Autor: Pedro Julio Serrano

By Tanzina Vega
The New York Times

It’s been a bad few months for puppets in the media.

In October, Big Bird was dragged into the presidential debate over PBS funds and in November, Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo, left Sesame Street after allegations that he had sex with minors.

The latest puppet scandal involves a gossipy, big-haired crone puppet in Puerto Rico, known as La Comay, who has become one of the most controversial media figures on the island — and one of the most watched. On a recent show, the puppet commented on the murder of a 32-year-old publicist by pointing out that the victim was in an area frequented by prostitutes and wondered whether he was “asking for this.”

The reaction was swift. A Facebook page calling for a boycott of La Comay has drawn more than 72,000 signatures, and prominent advertisers like Walmart and AT&T withdrew their ads from “SuperXclusivo,” the program that features her.

The outrage was in part because of fears over a growing crime wave on the island and a reaction to La Comay, a puppet version of the television program “TMZ” with gossipy segments about celebrities, politics and crime.

La Comay (roughly translated as “the godmother”) was created by Antulio Kobbo Santarrosa, a former comedian and television personality. Since 1999 the show has been broadcast on WAPA Television, an independent Puerto Rican network owned by the private equity firm InterMedia. Before WAPA, Mr. Santarrosa had shows with similar characters on other networks including Telemundo.

“SuperXclusivo” is broadcast on the island but also on the mainland in states with large Puerto Rican populations like New York and Florida. On the hourlong show, La Comay frequently asks viewers to call her show with crime tips, which producers investigate. “We tried to use her to bring out issues that other mediums would not touch,” said Jose E. Ramos, the president of WAPA.

In the last Puerto Rican race for governor, two of the candidates visited the show the night before the election, Mr. Ramos said. “People will report incidents and things that happen on the island to La Comay instead of going to the police and going to the newspapers,” he said.

“She ensures that the police and the government cover the main issues and are on top of the issues, and she does it in a way that is very entertaining, that’s what offends some people,” Mr. Ramos said.

In an e-mail, Mr. Santarrosa said: “We respect our audience and it was never my intention to offend anyone with the information we presented, which had already been presented in other media.” The comments were similar to the ones made by La Comay on her show in the days after the controversy where she tried to apologize to the audience.

The uproar began when, on Dec. 4, “SuperXclusivo” featured a segment on the publicist José Enrique Gómez Saladín, whose disappearance had been extensively covered by local media. On Nov. 29, according to published reports, Mr. Gomez Saladín attended a meeting in San Juan and then called his wife to tell her he was on his way home.

Instead, Mr. Gomez Saladín’s body was found four days later. He had been doused with gasoline, burned and then bludgeoned to death. The case is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office in Puerto Rico. Four people were arrested on Dec. 4 in connection with the crime. They have been charged on two counts, carjacking resulting in murder and bank fraud. A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday. The crime, which came less than two weeks after the shooting death of the boxer Hector Camacho, rattled the island.

After the news of the murder, residents began a social media protest for peace called “Todos Somos José Enrique” (We are all José Enrique).

Details of what happened that night remain unclear, with some reports saying Mr. Gomez Saladín had been a victim of a carjacking. But in her Dec. 4 segment, La Comay raised another issue: Mr. Gomez Saladín was on Padial Street in Caguas, a town near San Juan. The street, La Comay said, is “a center of male and female prostitution.”

Couching her statements with the phrase “apparently and allegedly,” La Comay asked, “Was this man, José Enrique, asking for this?” Of the four suspects in the case she asked, “Was he friends with these people? Did he used to be a client of these people?” At the end of her remarks she called for Puerto Rico to reinstate the death penalty.

The remarks created protests against the puppet, her show and the network.

“We didn’t know that this was going to explode the way it did,” said Carlos Rivera, an unemployed I.T. specialist from Puerto Rico who created the Facebook page calling for the boycott of La Comay by advertisers and viewers.

Mr. Ramos of WAPA said the boycotts have not hurt the show’s ratings. “If anything they have increased,” he said. “People want to see what’s going on.”

This was not the first time that La Comay has faced opposition over comments. “This is not a new problem,” said Pedro Julio Serrano, a human rights activist and spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, who described La Comay and her show as “sexist, misogynist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic.” Mr. Serrano said Mr. Santarrosa uses La Comay “to hide himself and defame public figures and private citizens.”

