Voice of Latinos Growing on Radio

At radio station KOXR, the traditional beat of ranchera music thumps out over the airwaves, and the requests come in. But, not all the calls are for tunes. Some popular favorites:

Where do I get a census form?

Where can I find a lawyer?

How do I fill out my tax forms?

“They call all the time,” said Miguel Marquez, the Oxnard station’s general manager, who is stuffed behind a little desk surrounded by radio promos. “They think of us as a friend.”

That sense of friendship far from home has turned Spanish-language radio in Ventura County from a tiny niche market--as recently as a decade ago there were just two stations, both AM, in the county--into a dominant player. One-third of the county’s 15 radio stations are Spanish-language, and the most recent Arbitron ratings show “Radio Lazer,” KXLM-FM (102.9), consistently rivaling country stalwart KHAY-FM (100.7) and hip-hop KCAQ-FM (104.7) for the top spot.

In part, it’s a sign of the number of Spanish speakers here. As recently as 10 years ago, Latinos made up a quarter of the county’s population. Now, an estimated one in three residents is Latino. The most recent data, from the 1990 census, show about 19% of residents mainly speaking Spanish at home, a number that critics suggest is vastly underestimated.

But, more than a reflection of numbers, the strength of Spanish-language radio exemplifies the unusually close relationship between Spanish speakers and their radio stations.

For first-generation immigrants, the local deejay is more than just an announcer in a box--he’s a link both to the home country and to his new land. Besides offering news and nostalgic music, radio educates its listeners about everything American, from the new census forms to a freeway accident tying up traffic.

Those who operate Spanish-language stations say they feel this responsibility acutely. The three FM and two AM stations--four in Oxnard and one in Ventura--regularly air discussions with city officials, updates on immigration and conversations with Mexican consul officials discussing politics.

Two of the stations--”La Mexicana,” KOXR-AM (910), and “La M,” KMLA-FM (103.7)--offer radio-marketplace shows: a kind of community message board in which listeners call in with the audio version of classified ads, ranging from seeking a tenant to finding a baby sitter or a good plumber.

“It’s the Internet of the Latino community,” said Santos Gomez, an attorney with the California Rural Legal Assistance office in Oxnard.

Each Spanish-language station serves a specific audience, from lovers of traditional favorites to fans of rock en espanol. KOXR tends to be more traditional, playing mariachi and ranchera music from decades ago. KMLA plays a mix of contemporary music and old standards. KXLM, which plays acoustic-based norteno and dance-hall Banda, is more popular with a younger crowd, while KCZN--FM (96.7), owned by the same company, appeals to older listeners. Radio Unica,

KUNX-AM (1590)--mostly talk--is syndicated from Miami, with occasional local news.

Just how pervasive an influence these stations have is immediately obvious in the fields, groceries and factories of Oxnard, where recent immigrants proliferate.

In the strawberry fields, nearly every picker has a radio tied to his or her hip. The low tones sweep through the air, and snippets of music compete as workers walk by.

They listen because they grew up with the music, because the radio is free, and because it keeps their minds occupied. Often, it’s the only news they get, because all they want to do when they get home is feed the children and fall into bed.

Alberto Pina, a 17-year U.S. resident, spends so much time in the fields his hands are always stained red. He listens to the radio--either “La M,” or “Radio Lazer”--throughout the day.

“Sometimes there’s no time to watch TV when you go home, and you just want to take a shower,” he said through an interpreter.

Radio is a tradition ingrained in the lives of Latino immigrants, one they bring from Mexico, experts said. Many have very little education and have a hard time with reading. And radios are relatively inexpensive.

“The people, they feel like we are family. We came from Mexico,” said Raul Miranda, the morning deejay at KMLA in Oxnard. As with English-language radio, some people call only to give a “shout out,” or dedication, to a girlfriend or boyfriend or to try to win the daily cash jackpot.

But on his morning show, with sidekick “Coyote” Carlos Valenzuela--”the funny one”--Miranda also discusses issues, such as school and family relationships. On one show, he talked with a mother who has decided to send her son back to school in Mexico, because of disciplinary problems.

As a result, deejays become psychologists and counselors as much as entertainers. “Here is what I would do . . . “ they tell their listeners. They are not experts, but many of them are immigrants, too.

Many first-generation immigrants choose one station and stick to it.

“Mexicans are very patriotic, and they’re very connected to where they were born,” said Samuel Mark, a USC expert on the Los Angeles Latino community. “That’s a big part of why Hispanic radio is successful. They’re very loyal” by nature.

Nowhere is the sense of community more evident than on the daily swap-meet shows: KOXR’s two-hour “El Mercadito,” which has been around for decades, and KMLA’s “El Remate,” only three weeks old.

