Antelope Valley Gets Spanish Radio Station : Broadcasting: KUTY-AM switches to ‘Fiesta Latina.’ Fans of traditional country format are dismayed by move to address an expanding market.

Antelope Valley will get its own version of shock radio today when listeners tune in to a popular country station and find that it has switched overnight to the valley’s first Spanish-language format.

KUTY-AM (1470) has long been known for its diet of Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire. Now, the Palmdale station calls itself “Fiesta Latina” and has hired Latino disc jockeys and a Latino program consultant to put together a mix of Mexican music and news shows.

Radio in this area has traditionally stuck to country and religion, with a little rock ‘n’ roll thrown in. Down at the Buffalo Club, a Lancaster nightspot, word of the change came as a shock.

“Boner move is the consensus around here,” owner Dave Jacobs said as he and bar patrons voiced their disapproval.

But the switch should have been expected. Last month, Los Angeles station KLAX-FM (97.9) leaped to the top of the Arbitron ratings, becoming the nation’s second Spanish-language station--along with KXTN-FM in San Antonio--to conquer a metropolitan market.

KUTY is hoping for a similar coup, although on a smaller scale.

Census data shows that the Latino population in Lancaster and Palmdale sextupled between 1980 and 1990. Almost 30,000 Latinos live in those two cities. Thousands more occupy outlying areas, according to estimates.

“There is an expression, ‘He who gets there first wins,’ ” said Art Furtado, KUTY’s sales manager. “For us to be the only game in town, we can be commercially successful.”

In fact, competition for Antelope Valley’s 250,000 potential listeners is fierce. There are eight local stations and half a dozen from Los Angeles to choose from. KUTY had been losing listeners to KTPI-FM, a rival station with a similar format and the stronger fidelity that comes with FM.

So, KUTY chose a new road.

“It was just a matter of time until someone did it,” said Zack Taylor, program director at KAVS-FM (97.7), a Top 40 station. “It was something we knew was coming to this market.”

Latino leaders applauded the change.

“This serves to enhance the self-image of Latinos in this community,” said Ray Teran of the Latino Heritage Advisory Commission. “There’s a station out there that they can turn to. To have one in the community means that someone in the community cares about them.”

Still, several local businesses have withdrawn advertising because of the new format. And the station must battle Los Angeles’ KLVE-FM (107.5), whose Spanish-language signal reaches parts of the Antelope Valley. KUTY is hoping to win listeners with local news and events.

“We’ll be able to get quick information to them,” said manager Dale Ware, who also explained that the station’s jingle “sounds like ‘La Cucaracha.’ It goes, ‘Fiesta Latina, Fiesta Latina, catorce setenta.’ ”

KUTY will broadcast live from 5 to 10 a.m and 2 to 7 p.m. In between, it will carry Cadena Radio Centro, a 24-hour station from Los Angeles.

The programming will be aimed at Mexican immigrants, offering ranchera, a mariachi-style music; banda , a louder and brassier sound; cumbias , marked by its Caribbean rhythm, and nortena , a border style blending guitars and accordion.

Industry experts predict that more radio stations will make the switch, especially in small markets that have no Spanish-language programming.

“KLAX really opened the door,” said Hector Cantu of Hispanic Business magazine in Santa Barbara. “In the radio industry, when someone starts hitting No. 1 with a certain format, it’s very common for other stations to do it themselves. It’s a sign of a growing trend, of a market that is out there.”