Spanish Radio Show Airs Mexican Music on WLRA Thursday Nights
PDF Rachel Stella, Copy Editor
Photo provided by Eric Hernandez: Junior Esmeralda Cordova hosts the “Pa’ La Banda Radio Show” on WLRA for Spanish-speaking audiences.
Spanish-speaking audiences are now able to tune in to Lewis University’s radio station, WLRA, to hear junior Esmeralda Cordova’s “Pa’ La Banda Radio Show.”
Cordova speaks exclusively in Spanish during her show’s three-hour time slot, which is from 9 p.m. to midnight on Thursday nights this semester. The show features her favorite genre of music, a Mexican style called Banda.
“(Banda is) a pretty heavy beat,” Cordova said, describing the music as mainly brass with 15-18 performers. “I have a preference for Mexican music … I often go to concerts, and I have met some of the famous Mexican regional Bandas … Therefore, I decided I wanted to start doing something related to that, and ended up in WLRA.”
Although Cordova is a psychology major, her love of music has inspired her to pursue a minor in TV/radio broadcasting.
“I look at it as a hobby,” Cordova said. “It’s something I love to do.”
Cordova began her broadcasting journey at Lewis in the “Introduction to Radio” course last semester, when she had her first show.
“My family would call me to give them (a) shout-out, so I did, but in Spanish, since some of them only speak Spanish,” Cordova said. “And then, every once in a while, I would play a (selection of) Spanish rock music.”
Later in the semester, Cordova was given the option to pick out all her music for her show, and to speak Spanish for the entire time slot.
“(I) couldn’t tell you how happy I was,” she said. “After that, I feel like I got more listeners and people calling in requesting songs. When I was told I could do my show once again this semester, I said yes in a heartbeat.”
Senior TV/radio broadcasting and multimedia journalism major Joey Preston, WLRA’s Director for Programming and Operations, thinks the cultural diversity is a positive aspect for the station.
“I think that cultural programming will increase the listenership of WLRA and is nothing but a good thing,” Preston said. “I would like to see (Cordova) using not only (her) language but (her) cultural background to enhance (her) show.”
Cordova said she has listeners at Lewis, Joliet Junior College and other schools, as well as listeners in other states and even in Mexico.
“I know that my show will mostly reach Spanish-speaking audiences, but I know that more college Spanish-speaking students are listening to me,” Cordova said. “I’m planning on talking about current topics that we face as college students, but at the same time reminding all those students where we come from.”
“Pa’ La Banda Radio Show” and other WLRA programs can be heard locally on 88.1 FM or streamed through the Internet in a variety of ways at wlraradio.com.
About the Author
Rachel Stella is a journalism major serving as a copy editor and reporter for The Flyer since 2011. She formerly was co-editor-in-chief of the Joliet Junior College Blazer and a copy editing intern with suburban Chicago's Daily Herald. She's devoted to AP style and journalism ethics.
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