LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Bringing the Latino culture straight to your sound systems. Local Spanish radio is an important medium connecting its listeners to news, culture and music.
13 Action News anchor, Kelsey McFarland, talked to a DJ at 101.9 La Buena about the evolution of Spanish radio.
EL DUVALIN
Alex Lozano or as his viewers may know him, El Duvalin, has been in radio for 18 years. And as our Latino population grows in Southern Nevada, so does the importance of Spanish radio.
Tune your radio to 101.9 FM in the afternoon and you may hear this voice. Alex Lozano started in radio at just 17 years old. He's the Hispanic Production Director and afternoon drive show Cohost.
"It's a family-oriented radio station. And we're just community driven," Lozano said.
He's watched Spanish radio grow along with the Latino population in Las Vegas.
"And I remember back in the day that there was no Spanish stations when I came here to Las Vegas. I grew up in Las Vegas. And I remember the first one was an AM station. It was all talk. And then the boom came and we just started seeing all these FM stations," Lozano said.
La Buena talks news, culture and celebrity gossip. They play Spanish adult hits, a little bit of 90s, 80s and brand new chart toppers.
"We play those songs that probably brings those memories to our audience. They're like, What? My mom used to sing that song when I was younger. My dad used to play that song at home eating frijoles. I guess that's the strength we have as a Spanish FM station," Lozano said.
The competition has expanded with the addition of Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services.
COMMUNITY CARE
Lozano says there's one advantage those services can't compete with, people who care about the community they're broadcasting to.
"I hear all this radio is going to be gone in a couple of years. I don't believe that. And I'm not trying to be partisan here because I work in radio. But I really don't believe that as long as there's a person, a human being sitting behind a mic and creating that connection with the community, the local community," Lozano said.
You can also find Alex and the La Buena team out and about for concerts and events. You can also stream them online.