Melissa Mark-Viverito, a city councilwoman in East Harlem, a neighborhood with a large Puerto Rican population, recalled previous protests in her remarks to the City Council on Dec. 10. In 2010, Ms. Mark-Viverito and other politicians petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the language used on the show. “People are really organizing in a way that is unprecedented on the island.” she said. “It’s time to end this.”

Mr. Ramos said the station did not “condone anything that promotes violence.” And he acknowledged that La Comay was “a very controversial figure” that, despite all of her detractors, also had many supporters. (Facebook pages and Twitter accounts have been created by supporters who have posted photos with the phrase “Todos Somos La Comay” or “We are all La Comay.”)

Mr. Ramos said the network was going to scrutinize La Comay’s talking points more closely because of the boycott. (She does not use a script.) Mr. Ramos said the company tends to review in advance anything that could be considered controversial but that in the case of Mr. Gómez Saladín, it had not.

Mr. Ramos said he respected the decision of the advertisers that had removed their commercials from the show.

He agreed that maybe it was time to consider whether the benefits of keeping La Comay on television outweighed drawbacks. “I can assure you that I think of that a lot, the owners of WAPA think of that,” he said. “There has to be a breaking point where you say is this really worthwhile?”

Acabo de tener una de las travesías en taxi más maravillosas de mi vida.

Por casualidad, me recogió Alan, un taxista nacido en China, pero de padre camerunés.

Alan dejaba a un pasajero y el taxi que había solicitado por teléfono para que me llevara al aeropuerto no llegaba, así que le pedí a Alan que me llevara.

En el taxi, me preguntó a dónde iba, le dije que a Puerto Rico para trabajar en algunos proyectos. Me dijo que el 25 de diciembre regresa a Camerún por primera vez en 20 años. Acaba de recibir su “green card” o tarjeta de residente en los EEUU. Su primer viaje es para ver a sus más de 25 herman@s y el resto de su familia que sólo lo conocen por fotos.

Su padre falleció hace 3 años, pero en vida fue luchador por la independencia de su patria. Tuvo que huir como refugiado político y se llevó a su hijo Alan con él. Vivieron en varias partes de Europa y Africa, hasta que pudieron volver unos pocos años a Camerún cuando se independizó.

Alan lleva viviendo en EEUU más de 20 años, específicamente en Nueva York. Es soltero, no tiene hij@s, vive solo y no tiene ningún familiar en este país. Va a reencontrarse con su familia paterna ahora – el 25 – Día de Navidad.

Regresará a NY y a los tres meses, se reencontrará con su madre y familia china, a quienes no ve desde sus 18 meses de nacido. Ella tiene recuerdos de él, Alan no tiene recuerdos de ella; pues cuando se separaron su padre quería protegerlo por la turbulencia política y se lo llevó.

Alan tiene 42 años, ha vivido solo la mayoría de su vida y ha estado huyendo siempre – sobreviviendo y haciéndose solo. No sabe de dónde es, no se siente parte de una ciudad que aún con tanta gente, uno puede estar tan solo.

En momentos en que una tragedia indescriptible como la que sucedió ayer en Connecticut – con más de 18 niñ@s asesinad@s; en momentos en que Puerto Rico y el Mundo viven una intolerancia y una violencia desmedidas que parecen no tener fin; en momentos en que algun@s dan por sentado la dicha que tienen – familia sobre todo; llega Alan y en 20 minutos me cuenta la desgarradora historia de su vida, pero me desmuestra que a pesar de haber estado solo toda su vida, jamás dejó de amar.

Sus últimas palabras antes de bajarme del taxi fueron: “estos dos viajes me permitirán, por fin, encontrarme a mi mismo y empezar a saber quien soy y quién es mi gente. He estado solo toda mi vida, pero por fin voy a sentir que pertenezco a algún lugar, que soy parte de una familia, que mi vida tiene sentido”.

Gracias Alan por recordarme lo importante que es amar – incondicionalmente – sin esperar nada a cambio; a tener paciencia y esperanza; a que cada persona tiene derecho a reafirmar su identidad para reafirmar su dignidad.

