To the sound of mariachi music, with tacos and wine on a September day in downtown Salinas, a couple of Latina entrepreneurs announced that they were now owners of La Buena and Luna, two Spanish-language radio stations located in East Alisal.
Daisy Ortiz and Vanessa Diaz, friends who have worked in the radio industry for decades, decided to start a new adventure when they learned the stations were on the market. But it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
“Sometimes we asked ourselves, ‘Are we doing this at the right time?’” Ortiz says.
They were a little hesitant for obvious reasons – the pandemic, the uncertainties of owning a business even if there is no pandemic – but they settled on “it’s either now or never.”
Due to Covid-related restrictions, they couldn’t reach out to people the same way. Marketing, connecting with listeners, learning more about local trends all became more nuanced.
But their experience in radio paid off. They began producing local projects like Tu Voz, Tu Comunidad – Your Voice, Your Community – a 30-minute weekly program dedicated to interviewing local leaders, experts and directors of nonprofits, creating a platform where organizations can share information at no charge.
“We want to help, give and communicate how important it is to provide [information] to people,” Diaz says, adding that support for their listeners is an element they have integrated into their musical stations.
On the program they discuss topics such as economic development, education and health. They also broadcast a special segment during Hispanic History Month where third – and fifth-grade students came to the studio to speak about who they admire and why. Their stories were shared on the air.
“We’ve worked for other people,” Ortiz explains. “This is the first time we are owners, so now we actually get to do it the way we want.”
The stations run 15 – or 30-second public service announcements for nonprofits, and community leaders are invited to participate in Tu Voz, Tu Comunidad. They are working with several local organizations including nonprofits Harmony at Home and Hospice Giving Foundation, and the Salinas United Business Association.
And there’s always music.
La Buena de Salinas (“La que más suena”) 103.5 FM, is a station featuring Mexican regional music, playing classics from Ramon Ayala, Vicente Fernandez and others, alongside contemporary performers such as Grupo Firme and Christian Nodal. It also has three live shows during the day, including at 5am with Don Cheto and at 11am with La Doris Noriega. Noriega has two segments: a news show called La Policiaca and Barra Libre, where she does shout-outs and plays song requests.
Luna (“Donde cantan las estrellas”) 106.3 FM, is a mix of different genres from pop to ballada, rock and reggaeton. It has a live show with Junior Pardo, a Colombian who moved to the area a few months ago and is in charge of the morning program.
Diaz serves as the content creator, choosing the music, finding talent, producing entertainment features. Ortiz is in charge of sales and advertising. Both have heard that music in Spanish isn’t a good fit locally. “People are under the impression that if you’re a millennial, or a bilingual Hispanic in this community, that you might not be listening to La Buena,” she says.
But they say that is not the case.
“We are still tied to our relatives, our heartstrings to our culture,” Ortiz says. Like many Monterey County residents, she has family in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. Music brings them closer. Latin Americans, anglo hipsters, first – or second-generation immigrants – “That’s a complete picture of who our audience is.”
Both women say they are here for the long run and in five years they see themselves owning these two radio stations and, hopefully, a few more.
“When you offer the full multi-platform – radio, video, digital and social media – you can help grow your business, your clients’ business, you can help inform the Hispanic consumer,” Ortiz says.