Rumba Rumbles To Life With Santos, Banana

• At the end of May, iHeartMedia flipped WKAF/Brockton, MA from Throwback 97.7 The Beat to Latin Top 40 as Rumba 97.7, “#1 Para Reggaeton y Variedad en Boston.” The station, which has been rolling jockless since then, will soon get a serious personality boost with the debut of the top-rated Enrique Santos Morning Show weekdays from 6-10am, while Tony Banana will take the helm as PD and afternoon drive personality. Both moves are effective on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

“I’m incredibly psyched to bring our vibe to Boston mornings and add the voices of such an incredible and culturally rich city to our topics and family,” said Santos (left), who doubles as President and Chief Creative Officer of iHeartLatino. “With The Enrique Santos Morning Show listeners will wake up well-informed, with the best music and always the best vibes. Boston… Pa’lla Voy!”

Banana (right) is a format veteran who previously programmed WMEG (La Mega 106.9) and WQBS (Mix 107.7), both serving the San Juan, Puerto Rico area. He also worked for Univision Miami, where he co-hosted and produced the former PM drive show, El Jangueo, and produced the La Gozadera morning show. “For Hispanics, our family and our heritage are what matter the most regardless of where we are. Now in Boston, Rumba 97.7 is part of this family,” said Banana. “Our music, Hispanic representation and the needs of the community are Rumba’s priority and I’m excited and grateful to be able to serve our community through Rumba. Enrique Santos is a trailblazer and the nationwide voice of Hispanics on the radio and has earned the credibility and the love of his audience. His show, in addition to being entertaining, keeps us informed on important issues for the Hispanic community.”

Dylan Sprague, SVP of Programming for iHeartMedia Boston, commented, “We expect the Boston community to embrace Enrique and Tony as they did Rumba 97.7 when we launched earlier this summer. I’m excited to watch the station grow as Enrique and Tony entrench themselves in Boston’s Hispanic community.”