A Alan en su nuevo camino, le deseo felicidad. Al Mundo, le deseo paz. A la humanidad, le deseo amor. Amémos, amémos, amémos… ♥

By CRISTINA COSTANTINI (@xtinatini)

On Thursday night’s episode of The Daily Show, comedian Wyatt Cenac ended his four-year run as one of the show’s correspondents with a segment about a news and gossip show in Puerto Rico called SuperXclusivo, essentially praising its work. But Cenac’s report neglected to mention that there is currently a controversy brewing on the island surrounding the show.

Super Xclusivo, which has long been the commonwealth’s highest-rated TV show, came under fire last week after co-host Hector Travieso and co-host puppet, La Comay (voiced by Kobbo Santarrosa) hinted that a brutal murder on the island may have partially been the victim’s fault because he may have been soliciting a prostitute. The show defended itself, saying it was simply repeating news reported in the island’s newspapers.

But more than 50,000 Puerto Ricans joined a Facebook group to boycott the show in less than 24 hours, and a handful of companies including Walmart and AT&T have pulled their advertising from the show in response. The group has now grown to 70,000 Facebook members and organizers say they won’t stop fighting until the show is removed from the airways.

See Also: Could Social Media Fight Crime In Puerto Rico?

Critics of SuperXclusivo, including spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Pedro Julio Serrano, say that «bullying and hate» have long been the «trademarks of SuperXclusivo.» Serrano says that the show has had anti-gay and racist undertones for many years, and that Puerto Ricans are sick of it. WAPA TV and SuperXclusivo did not respond to requests for comment regarding the boycott.

A number of prominent members of the Puerto Rican community, including singer Ricky Martin and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) have joined the movement to boycott the program.

But none of this was part of Cenac’s broadcast. Instead, he focused his report on the life-sized puppet, La Comay (slang for comadre), framing her as «Puerto Rico’s most trusted journalist.» In the segment, Cenac turns into a puppet himself, and pleads with La Comay to «teach [him] to be a better journalist.»

The Daily Show did not respond to a request for comment about whether the program knew about the boycott, or if the segment was perhaps recorded before the movement started last week. But Renata Luczak, a spokesperson for Comedy Central, which airs the show, wrote in an email that The Daily Show staff is on hiatus until January 7th.

The Latino Rebels, a blog which offers commentary on topics of importance to U.S. Latinos, expressed frustration at the glaring omission in what they call a «fluff piece» about the popular Puerto Rican show.

«You would have thought someone on The Daily Show could have paused for a minute and rethought the timing of the segment,» the Latino Rebels noted, adding that it was possible that the Comedy Central show wasn’t aware of the controversy. «In this case, [The Daily Show] could have done a bit more homework about La Comay.»

El activista de derechos humanos Pedro Julio Serrano anunció que se estará uniendo mañana a la marcha «Todos Somos José Enrique» e invitó al pueblo a unirse desde las 2 de la tarde partiendo desde el Colegio San José en Villa Blanca, Caguas y llegando hasta la Plaza de Caguas, donde se encuentra la antigua Casa Alcaldía de dicho municipio.

«Estaré viajando a Puerto Rico para participar de esta marcha, pues como bien expresara Nadya Ruiz, la viuda de José Enrique, ‘todos somos José Enrique, todos somos Juan Carlos, todos somos Yexeira, todos somos Karla Michelle, todos somos Lorenzo, todos somos Steffano, todos somos Puerto Rico… y los buenos somos más’. Todos somos parte de Puerto Rico, aquí y allá, por lo que nos corresponde a todos buscar la paz para nuestra patria», aseveró Serrano.

El portavoz de Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, organización que lucha por la igualdad de derechos y la inclusión de las comunidades lésbica, gay, bisexual, transgénero y transexual (LGBTT), invitó al pueblo a que se una a esta convocatoria por la paz y la dignidad en Puerto Rico. Anunció, además, que desde el mediodía habrá transportación desde la Plaza hasta el punto de partida de la marcha, el Colegio San José.

Hoy se cumple una semana desde el inicio del Boicot a La Comay. En una semana hemos logrado mucho – muchísimo.

En una semana, se han unido más de 70,000 personas a la página de Facebook y más de 4,000 personas en Twitter. Además, más de 17,000 personas han firmado una petición pidiendo la cancelación del programa. Cientos se han tirado a la calle para protestar y exigir el fin de la transmisión de La Comay. Y hasta tenemos una página creada por uno de nuestros miembros Eric «Cirex» Ortiz donde están todos los enlaces de este movimiento: www.boicotalacomay.com. Riega la voz…

En una semana, más de 30 anunciantes se han retirado o desvinculado de SuperXclusivo. Los ratings han bajado significativamente. Mientras, decenas de medios nacionales e internacionales han cubierto nuestra lucha.

