By Roy Ortega
The matchup on the radio could not have been any less likely. As a shy and deeply introverted high
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| KUKA-AM 1970 |
school kid, I set out one day to foolishly try to match talents with some of the coolest guys on the radio. Honestly, I'll never know how I managed to muster the gumption.
In the late 1960s, AM Radio in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas was hot. Top 40 hit songs dominated the airwaves. A mix of rock-and-roll, pop, metal music, and soul music blared on radios everywhere. I spent most of my free time listening in awe on my RCA transistor radio to DJs with names like Lee "Baby" Sims, Woody Roberts. Ricci Ware and Don Couser. KTSA-AM and KONO-AM were the ultimate "go to" radio stations with legions of loyal listeners all over South Texas.
In Search of Our Rightful Place in Radio
In the West Side barrios of San Antonio, a new generation of Mexican American teens searched for its cultural identity and in the process laid the roots to a whole new genre of music programming.
The history of the "West Side Sound" had actually been forged at least two decades earlier by a number of teen garage bands that sprang up in West San Antonio. Bands like Sunny and the Sunliners, Rudy Tee and the Reno Bops and the Royal Jesters began putting their own twist on a blend of rock and roll and soul songs they heard on the radio. Local teen dance venues were replete with homegrown music. Unfortunately, there were no mainstream radio stations willing to put their music on the air.
High School: My Starting Point
Whether by luck or a sudden flash of awakened maturity (an elusive trait in most teenagers), I found myself in the office of Mr. Alec Coe, owner of KUKA-FM one day for a job interview. How I got there is another story, but
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| James Vasquez |
I suspect that my high school principal James Vasquez might have had something to do with my being there. Among all of my teachers and administrators at John F. Kennedy High School, Mr. Vasquez seemed to be particularly adept at recognizing the potential of all of his students. Not only did he recognize a specific talent in me, but he also encouraged it by steering me toward the school's closed-circuit education TV station - KHS 77 - where I learned the basic elements of TV and radio broadcasting. When Mr. Coe went looking for someone to fill an entry-level position at his radio station, he went to the right place.
A Career Boost
By the time I walked into the broadcast studios of KUKA-AM in early 1970, I had already developed a keen ambition to become a rock-and-roll radio disc jockey. Needless to say, my father was not thrilled. A gruff World War II veteran, he made it clear he would never stand for a long-haired rock-and-roll radio DJ in his midst. Somehow, my mother intervened and assured him it was alright.
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| Henry Peña and Rudy Rocha |
In all honesty, my ambition could have easily been mistaken for what it really was: cockiness and self-assuredness, totally opposite of my former self. Some would say I might have been too "full of myself." Nonetheless, I walked into the DJ booth into what became an unexpected humbling experience. In front of me were two popular radio DJs performing their cool antics live on the air: Rudy Rocha and "Little Junior Jesse" Vallado.
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| Henry "Pepsi" Peña |
In another part of the studio, I caught a brief glimpse of Henry "Pepsi" Peña who was on his way to another job as the host of a new teen dance show to air on KWEX-TV. All three were already established as the key members of KUKA's Top Teen Tunes radio show. Their level of creativity, talent and loquaciousness, along with their ability to communicate to the masses kept me in total awe. In my state of starstruck bliss, I recall thinking to myself there's no way I can match up to these guys. I admit my self-confidence suffered a little that day but after a few days of introducing songs and reading "KUKA Power dedications" on the air, I was hooked on radio broadcasting. To this day I hold Rudy, Henry and Jesse in the highest regard for their mentorship and guidance that later led to many successes in my own career. I am happy to say that a little bit of their coolness rubbed off on me too.
The Rise of Hispanic Radio
Even as far back as the 1940s, young Hispanic kids in San Antonio were battling to fit into two cultures - American and Mexican. Many of them were first- or second-generation
Mexican Americans who embraced rock and roll and American pop music to the dismay of their parents who were still listening to traditional Mexican bolero ballads and conjunto music on KCOR-AM.
Thanks to the foresight of people like the Coe Family, owners of KUKA-AM and the Davila Family, owners of KEDA-AM, several young Hispanic DJs began appearing on the radio, spinning music that reflected the musical tastes of a young and flourishing demographic. In essence, this type of radio programming became the foundation for what we now call Tejano music.
Today, Tejano music accounts for a substantial portion of the $1.1 billion Latin music industry, according to Variety Magazine. Tejano is undoubtedly deeply ingrained in the culture of South Texas and many parts of the American Southwest.
However small and insignificant my role might have been, I am grateful to have been a part of its beginning.
Roy Ortega may be reached at rortega54@elp.rr.com. All comments are welcome.
Related Links:
Latin Music Revenue Hits Peak of $627M in 2023, Música Mexicana Up 56% (variety.com)