On these programs, Spanish-speaking residents from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita barter, sell and offer services over the air.

On a recent morning, host Rosa Rodriguez took calls from a woman looking for a plumber. Another needed a room to rent. The phones ring nonstop, as Rodriguez makes a list and tries to connect listeners.

During harvest time, migrant workers call in looking for places to stay. During the holidays, people call in wanting to share rides to Mexico.

Spanish-language radio is a different institution in Ventura County than in Latin America. Local stations are not behemoths with the latest technology and booming deejays. Instead, their studios are often tucked into Oxnard side streets and small office spaces. Deejays aren’t required to have degrees in radio, as they are in Mexico.

That has helped create a new intimacy between the radio and listeners when they arrive.

“It’s a big change. Used to be, nobody would work in radio except the ones who had a big voice,” said Giullermo Gonzalez, general manager of KMLA. “Now, you’re on [a] level with the audience.”

Unlike Miami-based Spanish-language radio, with its involved political community and wealthier listeners, the vibe here is more laid-back for listeners tired after a hard day of work. That doesn’t mean the local stations are afraid to take political positions. In 1995, KOXR called for fieldworkers to walk off their jobs in protest of Proposition 187, and 200 did.

More recently, the stations have been touting the census in ways that English-radio hasn’t approached.

“[People] have been saying, ‘The radio station said I should be here,’ and some of them aren’t sure why,” said Rosa Martinez-Sotelo, a census worker who frequently guests on radio programs. ‘Alicia [Llinas, a popular KOXR deejay] told me.’ The trust factor is in whoever gives them the information.”

Further proof of radio’s reach into the Latino community: The body of a recent crash victim, Julio Guerra, was identified only after his mother, Fedelia, heard a special bulletin on top Spanish station KXLM that officials needed help identifying the victim.

Many argue that the reach of local stations is underestimated by ratings companies, such as Arbitron, which they suspect miss out on many of the listeners who have a limited grasp of English.

In last year’s summer ratings period, KXLM was on top. In the fall period--from September to December--it was No. 3, with the rest of the stations bunched close to each other near the middle of the rankings.

“A lot of our listeners don’t really know how to fill out the forms,” Gonzalez said. “We appeal to fieldworkers. We were just talking about the census from 1990, [for instance]. It says Oxnard is 54% Hispanic. Go outside, and you’ll see it’s closer to 100%.”

Other stations say the ratings don’t matter at all. For some, the financial stakes just aren’t high enough.

“I only think half the ratings are true,” said Marquez of KOXR, the most locally oriented Spanish radio station in the county. “Experience says [ratings are important] for [national] ad agencies, but not for the client around the corner.”

And that’s who Marquez said he cares about, the small neighborhood grocer.

Others say the interest of national advertisers only underlines the power of Spanish radio in the county. It comes down to economics.

“The thing that says it all is advertising,” said Terry Janisch, who is the general sales manager at KCZN and KXLM and does not speak much Spanish himself. “Two or three years ago, we had three or four car dealerships [advertising] on the air. Now, we have as many as 22. They’re asking, ‘How can I overlook this huge share of money?’

“Some of our listeners could buy and sell you,” he said. “They’re not all out in the fields.”

In many ways, Spanish-language radio is much more what all radio should be, according to some experts.

On English-language radio stations, there’s a heavy emphasis on entertainment, especially in the Los Angeles area, said Julio Moran, executive director of the California Chicano News Media Assn. “But Spanish-language radio has always been a source of information.”

Gomez, of the Rural Legal Assistance office, agrees: “They don’t think the U.S. is the center of the world. Maybe it’s because the people running the station are recent immigrants. They haven’t bought into the American media mind-set.”

But, the experience of immigrants--and, as such, their radio stations--is constantly changing. As they become more savvy, will they move on to newspapers or English-language radio? Will their children bother to listen?

“Second-generation listeners, they’re not loyal,” said Al Plascencia, the owner of KXLM. “They punch every single station on the dial.”

As a result, the stations mature as well. Over time, there is less focus on news from Mexico and the home states. It’s there, but so is a lot of local Ventura County news. Where once stations would have had regular updates from the central states of Michoacan, Jalisco and Zacatecas--places well-represented in Ventura County--in recent years the news has become less tied to the old country.

“Now, they’re trying to push the idea that this is your new home,” Moran said.

In the meantime, the stations continue to feel a sense of happy obligation to a population that depends almost entirely on them for a road map to their new world.

“It’s incredible that they pay attention to everything we say,” said Olivia Obregon, a sales manager at KUNX. “It’s very important to provide the right information all the time. We are the only source.”