En una semana, figuras internacionales y glorias de nuestra patria como Ricky Martin y René Pérez se han unido a este reclamo.

En una semana, los congresistas boricuas Luis Gutiérrez y Nydia Velázquez; así como la concejal municipal de Nueva York Melissa Mark-Viverito han alzado su voz.

En una semana, entidades como el Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social, la Asociación de Psicología y el Consejo General de Estudiantes de la UPR se han solidarizado con este movimiento. Además, desde EE.UU. la Coalición Nacional Puertorriqueña Inc. (NPRC, por sus siglas en inglés), la Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos (LULAC, por sus siglas en inglés), la Coalición Hispana para los Medios de Comunicación (NHMC, por sus siglas en inglés), la Conferencia Nacional de Mujeres Puertorriqueñas, Inc. (NACOPRW, por sus siglas en inglés) y el Caucus Nacional Hispano de Legisladores Estatales (NHCSL por sus siglas en inglés) se unieron al boicot.

En una semana, organizaciones, activistas, figuras públicas; en fin, miles y miles de personas en su carácter individual y también colectivo – han dicho presente en esta lucha por nuestra dignidad como pueblo.

En un marcado contraste, las disculpas – falsas, obligadas, tardías y a medias – de Kobbo Santarrosa a través de su personaje de La Comay, no cejaron, ni minaron el empeño de esta lucha. Tampoco las creímos, pues este pueblo ha visto como ha pedido disculpas en el pasado y vuelve a las ofensas.

Tampoco el intento de Joe Ramos, presidente de WAPA TV, de minimizar este movimiento al llamar «emocionales» a las reacciones de los anunciantes y del pueblo no dio resultado. Y no le funcionó porque somos un pueblo que siente, que se solidariza, que no le echa la culpa a la víctima por su propio asesinato.

La realidad es que son cientos de miles de interacciones en las redes, en las calles y en las oficinas que han logrado lo que nadie jamás pensó: poner en jaque a uno de los programas que más incita al odio, a la división, a la intolerancia y a la violencia en nuestro País.

Y sobre todo, quedó claro que este movimiento NO busca la censura.

Como bien expresó la reconocida periodista Wilda Rodríguez, «un boicot no es censura y una solicitud de retiro de un programa de televisión tampoco lo es. Es una reclamación legítima de parte de un sector que se considera ofendido por el contenido del mismo. Es oposición y no consentimiento al insulto gratuito. Es exigir una prueba de respeto. Eso no es censura. Es reivindicación.»

Si quieres leer el artículo completo, puedes ir a este enlace.

Quedó claro, además, que respetamos el derecho a la libre expresión, pero ese derecho NO es absoluto, tiene consecuencias.

Esa libertad – ese derecho – no puede poner en peligro a otras personas, ni mucho menos ser utilizada para degradar, mancillar, humillar o violentar la dignidad de nadie. Esa dignidad no es negociable.

La dignidad – de cada un@ de nosotr@s – está protegida por la Constitución de Puerto Rico. Esa dignidad es inviolable – y la inviolabilidad no permite excepción.

Las luchas – y las reivindicaciones – no se dan de un día para otro. Y esta lucha se lleva dando por más de 15 años. Son muchas – demasiadas – las vidas afectadas por Kobbo Santarrosa – y por permitirlo, WAPA TV.

Sin embargo, han sido muchas las batallas ganadas en esta lucha, pero llegó el momento de la verdad. Llegó el momento de acabar con este mal que corroe a nuestra gente, que contamina a nuestra patria.

Somos un pueblo amoroso, respetuoso, valiente, sensible, solidario, pero sobre todo digno. Y estamos demostrando con esta lucha que son ésas las cualidades y valores que a este pueblo le sobran.

Llegó la hora de decir BASTA YA. Puerto Rico se merece un futuro libre de La Comay. Pa’lante, mi gente… ♥

By CRISTINA COSTANTINI (@xtinatini)

Puerto Ricans worried about the island’s high crime rates are posting on Facebook, tweeting, and Instagramming for change at a dizzying pace.

