Music that’s heard everywhere except on the radio

For the past 14 years, Los Angeles-based rock en espanol entrepreneur Tomas Cookman has championed the music that he passionately believes in, dreaming of the day when the Latin alternative movement becomes part of the American mainstream.

Cookman, who manages some of the genre’s luminaries, including La Ley and Fabulosos Cadillacs singer Vicentico, has seen Latin rock blossom from an underground phenomenon to a critically respected genre that is routinely featured in movies, TV commercials and on hip radio shows such as KCRW-FM’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic.”

But Cookman has also seen rock en espanol being ignored by the one outlet that should, in theory, wholeheartedly embrace it: Spanish-language radio.

Among insiders, Los Angeles is known as the unofficial U.S. capital of Latin rock. It is here that concerts featuring some of the movement’s top names routinely sell out 6,000-seat venues such as the Greek Theatre.

With the exception of Super Estrella KSSE-FM (107.1), however, which features an hourlong rock show at 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, the music is absent from Los Angeles’ Latino stations. Instead, like their counterparts in other U.S. markets, they focus on the more commercial side of Latin music: regional Mexican and pop.

“Spanish radio in this country is dominated by a very narrow-minded aesthetic,” Cookman says. “Unless you’re singing a ballad, the only station that will play your stuff is Super Estrella. And yet Mana’s last album moved 800,000 copies and Juanes’ sold 500,000. They’re missing out on a huge consumer base.”

“Latin rock is still not represented in any substantial way on Spanish-language radio, at least not in any way that will speak to the massive audience out there waiting for it,” agrees music critic and television personality Josh Kun, the host of “Rok-a-Mole,” a weekly rock en espanol show on KJLA-TV. “Why is this still true? It remains one of the great mysteries of Spanish-language media, which continue to willfully ignore the stylistic breadth and bicultural tastes of urban Latino youth.”

Four years ago, Kun was chosen to host “The Red Zone,” a rock en espanol radio show in English that was picked up by the now-defunct KLYY-FM (107.1). That was a good year for Latin rock. The genre was enjoying unprecedented artistic success, and its chances for commercial acceptance appeared limitless. “The Red Zone” mirrored the creative adrenaline of the moment and enjoyed good ratings as a specialty show.

In January 2000, the station changed format and became Viva 107. Kun was asked to host the show in Spanish. The ratings dropped and “The Red Zone” was pulled that September.

“This shows that the kids who listen to this music are bilingual, and in many cases speak English as their dominant language,” says Josh Norek, owner of JN Media, a public relations firm that represents Latin rock stars such as Jaguares and Julieta Venegas. “Hence, they tend to fall through the cracks. Anglo radio refuses to acknowledge their Latino culture, and Spanish radio is scared to play their music.”

As Norek sees it, the lack of radio play for Latin alternative acts has a simple explanation: Record companies are simply not willing to invest the huge sums of money required to break an act on radio.

“I don’t think this has anything to do with budgets,” counters Rebeca Leon, director of marketing and A&R; for the alternative division of EMI Latin, the record label behind artists such as El Gran Silencio and Manu Chao. “And it’s not only about rock, either. It’s about young music in general being ignored by radio stations. Look at [Texan cumbia-rap group] the Kumbia Kings. They sell millions of records and still don’t get that much airplay. As a result, we’re losing all these Latino kids to the Anglo market.”

Ask a radio station executive, however, and you will get a different story.

“At the end of the day, this is a business just like any other,” says Elias Autran, promotions and marketing director with KSSE-FM. “Super Estrella is a Top 40 station. We’ll play rock artists like Mana, Jaguares or Juanes, as long as they have hits that make it to the Top 40. When it comes down to the actual numbers, I think Latin rock is still an underground force.”

“It’s a little too edgy, and many radio stations don’t want to take that chance,” agrees Rene Garzona, promotions director with KLAX-FM (97.9) and KFSG-FM (93.5).

One station did take a chance in 1996. KRTO-FM (98.3) adopted a Latin alternative format, featuring 50% rock en espanol. But the station was sold in 1997 and the new owners switched to an English-language format.

“Radio is definitely out of touch with the times, but television and record labels are too,” says EMI Latin’s Leon. “We’re still promoting music the way we did 10 years ago. If we don’t evolve, the market won’t do it either. Clearly, the numbers are still low because we’re doing something wrong.”

Still, advertisers are embracing the aesthetic of Latin rock in order to reach a younger generation of U.S. Latinos -- and therein may lie the seeds of change.

In August, Cookman’s annual Latin Alternative Music Conference -- a rock en espanol celebration involving concerts, panels and showcases -- will be moving from New York to Los Angeles for its fourth edition. He has already secured the sponsorship of major brands like Nike, Coca-Cola and America Online.

Volvo used the electronic sounds of the Tijuana-based Nortec Collective on a recent TV commercial, and Bud Light has orchestrated a national ad campaign based on the appeal of soccer and rock en espanol.

“Things will change within the next five years,” Cookman predicts. “Record labels and radio stations will realize that this is a much bigger movement than what their friends in Miami are telling them. There’s major brands investing money in the market, and they’re seldom wrong. Those guys know how to spend their money.”