With studios above Las Palmas Market in the heart of the Beechview business district, Radio Las Palmas offers a 24-hour mix of news, sports and commentary in Spanish along with an eclectic music rotation spanning salsa, merengue, dembow, bachata, cumbia, Mexican regional, reggaeton and other traditional and contemporary Latin styles.

Since premiering on air in October 2023, Radio Las Palmas has served as Pittsburgh’s only full-time Spanish-language radio station.

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“Our audience is expanding,” says program director Mateo Mattos. “Radio has always been a personal medium where you feel you are part of the conversation. For many people right now, that connection is very important.”

The station broadcasts on an HD (hybrid digital) sub-channel of 92.9 WLTJ-FM, an adult contemporary station operated by Steel City Media. WLTJ and sister station 96.9 WRRK-FM also host HD formats for classic rock, seasonal holiday music, sports betting news and Yinz Radio showcasing local Western Pennsylvania musicians.

William Shakes and DJ Cesar introduce music on their “La Onda” afternoon show. Photo courtesy of Radio Las Palmas.

Commercial Spanish-language programming made its debut on U.S. radio airwaves Feb. 15, 1946, when Mexican-American newspaperman and political activist Raoul Cortez invested his life savings into launching KCOR-AM in San Antonio, Texas. 

Today, nearly 1,900 commercial and noncommercial radio stations in 41 states and the District of Columbia offer Spanish-language programming utilizing more than 100 different music and news formats. 

And radio remains a popular media destination for American Latinos; a 2023 Nielsen report stated that radio reaches more Spanish-speaking consumers than any other broadcast platform. 

Anchoring the weekly schedule of live and pre-recorded shows are “Buenos Días Pittsburgh” with Angelo Caviwhat (Monday-Friday, 6-8 a.m.), “El Levantón” with Mateo Mattos and Erick Serrano (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-noon), “La Onda” with DJ Cesar and William Shakes (Monday-Friday, 12-6 p.m.), “Pittsburgh Sport” with Iván Ortiz (Monday-Friday, 6-7 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 12-2 p.m.), “Te Lo Cuento News Pensilvania” with Carlos Roa and Eduardo Hayek (Saturday-Sunday, 10-11 a.m.), “International Top 20” with Hector El Nene (Sunday, 2-4 p.m.) and “Mexican Regional” with Iván Ortiz (Sunday, 4-6 p.m.).

“Buenos Días Pittsburgh” with Angelo Caviwhat on Radio Las Palmas

NEXTpittsburgh visited the Radio Las Palmas broadcast booth and spoke with Mattos and co-host Erick Serrano on a break during their morning show “El Levantón.”

NEXTpittsburgh:  How can people listen to the station?

Mateo Mattos: Two different ways. The first is to download the Radio Las Palmas phone app that lets you hear the live broadcast. You can download it for free. We don’t ask for any information — name, date of birth, your email, anything. We just want you to download and enjoy the radio station. The second way is via the website. 

NEXTpittsburgh:  How did this station come together three years ago?

Mattos:  Erick and I had been working as deejays at Insomnia nightclub on Brookline Boulevard, which is owned by the Berumen family that owns Las Palmas. I have a journalism and public relations background, and Erick has been involved in radio broadcasting for 21 years, so we asked the owners, hey, why don’t we step forward and grow this beyond just the club? There are not a lot of Latinos involved in Pittsburgh media. There is no radio station. There is no TV channel. Let’s build something for the Latino community.

At one time Las Palmas had a Mexican man who came into the store and did a live program on Facebook for one or two hours every day, playing music and greeting all the Latinos in the city. And we told them, let’s have a radio station the whole day, not just one hour. Let’s do something bigger. And they agreed, and we built this.

Mateo Mattos and Erick Serrano co-host “El Levantón” morning show Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. Photo by L.E. McCullough.

NEXTpittsburgh:  Why do you think radio is still so important to the Latino community?

Erick Serrano:  In the Latino community the people are looking for entertainment, looking for good times, looking for work. The radio is an easy way to get together. If you have ever been in a Latino business, whatever kind — if it’s a grocery store, if it’s a clothing store, if it’s a restaurant — you will find that they always have music. 

Mattos:  And there are a lot of things going on in the city, a lot of events, a lot of music of interest to Latinos. Radio Las Palmas gives the people what they were trying to find in one platform. Something that speaks about Beechview, Squirrel Hill, North Hills, South Hills, Oakland — what is going on with the universities here, what is going on with the traffic, with the weather, with everything inside Pittsburgh? You can find it here on Radio Las Palmas in the Spanish language.

NEXTpittsburgh:  Have you been drawing local business advertising?

Serrano:  We have a lot of American-owned businesses that identify that the Latino community is really hardworking, and they want the Latino community to work with them. What’s the best way to get known in the Latino community? Be on the radio. 

Mattos:  The other important service Radio Las Palmas provides is connecting our listeners with the many organizations working for the Latino community in Pittsburgh. You have information, you have jobs. You’re looking for people to work with you. You’re looking for the people to assist your event. Come to us, and we can help you to disseminate that information. We open the doors for everyone.