A Facebook group has grown by 50,000 fans in under 24 hours. Thousands have posted pictures of themselves with the now-popular phrase «Todos somos José Enrique,» which translates to «We are all José Enrique,» and many thousands more have tweeted messages of anger, sadness, and solidarity after the brutal murder of a publicist brought the Caribbean island’s crime crisis to center stage.

See Also: Could Social Media Help Fight Crime in Puerto Rico?

The wave of murders, which peaked at over 1,000 deaths in 2011 alone, is attributed to a range of problems — including the encroachment of the drug trade, police corruption, failing schools, a dismal economy, a crippling brain drain, and a high unemployment rate.

Last week, after four suspects reportedly forced Jose Enrique Gómez to withdraw 400 dollars from a parking lot ATM in Caguas, Puerto Rico, they drove half an hour southwest to Cayey, doused Gómez in gasoline, beat him, and set him on fire.

For many Puerto Ricans, the murder was a tipping point. With diverse leadership and with varied targets, the new grassroots movements all seek to fix the nation’s crime problem by way of social media.

«I knew there would be a moment when we would say ‘Stop it already. Enough is enough,'» said filmmaker Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz, who is one of the organizers of a social media-based vigil to take place around the world this coming Saturday. «And this is that moment.»

One of thousands of young people who have recently left the island, Ruiz says he was unable to practice his art and ensure his own safety in Puerto Rico and feels as though he was forced to leave. Now based in Los Angeles, Ruiz is asking all Puerto Ricans, wherever they may live in the world, to light a candle and observe a moment of silence for José Enrique Gómez and the thousands of other victims of the island’s violence. The Facebook event Un Abrazo Para Puerto Rico (which translates to, A Hug for Puerto Rico), was created Thursday morning, and has over 600 confirmed guests. Organizers urge attendees to take pictures of themselves holding vigil on Saturday December 8th, and post them on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, with the hashtag #unabrazoparapuertorico.

«We want every Puerto Rican to hug Puerto Rico before it breaks,» Ruiz said. «This first event is to unite people and to unite all the minds in order to show that all of us want change.»

Another growing movement formed out of tragedy in the past week is the Todos Somos Juan Carlos Facebook page which commemorates 19-year-old Juan Carlos Vega, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in the southwestern city of Ponce on November 30th, within 24 hours of Gómez’s death. A vigil will be held over three days this weekend in an area of Ponce that is controlled by gangs, and where Vega was reportedly shot.

«This will be a peaceful vigil. We won’t move for three days from the supposed ‘hot zone,»» reads the Facebook group. «We’re are going to show them that we are brave and we defend what is ours in a peaceful way.» This is significant because family members and organizers are insistent on directly challenging the powerful drug network in a territory that is thought to be off-limits. Ponce’s mayor said on Thursday that she fears for the safety of the constituents that will participate in the vigil.

Yet another movement growing quickly in the wake of Gómez’s murder is a push to get Puerto Rico’s highest-rated television show, Super Xclusivo, off the airways. The Facebook group, called Boicot a La Comay, was started on Tuesday evening, and has approximately 60,000 fans as of publishing. The group takes aim at the show’s creator Kobbo Santarrosa who voices the puppet co-host La Comay (slang for comadre) and co-host Hector Travieso, after La Comay hinted that Gómez’s death may have been partially his own fault because he was on Calle Padial, a street often associated with prostitution. In another segment, La Comay also reported that Gómez may have actually been soliciting sex from two young women who took part in his killing.

Critics of the show say it has long had anti-gay and racist undertones, contributing to the miseducation of the island’s populace. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois publically condemned the show, and joined the boycott on Friday afternoon. Pedro Julio Serrano, a human rights activist from Puerto Rico based in New York, says that people are sick of the show’s message.

«It’s the bullying, it’s the attacks, and the disrespect for the dignity of human beings,» said Serrano. «People have had it. Puerto Ricans are not like that. As people, we are loving and respectful and searching for solidarity. People are saying, ‘That show doesn’t represent me, that’s not what I’m about, and not what my people are about.'»

Super Xclusivo and WAPA, the channel on which the show appears, did not respond to requests for comment, but La Comay denied charges on Wednesday night’s episode, arguing that their show did not make any anti-gay insinuations in their coverage of the murder. La Comay maintained that other news outlets, namely El Nuevo Dia, had recently reported on Calle Padial as a street where prostitution is common place, and that the Super Xclusivo was simply repeating this message.

