Andrew Bonillas: DJ loved rockin' it at local Tejano station

Fast forward a few years, though, and his alter ego Andy B was rockin' it old school on Tucson radio waves.

"He was shy, but once he got behind a microphone, Andy switched from Shy Andy to Here-I-Come Andy. He was like a switch — on one minute, off the next minute, on the next," said Veronica Loya, the DJ's self-proclaimed No. 1 fan and a friend since high school.

She and her sister, Ruth, took turns calling in to Andy B, each proclaiming she was Bonillas' biggest fan.

Bonillas worked for several local stations during his career, most recently Radio Tejano 1600 AM, where he was an on-air personality and the promotions director. Through his company, Jammaster DJ's Entertainment, Bonillas provided the tunes at clubs, private family gatherings and corporate events.

Andy B continued to book gigs throughout his two-year battle with cancer and, Loya said, was still planning to perform at several summer events when he fell into a coma and died at home Saturday at age 42.

"He always told us, 'I'm going to jam till the day I die,' " Loya said. "When he slipped into a coma, they had his music going on in his room."

Bonillas loved classic rock, Tejano, soul and old-school from the 1970s and '80s, and what he described in a Q&A on Tejano 1600's Web site as "crazy new-wave stuff that came out after the disco era faded, like the Romantics, Naked Eyes."

In his online profile, Bonillas also wanted everyone to know that he loved chicken chimichangas and weekend barbecues with friends, and that "the Eagles are the bomb!"

Loya said her friend was a big fan of Tejano singer Selena and what Loya called "his shows" — "Reba" and "The Golden Girls." Bonillas had videotapes of the sitcoms and his family played them in his room during his final days, his friend said.

Bonillas, who graduated from Pima Community College in 1987 with a degree in computer science, was hooked on radio the first time a friend took him on a tour of a station.

In his online profile, Bonillas said he was "totally amazed" by what he saw in the control room. After that, he learned all he could about the business.

"The crazy part is that I was extremely shy and I don't know how I ended up being an afternoon personality," he said. "I guess if you want it enough, the shyness will be gone."

Tejano 1600 program director Rupert Pacheco met Bonillas five years ago when they were working at a sister station, Tucson's Hot 98.3. Both men moved to the Tejano station a few years ago when Clear Channel took over. Bonillas was tapped by the new station owners to direct Tejano programming for Clear Channel's high-definition station, Pacheco said.

"His passion was old school music and Tejano music," he said. "Andy knew all facets of the music industry. He was a wellspring of knowledge for all of us. He came in and he was always willing to take anybody under his wing who was willing to learn. Andy was the one who showed me just about everything.

"He probably could have gone to another (bigger) market, but it was his mom and his family that kept him here," he said.

"He was a good son. He always talked about his mom," said friend Angie Martinez, who hired Bonillas to provide music for her wedding.

Loya said Bonillas took his mother to many of his Jammaster gigs and when his mother became ill, he and his brother, Willie, cared for her during her long recovery.

"He was a remarkable man. He always went out of his way to do for others," said Melissa Santa Cruz, Tejano 1600's promotions director and a KRQ radio personality. "He cared for his mother. She'd been ill beginning a couple of years ago, and he took care of her through her illness. At one point they didn't think she was going to make it, and she pulled through. I attribute it to Andy and his brother. Half of his life was put into his radio and the other half was put into his family."

Bonillas continued working through most of his illness, leaving the station last autumn but continuing to DJ private and community events in recent months, his friends said.

"He loved to watch people dance," Loya said. "When he'd play the Sage Brush Cantina, he'd always dance with us. He'd put on a few songs at a time and he'd come out to dance with us. He'd do the electric slide with us. He'd do the cotton-eyed Joe with us. He had a way of accommodating the world. No one was ever disappointed in him."

Bonillas was determined to keep La Onda — the wave of Tejano music — a presence in the Old Pueblo, Pacheco said.

"He was one of the reasons Tejano music is still alive in Tucson," he said.

Some, Bonillas said in his Web profile, are concerned the genre is losing its spark. But he was more confident.

"Music has its ups and downs as with lots of things in life, but I hope that Tucson and all the Tejano music lovers work hard to keep La Onda alive!"

Visitation for Bonillas is from 5 to 10 this evening, with a 7 p.m. rosary at Carrillo's Tucson Mortuary, south chapel, 240 S. Stone Ave. Mass begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., followed by interment at Holy Hope Cemetery.

More Life Stories

Kim Matas' series chronicles the lives of recently deceased Tucsonans.

Go to site