Sandy's great uncle was Emilio Sfeir[3], hero of Bolivian counter espionage during the Chaco War and friend to Hernan Siles Zuazo, whom he met when both were political prisoners in 1949 on the Isla de la Luna on Lake Titicaca.
[5][6][7] Sandy's repertoire included a number of jokes involving Gallicians (immigrants from Spain), Mexicans, Cubans, Chileans, Jews, Germans, Italians, Levantines ("turcos"), Japanese, Russians, Brazilians, Argentines and Paraguayans.
[8][9][10][11] His most famous joke, which has aged well, is about the Latin American tourist who meets a Spanish taxi driver in Helsinki, Finland.
[5] Another routine that Sandy had was his ability to sing popular songs famous in Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Italy, the USA and Israel in their respective languages.
He won the affection of the Chilean public at Viña del Mar by playing on the harmonica the iconic song "si vas para Chile" ("should you travel to Chile") In February 2004, Sandy performed for the fourth and final time at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, where he was honored for his lifetime achievement with the coveted Silver Torch or "Antorcha de Plata".
At his nadir, Sandy was discovered by an astonished Chilean photographer looking forlorn and selling small items on the streets of Buenos Aires.
This outpouring of love and support motivated Sandy to express his desire to move his residence from Buenos Aires to Chile and to request Chilean citizenship.
He died on April 23, 2005, from a heart attack caused by complications of advanced diabetes at his residence in the Balvanera neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.