Nonetheless, the Facebook group has already successfully pressured a number of the show’s sponsors to cut funding, including Dish, Palo Viejo, Borden, Walmart, and most recently, AT&T.

«Walmart is committed to improving the quality of life of the people of Puerto Rico. Following the controversy surrounding the Super Xclusivo program we have made the decision to cancel advertising on that program,» read a note posted in Spanish on the Puerto Rico Walmart Facebook page.

But even before Gómez’s death, several grassroots campaigns against crime and violence in Puerto Rico had begun to sprout up on social media. The arts initiative Kilo365 aims to collect a pair of shoes for every person killed in 2011, paint them gold, and place them all over the island as a visual representation of the toll violence has taken.

«We’re all victims of the violence, not just the person that’s murdered,» said Kazandra Santana, one of Kilo365’s creators. «What we’re losing is our gold — our people, their souls.»

Santana, 34, has involved hundreds around the island in their education and awareness project. Some of the shoes belong to victims of the bloodshed, and other shoes have been painted by people who are responsible for the killing. The gold shoes will be part of a travelling exhibit to be displayed in various parts of Puerto Rico and New York City.

«We don’t have a company backing us or anything like that,» Santana said. «Social media is literally the only way this project has grown.»

Other groups that have found a voice on social media include Cucubano Urbano, which aims to improve safety and a sense of community in San Juan neighborhoods by holding night walks with members dressed in white and carrying light sources. And Queremos Vivir, which translates to, We Want To Live, is a 900-person group created by the high school classmates of yet another teen who was recently killed.

Even the Puerto Rican government recently turned to Twitter for a new project called Follow2Unfollow, in which the Department of Corrections arranged three prisoners to tweet about their experiences every day so that other young Puerto Ricans won’t «follow» their footsteps into a life of crime.

Ruiz truly believes that the recent excitement on social networks will translate into a real-life movement for change.

«What we’re talking about is a way of thinking and about thoughts, and the best way to communicate thoughts and ideas is through social media,» he said. «Social media helps bring injustice out to the front.»

UPDATE: AT&T reportedly pulled its advertising to the SuperXclusivo program late Friday afternoon after pressure from the Boicot La Comay movement.

Por Héctor Aponte AlequíN
Primera Hora

El gestor del grupo “Boicot a ‘la Comay’”, que cuenta con el aval de sobre 60,000 usuarios de Facebook, dijo esta noche a Primera Hora que no cree en las disculpas que ofreció al público esa muñeca parlante en su programa de hoy, viernes.

El títere, manejado por Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa, pidió perdón “si alguien se ofendió” por las expresiones que hizo en el espacio “SuperXClusivo” (Wapa) del martes pasado, cuando hablando del asesinato del publicista José Enrique Gómez Saladín, lanzó al aire las siguientes preguntas: “¿Se buscó esto este señor José Enrique Gómez Saladín? ¿Tenía amistades con estas personas? ¿Anteriormente este señor era cliente de estas personas? ¿Tenía alguna amistad?”

“En realidad es muy poco y muy tarde. Nosotros no nos vamos a conformar con nada menos que con la salida del programa del aire y punto”, afirmó el creador de “Boicot a ‘la Comay’”, Carlos Rivera. A raíz del auge de este grupo, “SuperXClusivo” ha perdido el auspicio de varias marcas, entre estas la cadena de megatiendas Wal-Mart y la compañía telefónica AT&T.

“Hablamos con la gente del grupo y la gente está pidiendo la cancelación y ese pedido es firme. Nosotros no queremos meternos con Wapa, sino con ‘la Comay’”, aclaró Rivera, de 35 años y residente de Nueva York.

Recordó que anteriormente Santarrosa ha pedido disculpas para calmar las reacciones en su contra y, una vez logrado ese objetivo, vuelve a hacer expresiones ofensivas en su programa.

“No es la primera vez que se disculpa y no es la primera vez que se mete con alguien. Recordemos todo lo que le ha hecho a Yolandita Monge, y lo que pasó con Pedro Julio Serrano”, dijo mencionando a la cantante y el activista de derechos humanos puertorriqueños.

