The salsero announcer and sports narrator Luis Guillermo ‘Guillo’ Droing Laboy He died today following a fire in his residence, in the Playa Community of Salinas, confirmed the mayor of that municipality, Karilyn Bonilla.
The Fire Commissioner, Marcos Concepción, told The new day that two fire units from Salinas and one from Guayama responded to a fire registered in a house of wood and zinc, in the morning hours.
“The residence was a total loss, the fire spread very quickly,” he said regarding the incident that was controlled and did not spread to other areas.
Droing Laboy’s body was found during authorities’ efforts to put out the fire.
The causes are still being investigated, in collaboration with the Explosives Unit.
The mayor of Salinas highlighted in a statement that the broadcaster born in Guayama on February 2, 1949, He was recognized and respected as one of the best entertainers of his generation on Puerto Rican radio. Also as a great connoisseur of Caribbean music, particularly salsa, a genre that he collaborated to promote in the South region through the various auditions that he created in Ponce WZAR 101.9 FM, whose programming he directed since 1974.
The communicator was also a presenter at events such as the Fania All Stars concerts and the 1981 Varadero International Festival in Cuba.
He began his professional life at Radio WHOY AM, in Salinas, in 1967, under the tutelage of Luis Antonio ‘Wito’ Morales. He later joined Radio WCPR AM, from Coamo, in which he came to occupy the position of Programming Director. He later achieved an executive position in the Ponce Broadcasting Corporation, a company that grouped the radio stations Radio WLEO AM and WZAR FM in Ponce, Radio WLEY AM in Cayey and Radio WKFE AM in Yauco.
Guillo Droing also produced salsa programs for radio stations in Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the United States, which he recorded in the studios of WZAR 101.9 FM. In 1981, Record World magazine honored him as one of the Most Outstanding Radio Personalities in Latin America. And, in 1989, he was awarded the Diplo Prize and the Paoli Prize for Most Outstanding Radio Programmer. In 2000, he suffered a stroke that forced him into retirement.
“Our condolences to his family, friends and all the fans who enjoyed the professional quality and knowledge of Guillo Droig. May he rest in peace,” Bonilla said.