º ² »	º ² »
The Latinamerican Radio Show By Martha Mantilla	Martha Mantilla hosts La Revista Radial Latinoamericana , the only radio program in Spanish in Pittsburgh
	March, 2001
How did you get involved in the radio program? It all started in 1995 when a student from Camegie Mellon University, who was involved with WRCT, asked me if I wanted to host a radio program in Spanish. I discussed the proposal with my friend, Giovanni Reyes, who was at that time a student at Pitt and, even though neither of us had any training or experience in radio, we decided to take the challenge and started the program in September of that year. Since then we have had the PA (Public Affairs) slot every semester. The program airs once a week, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The day changes from semester to semester depending on the WRCT schedule. This semester it is being broadcast on Tuesday evenings.	Who else is involved in the production of the program? Different people have helped at various times. They are mainly students from Pitt who help for one or two semesters. Currently I am working with two certified broadcasters who are not Pitt students, one of whom is Jairo Diaz. Jairo called me one day at the radio station while the program was being broadcast. He had tuned in by chance, and was very excited to hear Spanish being spoken on a local radio station. I did not know him, but when he said he had done radio work in Colombia and Venezuela, I invited him to help me with the broadcast. The other person who has been involved is Aura Cortez from Venezuela, who is also a professional broadcaster. Additionally, we have a student from CMU, Jacob T. Feige, who works in the Master Control Room.
What do you do in the program?
We have changed the format over the years. However, we always include news about Latin America, politics, economics, and sports. We also play Latin American music and talk about the events of the Latin American community in the Pittsburgh area. We mention the exciting things that are going on in Pittsburgh related to the Hispanic culture: lectures, films, festivals, music and dances. We also make a particular effort to emphasize special events. For example we informed our audience about relief efforts being carried out by the community to help countries that have been hit by natural disasters like the Hurricane Mitch in Central America. More recently, we have been announcing the activities that are being organized in response to the earthquake that hit El Salvador, including fund raising events and informational panels. We also try to have a guest on each program. We have interviewed artists, poets, musicians, activists, professors, and students. Our guests have included very interesting people who have discussed a variety of current issues and events. I felt that this segment of the program was so important that at one point I decided to transcribe all the interviews in order to publish them. I was also inspired by the fact that while there are those who say that the Latin American Community in Pittsburgh is small and not that active, the reality is quite different. While the numbers may be small compared to other cities like New York or Los Angeles, there are a great number of people in Pittsburgh who are actively involved in so many different areas that when one looks at the larger picture, it is clear that the Hispanic community is not only active, but is growing rapidly. Restaurants offering ethnic food are increasing, the number of businesses is growing, and Hispanics are working in many different fields, including banking, real estate, marketing, and financial planning. Whether Hispanic or North American, all the people I have interviewed have been interested in Latin American and Hispanic cultures. It is wonderful to see this same interest expressed by North Americans, Japanese, Arabs, and Africans who attend salsa or tango workshops and enjoy the music and dancing with the same enthusiasm as Latinos.	Among the four of us who produce the program, Jairo has been particularly good at advertising our efforts. He distributed flyers everywhere in the Strip District‑in restaurants and on bulletin boards. Aura has a beautiful voice and has great ideas on how to incorporate new elements in the program. Jacob has been absolutely magnificent in preserving the time slot for us. Because WRCT is the radio station for CMU students, and my only affiliation with CMU is through the radio station, Jacob has had to fight hard any time. there has been a possibility of WRCT people taking the time slot away from us. Jacob also has a great appreciation of the Spanish language, and is seriously interested in learning it. Since we speak to him only in Spanish, he is forced to listen to us every week during our broadcast of the program. I really think that, because of this, his understanding and speaking abilities have improved substantially during these years of working together on the program. Is there any other program in Spanish in Pittsburgh? I do not know of any other program being broadcast in Spanish, although recently John McLaughlin, an undergraduate student at Pitt, has been playing some Latin and Caribbean music through WYEP 91.3 FM. What is your listening area? One can hear it clearly throughout Allegheny county, and sometimes from far outside this area. In addition, WRCT sends its signal to listeners all over the world via our MP3 netcast. How can someone get involved? We welcome anybody who speaks Spanish and has an interest in radio. The program is a volunteer activity, so anybody who has the time and interest is very much welcome. It is a lot of fun.
It is because of this enthusiasm, and the growing prominence of the Hispanic community, that I wanted to compile all of the interviews I have done, transcribe them and publish them, for they show how Pittsburgh is changing and becoming more international.
Who is your audience?
Well, that is difficult to say. When you are doing a radio show you do not know who is listening, and I am fairly sure we have had occasions when not many were listening. At the beginning in 1995, few people tuned in because nobody was aware that there was a radio program in Spanish. However, after almost six years of airing the program, more people know about it now and we think our audience has expanded. We know that there are people who tune in every week, particularly those who want to hear the Spanish language.
º ² »	º ² »

VOLVER A LA RADIO MAGAZINE