Por cierto, Serrano también manifestó a este diario su incredulidad ante el supuesto “perdón” pedido por “la Comay”.

“El momento de las disculpas se acabó. No les creo. Se disculparon antes y volvieron a ofender”, expresó Pedro Julio haciendo referencia a lo que ocurrió en 2010, cuando el títere prometió que no volvería a burlarse de los homosexuales, lesbianas, bisexuales, transexuales y transgénero (LGBTT), y después de meses de la disculpa volvió a referirse despectivamente a estas personas.

“Esto no se trata de pedir disculpas que no son certeras diciendo que ‘si alguien se ofendió, pedimos disculpas’. Esta fue la gota que colmó la copa. Son más de 15 años de abusos contra la dignidad individual y colectiva de nuestra patria. La lucha sigue hasta sus últimas consecuencias, que es la cancelación de ‘SuperXClusivo’”, reiteró Serrano.

Tanto Carlos Rivera como el activista enfatizaron en que “Boicot a ‘la Comay’” cuenta con el aval de los artistas René Pérez, de la banda Calle 13, y Ricky Martin, así como del congresista boricua Luis Gutiérrez.

El Grupo «Boicot a La Comay» publicó una carta abierta en su página en Facebook y en su cuenta en Twitter pidiendo la cancelación del programa SuperXclusivo que se transmite por WAPA TV. A continuación la carta en su totalidad:

By CRISTINA COSTANTINI (@xtinatini)

Crime has skyrocketed in Puerto Rico over the past few years, with over a thousand people murdered in 2011 alone, half of which are said to be drug-related incidents. But, the disappearance and gruesome murder of 32-year-old publicist José Enrique Gómez last Thursday has incited one of the most extreme uproars on social media that the island has seen, with thousands of Puerto Ricans calling for an end to the violence.

Hours after police found Gómez’s body on Monday night, hundreds, including celebrities such as Ricky Martin and Victor Manuelle, have posted pictures of themselves with a sign that read «Todos somos José Enrique» or «We are all José Enrique» on Instagram and Facebook. Still others tweeted messages of solidarity, with the popular hashtags #TodosSomosJoseEnrique, #LosBuenosSomosMas which loosely translates to «There are more of us who are good,» and #BastaYa, which means «enough already.»

Social media reportedly also aided in finding one of the suspects. After messages about the murder circulated on Twitter and Facebook, the mother of Edwin Torres, one of the alleged criminals reportedly recognized a picture of her son, and made him turn himself in on Monday.

But the social media outcry that ensued after the details of the murder emerged has also been unprecedented.

Jorge Rodriguez, a 30-year-old native of Puerto Rico who now lives and works in New York City, grew up with Gómez and says that his friend’s death has set off a whole new conversation about violence within the Puerto Rican community both on and off the island.

«In these last five days, I’d say that 95 percent of what everybody’s talking about on Facebook is the murder,» Rodriguez said. «This is the one of the worst cases of violence we’ve seen. They didn’t even have a gun and so when you see step by step what they did to this innocent guy, you think about how heartless these people can be.»

After the four suspects reportedly forced Gómez to withdraw 400 dollars from an ATM in a parking lot in Caguas, Puerto Rico, they drove half an hour southwest to Cayey, doused Gómez in gasoline, beat him, and set him on fire. The brutal murder has gained attention in part because the victim had nothing to do with the drug trade, and was kidnapped in a commercial area which is thought by many to be safe from such violence.

Rodriguez, who is from Caguas and moved to New York two years ago, says he always felt safe in the metropolitan area, but that the violence from other regions has been slowing encroaching.

A number of factors have contributed to the island’s rapid increase in shootings, robberies, and carjackings, said William Ramirez, the executive director of the Puerto Rico of ACLU. The island has become a hub for narcotics transportation into the Americas as the U.S. and Mexico have cracked down on drug transportation. The unemployment rate is also very high, at 15 percent, and 45 percent of Puerto Ricans live below the poverty line. Many don’t trust the police due to rampant brutality and corruption charges, according to Ramirez. Two years ago, the FBI arrested 61 officers on corruption charges — the largest arrest in the agency’s history.

«People don’t want to cooperate with the police because they don’t trust them,» Ramirez said. «A lot of people feel like there’s more to risk by helping them than by staying quiet.»

