Rivera (April 12, 1928 – January 17, 1983) was a Puerto Rican radio and television show host, announcer, comedian and producer. Vigoreaux was considered a pioneer in the television business in Puerto Rico, and enjoyed success ...
. After Vigoreaux was murdered early in 1983, Rivera became the show's main host, position in which he performed for several years afterwards.


Later years and Death

In the 1990s, Rivera wrote a book titled "A Reír Con Yoyo" (Let's Laugh with Yoyo) and donated all of the proceeds to an
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
organization. He was also active in a television show called "''Desde Mi Pueblo''" ("From My Town") for
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). Most of t ...
(San Juan's channel 6), where he would visit every town and city and show all of the interesting aspects of the featured place. His co-hosts on the program were
Deborah Carthy-Deu Deborah Carthy Deu (born January 5, 1966) is a Puerto Rican actress, television host and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1985. She was the second Puerto Rican to win Miss Universe since Marisol Malaret in 1970. Early life Deborah Ca ...
, Maria Falcon and
Tony Croatto Hermes Davide Fastino Croatto Martinis (2 March 1940 – 3 April 2005), better known as Tony Croatto, was an Italian singer and composer best known for his interpretations of Spanish folkloric songs and music from Puerto Rico. His musical care ...
. After José Miguel Agrelot's sudden death in 2004, the remaining co-hosts on Agrelot's long-running radio show ''"Tu Alegre Despertar"'', (Your Cheerful Wake-Up), Aurora Previdi and María Falcón, asked the radio audience to select a permanent replacement for Agrelot from a round of temporary co-hosts. Rivera won the assignment; given the wishes of Agrelot's family to achieve some closure, the program changed its name to ''"Contigo en el tapón"'' ("Along With You In The Traffic Jam") and changed its format slightly. Rivera remained as a popular co-host, filling Agrelot's considerably large shoes. He also hosted a daily program of Puerto Rican music classics at ''Allegro''
WIPR-FM WIPR-FM (91.3 MHz), branded on-air as Allegro 91.3, is a radio station broadcasting a classical format, but the station also broadcasts some NPR programs. Licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the station is currently owned by la Corporación de ...
. Puerto Rican writer
Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...
wrote a performance novel using the Yoyo Boing nickname as a title with some punctuation added: "''
Yo-Yo Boing! ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) is a postmodern novel in English, Spanish, and Spanglish by Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. The cross-genre work is a structural hybrid of poetry, political philosophy, musical, manifesto, treatise, memoir, and dr ...
''". Featuring a tinted photo of Rivera with superimposed X-ray specs for the book's jacket, the comic bilingual novel has very little to do with Rivera himself, but does feature a dream sequence inspired by childhood memories of the roles he played. By the 2000s, Rivera was retired from television but making special appearances. He was the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the locally produced movie for television "'' Santa Clos es
Boricua Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '' Borinqueños'', '' Borincanos'', or '' Puertorros'', are an ethnic group native to the Caribbean archipelago and island of Puerto Rico, and a nation i ...
''" (Santa Claus is Puerto Rican) which was telecast in Puerto Rico and the United States through Televicentro on December 20, 2004. Since the early 2010s Rivera, who celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2020, was the host and producer of the popular radio talk show Tus Compañeros Del Tapón, a daily afternoon program on 940AM,
WIPR (AM) WIPR (940 kHz), branded on-air as “Deportes 940 AM”, is a public, non-commercial AM radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the station is owned by the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporatio ...
. In 2020, Rivera suffered a stroke. A successful fundraiser was organized by a local journalist to provide Rivera with a power
wheelchair lift A wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, or vertical platform lift, is a fully powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier. Wheelchair lifts can be installed in ...
. He died from heart disease at the Hospital del Maestro in
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Hato Rey ( Spanish for ''king’s cattle farm''), often considered the central business district of Puerto Rico, is a highly urbanized financial, commercial, and residential district in San Juan, the capital municipality of the archipelago a ...
on November 30, 2023, at the age of 93.Primera Hora: Spanish Newspaper
/ref>


See also

*
List of Puerto Ricans This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
*
Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...
, author of ''Yo-Yo Boing!'', the novel.


References


External links


Rivera's bio entry on the Puerto Rican National Foundation for Popular Culture's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Luis Antonio 1930 births 2023 deaths American television talk show hosts People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican comedians Puerto Rican male stage actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican radio personalities Puerto Rican television hosts Puerto Rican television personalities Television pioneers University of Puerto Rico alumni