Spanish radio soothes the homesick in U.S. heartland

January 22, 2007
By Andrea Hopkins

Most people who phone Simon Cipriano are far from home and want to hear music from their childhoods. They dedicate sad songs to wives living far beyond the signal of northern Kentucky's fledgling Spanish radio station.

Disc-jockey to the homesick, Cipriano surfs his bank of 15,000 Spanish songs in a bid to connect the Hispanic diaspora to a new community in the U.S. heartland.

From a tiny cinder-block building behind a strip mall in the Cincinnati suburbs, the 36-year-old Mexican immigrant has breathed life into a station that failed in other formats -- from all-Elvis and classic country to business and Gospel.

Within 24 hours of hitting the air last July, word-of-mouth gave 'La Estacion de la Raza - La Ley 1320 AM' -- 'The Station of the People' -- a fervent following among Cincinnati's growing Hispanic community, the latest in a string of successful Spanish radio stations in middle America.

'We like to make them feel like there's a home outside home,' Cipriano said as he lined up a song from Eric to wife Sarah -- married 10 years but living apart at separate jobs.

'He asked me to say 'Happy birthday, sweetheart, I love you,'' Cipriano translated. 'Spanish guys are very romantic. It's always about love, missing people, or being sad.'

The station's signal covers Cincinnati and its Kentucky and Indiana suburbs, reaching what Cipriano estimates are tens of thousands of listeners.

The 2000 Census put the region's Hispanic population at more than 22,000, but experts believe the number has since more than tripled.

It's a market Peter Davidson knows well. His Davidson Media Group bought the station last year and immediately converted it to a 24-hour Spanish-language format -- his 33rd such station.

Davidson says Spanish media is old news in cities like Los Angeles and Miami. The fastest growing immigrant populations are now in the heartland, from North Carolina to Kansas and Kentucky.

While Hispanic migration into the largely white, English-speaking swath of middle America may have helped stoke an anti-immigrant backlash, Davidson sees only a burgeoning business opportunity.

'We have no problem getting listeners. These are high-growth emerging markets,' said Davidson, adding that Hispanic businesses also clamor to advertise on the station.

Luring traditional English businesses to advertise is more difficult. Cipriano said some hang up when they hear his accent. On the other hand, McDonald's will begin advertising next week.

Jon Petrovich, broadcast chair at the Medill School of Journalism, said Spanish radio is a growing niche market.

'If you're homesick and you're lonesome and it's all about language ... you'll go where you feel welcome, and a lot of comfort is with language,' said Petrovich, who launched CNN en Espanol and CNN Radio Noticias.

Cipriano brings comfort to his listeners with recipe contests and prayer requests for a sick child. He also promotes upcoming community events, and explains what the looming tax filing season means for workers.

'We are not just here to play music and pass messages, we're here to get people involved in the community,' said Cipriano.

Local Hispanics say the station is a touch of home.

'We have it on all day long, and I also have it on in my car,' said Lluliana Padilla as she worked the cash register at her family's Hispanic grocery store in Florence, Kentucky.

'A lot of people don't have their family here,' Padilla explained. 'This music, it's kind of like home.'

Source: monstersandcritics.com