Piled on top of all of those problems is the island’s tremendous brain drain. Thousands of young Puerto Ricans are moving off the island each year due to lack of employment opportunities and the recent spike in crime. Last year, Puerto Rico had a larger population loss by percentage than any other state. Ramirez says that the brain drain, in turn, contributes to the island’s violence.

«If the question is to fight the violence or flee, and enough people are choosing to flee, in the long run, we’re in trouble,» Ramirez said. «Among the people that are leaving are good policemen who feel like they can’t fight crime here because of the corruption.»

Of those using social media, some are calling for justice for Gómez and his family, with many inciting the death penalty (currently banned on the island), while others are pushing for more systemic changes, such as increased focus on education, a crackdown on police corruption, and an overhaul of the government’s war on drugs.

Alana Feldman-Soler, the general coordinator of Taller Salud, an organization in Puerto Rico which runs an initiative to help young men involved in the drug trade, says that many on the island feel that social media is playing a new role in countering the violence. In this case, Twitter and Facebook have both raised awareness, and ultimately, helped find the suspects of the crime, she says.

«There is a strong feeling on the island that his case would have not been solved without social media. The great majority of murders here go unsolved by the police,» Feldman-Soler said. «It would have been just one more of those victims if it weren’t for the outpouring of interest on Facebook and Twitter.»

In the 24 hours since Gómez’s body was found, outcry on social media has turned into a more organized call to action. One of the fastest-growing movements related to the murder is a call to boycott the island’s highest-rated television program, Super Xclusivo, after co-host Hector Travieso and co-host puppet, La Comay (Kobbo Santarrosa), hinted that Gómez’s death may have been partially his own fault.

According to Pedro Julio Serrano, a human rights activist from Puerto Rico based in New York, the gossip-driven show has a history of anti-homosexual rhetoric, and this comment was the last straw. The momentum on social media has been such, that aFacebook group calling for the boycott has had more than 5,000 likes since it was opened on Tuesday, and has gown by more than 3,000 fans in just the last two hours before publishing.

«[Travieso and Santarrosa] said that where the victim was picked up was where homosexuality and prostitution abound, they were basically blaming the victim,» Serrano said. «It united the pueblo in a clamor for justice. They were so indignant for trying to blame him for his own murder, instead of placing the blame where it should lie.» Other Facebook petitions and groups denouncing Super Xclusivo and La Comay, have also sprouted.

Rodriguez is hopeful that the outpouring on social media will soon translate into a real movement for change. He says that he’s seeing more positive posts about how the country can fix its problems than conversations about inciting violence and taking revenge.

«I’m starting to see productive conversations about meeting to organize,» he said, «Everyone is posting what they can share, if its about education, if working in the streets. Many people are asking ‘What can I do?’, ‘What can I do?’, ‘What can I do?'»

Te tengo un mensaje a ti, Kobbo Santarrosa, sí a ti.

Si crees que la gente va a dejar de indignarse ante el vil asesinato de José Enrique porque quieres criminalizar la homosexualidad de la misma forma que injustamente se criminaliza el trabajo sexual, te equivocaste.

Nadie merece, ni se busca ser asesinado, NADIE. La violencia se perpetúa por actitudes como éstas que le echan la culpa a la víctima.

Tú eres tan responsable de la violencia, la intolerancia y el odio que se comen a nuestro País porque con tu programa pretendes perpetuar los prejuicios y el discrimen que no nos corresponden como pueblo.

Y este pueblo se está cansando de quienes promueven la violencia, de quienes instigan el odio, de quienes escupen intolerancia e ignorancia, de quienes pretenden dividirnos.

Este pueblo se está levantando porque no aguanta más, porque sabe que las causas de la criminalidad son la desigualdad, la intolerancia y la violencia.

Y este pueblo te dará su mayor lección cuando menos te lo esperes porque somos un pueblo amoroso, respetuoso, solidario y sensible – cualidades y valores que a ti te faltan, pero que a este pueblo le sobran… ♥

NOTA IMPORTANTE: Mi gente, a unirse a este grupo y demostrar que l@s buen@s somos más:

Boicot a La Comay – http://www.facebook.com/boicotlacomay

Tiene que convertirse en uno de los grupos más grandes de Puerto Rico. Riega la voz. Dale “Like” a la página y dale “Share”. Comparte este grupo, que todo Puerto Rico se una…

Y en Twitter sigue a @boicotlacomay