Pedro Santos, pioneering broadcaster in Valley, dies at age 76

Pedro Santos, whose voice as anchor helped launch the San Joaquín Valley first – and most dominant – Spanish-language television station in April 1973 died Wednesday at the age of 76.

Santos, who was born in San Martín Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, was noted for his drive for perfection – he always double-checked his notes and delivered the news for 21 years for KFTV Channel 21 Univisión.

Longtime television cameraman Óscar De León, who worked at all the local TV stations, stamped Santos as a true legend and friend.

“Anytime I went to lunch with Pedro Santos, it was like going to lunch with royalty,” said De León, who retired in 2006. “We were at a Mexican restaurant and people would gravitate toward him.”

De León, who shared many get-togethers with Santos during their careers and in retirement, said Santos “was more than a co-worker. He was a friend.”

“Other anchors like Nancy Osborne and John Wallace never got as much attention as Pedro Santos,” said De León. “He was royalty to the broadcasting business.”

Santos, who was nicknamed ‘El Principe de la Palabra’ (The Prince of Words), moved to Fresno as a teenager and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He worked at radio station KGST ‘La Mexicana’ 1600 AM before being recruited by Univision.

Lupita Lomelí, who worked at KGST after Santos had left and eventually went to work for the local Univision affiliate, called Santos “a perfectionist.”

“First, he was impeccable; always dressed very proper,” said Lomelí, who currently hosts the weekday morning show ‘Despierta Valle Central’ (Wake Up Central Valley). “Everything he did he would double-check. He was an amazing anchor.”

Lomelí said Santos would act as a mentor to any new reporters, including Graciela Moreno who is now an anchor at KFSN Channel 30, the ABC affiliate.

“He was always in a great mood. He made himself available to everyone, and went by our offices and made sure we were OK,” said Lomelí. “He always had things to share.”

Santos, who never married, was a faithful member of the Catholic Church. He volunteered with the Fresno Diocese, and took pride in helping every December with the diocese-wide celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

He always spent Sundays in church with his mother, Inocencia, and they would then head out to lunch.

“He loved his mother,” said Lomelí. “Whatever his mother needed was first, and everything else second.

In fact, his mother insisted he not learn to ride a bike as a boy for fear he would hurt himself that Santos never did learn how to ride a bicycle.

“He told me one time that one of his greatest frustrations in life was that he never learned to ride a bike,” said Lomelí.

He also liked to organize family gatherings, said Lomelí and De León.

But his public life was what people saw and loved. Santos would often host fundraisers, like the ‘Navidad en el Valle’ Christmas toy drive, as well as fundraisers for earthquake relief, music competitions and election results.

“He definitely had the respect and admiration of the community,” said Lomelí, who added that people still ask about Santos more than 25 years after he last anchored a news program. “People still remember him.”

“The community was part of Pedro’s life,” she said.

De León called his time working with Santos “the best years in my career” because they focused on stories about Mexicans in the Valley.

“Pedro Santos was an institution, an icon,” said De León.

He remembers other television reporters asking, “What is it about Pedro Santos?” after spotting his picture on a Producers Milk carton.

“He was that popular. He had this presence. Everybody wanted to talk to him,” said De León.

Santos became public relations director for KFTV in 1994, and returned to co-host the morning show ‘Arriba Valle Central’ in 1996 where he teamed up with Lomelí. He had anchored the station’s news program for 21 years.

Services are pending.