Influencer Xiomara “La Golda” Calderón Santiago Dies at 38 in Sudden Loss

17 November 2025

Puerto Rican influencer, singer, model and content creator Xiomara “La Golda” Calderón Santiago passed away at the age of 38, a sudden loss that has left her family, friends and professional community struggling to comprehend what happened.

The announcement of Calderón’s death was made public on Saturday, November 15, 2025, by media producer Jorge “Molusco” Pabón Ocasio via social-media channels. He described her passing as sudden and expressed deep sorrow for the void she leaves behind, calling her “a cornerstone of our team.”

At the time of her death Calderón had over 83,000 followers on Instagram and had built a multi-faceted career as a creator of online content, a plus-size model and a singer. Her public persona combined humour, authenticity, dance talent and music, and she was known for engaging with fans through both visual and musical work.

While the exact cause of death has not been publicly disclosed, the early messaging emphasised the suddenness of the loss. In his tribute post Pabón Ocasio wrote that he and the team are still trying to process what has happened, and urged followers to express love to their families and recognise how fragile life can be.

Calderón was born and raised in Dorado, Puerto Rico, where her hometown mayor, Annibal José Torres, also shared condolences on social media. He described her as a talented young woman who left sincere impressions on those who knew her and extended support to her grieving family.

In the days before her passing she posted on Instagram Stories that she felt thankful, blessed and loved, and she invited followers to join in prayer for wisdom and guidance in her life. The tone of that last post has been cited by local outlets as haunting in retrospect.

For her family, friends and the creative community, the impact of Calderón’s death extends beyond the social-media stats and into the personal. Her energy, stage presence and online voice were seen by many as empowering, especially in the context of body-positivity and the Puerto Rican digital-creator scene. Using her platform for self-expression, she blended performance, humour and authenticity in ways that made her relatable and admired.

Her passing has raised questions about the pressures that influencers face behind-the-scenes. The grind of content creation, public presence, image management and the blending of professional and personal life are often invisible to followers. In Calderón’s case the absence of public explanation or cause of death elevates concern and reflection about wellness in influencer culture and the need for support networks in an industry that thrives on visibility.

The programme she was affiliated with, Molusco LLC, where Pabón Ocasio worked, described her as family and emphasised her humility, responsibility and unique laugh. These testimonials suggest she was not only a content creator but a meaningful presence in her creative team’s life and process.

Her legacy now will be carried by her followers, her fans in Puerto Rico and beyond, and through the work she left behind: music, modelling images, dance videos and contributions to online discourse about self-expression and representation. The totality of what she created may feel modest in the context of major-celebrity archives, but for many of her followers she was a voice of connection, joy and ambition.

Community members have responded with social-media tributes, calling attention to mental-health services, the importance of checking in on creators and reminding viewers that behind every follow and view there is a person, often juggling many roles. The broader creator community has noted that while she may not have been a global household name, the ripple effect of her voice in her niche and cultural context was significant.

At the same time the mourning in Dorado and among Puerto-Rican-entertainment circles emphasises cultural connection and the role of regional influences in digital-creator narratives. Her hometown mayor’s remarks underlined that she remained part of her local community even as her internet presence grew. The bridge between local roots and global platform is part of her story.

As the days ahead bring memorials and digital tributes, the absence of a publicly disclosed cause will likely keep questions alive. For those who followed her journey the challenge will be to remember her not just in her passing but in the vitality with which she lived and created. In her message of gratitude, thankfulness and renewal we may find the echo of what she valued: connection, presence and expression.

For many this is an invitation as Pabón Ocasio phrased it to express love to loved ones, to recognise fragility and to hold creation and community in balance. Calderón’s work as an influencer, model and singer offered one version of presence in the digital age; her passing reminds us that behind the posts and content there is a human story, fragile and finite.