“Pandy Show” is a hit in Cayo

You won’t find him on the Disney Channel or the Cartoon Network…and he’s yet to make it on Channel Five. But that doesn’t stop Kent Pandy from being a giant in television…at least on Cayo’s S.E.N. TV. News Five cameraman Brent Toombs spent an evening with the one man network at his studios high atop Cahal Pech.

Kent Pandy singing theme song: “It’s time for the Pandy Show…”

Kent Pandy, The Pandy Show

“My name is Kent Pandy, but most people don’t know me as Kent. They mostly call me Pandy or Pandy show.

(Natural sound: Pandy setting up studio)

I work the camera…I do the audio switch, I do the video switch….I’m also doing the hosting of the show. It’s been seven years going on eight years in May. Now every Wednesday people are looking out for the Pandy Show.”

Brent Toombs,Reporting

Originating from a make shift studio, on a hill overlooking San Ignacio, the Pandy Show hardly compares with other TV shows produced for children. There are no elaborate sets. There is no studio audience. And technically speaking, the broadcast is less than perfect. But still, the program is a huge hit with youngsters in the Cayo district for one reason; Kent Pandy. A man with enough enthusiasm, and heart, to pull off a weekly live television show entirely by himself.

Kent Pandy

“When they came to do this I should only be a cameraman, but nobody wanted to be in front of the camera. So I said I’ll go. I was stammering and people laughed. But I continued and decided to make more.”

Even though Pandy may have become the host of his own TV show by accident, he admits that it had been a long time dream to be on radio or television. But there is one reason why nobody ever expected Pandy’s dream to come true, something that makes his success all the more remarkable: by now you may have noticed that Pandy has a stuttering problem.

Kent Pandy

“Even when I go downtown and talk, people will tease me and call me P-P-P-Pandy. I say OK. I tell them that if they tease me, I’ll tease them. So if you can’t take teasing don’t jinx.”

Pandy is not ashamed of his affliction, nor has he let it stop him from realizing his goals. The Pandy Show is an opportunity for him to share this attitude with his young viewers.

Kent Pandy

“The message is that even if a person stammers or can’t read, once you put your mind to it you can do anything. You can do what ever you want.”

Pandy’s involvement with his fans is not limited to the Wednesday broadcasts. There is also the Pandy Club, where members receive gifts, win prizes, and participate in activities such as trips, all organized by Pandy himself. The hours spent working on the show, and the fan club are strictly volunteer.

Kent Pandy

“All my time is free. I just want to be happy and the kids to be happy. I’m not making one copper. I really love kids. I love to be with kids if I can, I’ll do anything to make them happy. I’ll be here until I die. If I’m fifty or sixty or seventy I’ll still be here for the kids. I’m here for a reason. I had a dream it should come true. And I’m here to tell the kids go for it. You can do it.”

At the Pandy Show in San Ignacio, I’m Brent Toombs for News Five.

Gifts given away on Pandy’s show are donated by merchants in San Ignacio and Santa Elena.