Urban Legends - Raúl Alarcón Sr.
Radio pioneer Raul Alarcón Sr. immigrated to the United
States from his native Cuba in 1960, following the seizure of 14
radio stations he owned and operated, by Fidel Castro’s socialist
government. What initially seemed like a setback resulted in
Alarcón Sr. leading the charge for the proliferation of Spanish
language radio stations in the U.S., and eventually commanded
him to establish the SBS (Spanish Broadcasting System Inc.).
Born in Ciego de Avila, Cuba in 1926, Alarcón Sr. vowed to
continue his radio success in the states by securing and initiating
his career in the Anglo market as a radio personality at
WBNX broadcast radio in New York City. As expected, his prior
experience quickly enabled him to move up the station’s ranks,
where he earned the title of programming director and station
manager. By 1970, Alarcón created WEVD (La Grande) - the
very first Spanish language FM radio station in New York City.
In 1983, Alarcón launched the Spanish Broadcasting System
and purchased WSKQ (La Super 1380) New York. Alarcón’s
success and influence had a profound effect on his son, Raul
Alarcón Jr. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from
Fordham University, Alarcón Jr. joined his father in radio. By
1988, the Alarcóns purchased their first FM radio station, KLAS
97.9 FM in Los Angeles. The following year, father and son acquired
the 97.9 FM frequency in New York, which later became
WSKQ La Mega 97.9.
The high ratings and steady ad revenue generated from the
early days of SBS proved that the growing Latino population
was a strong force in the market. Other stations followed in
meeting this demand to serve the Latinos, ensuring coverage
proportionate to the percentage of consumption by this demographic.
More and more companies began increasing their
advertising budgets towards the Latino market. From 1993 to
1998, the amount of Spanish language radio stations in the
U.S. increased by 89 from 365 to 454 stations in both the AM
and FM airwaves.
By the time of his passing on June 11th, 2008, Alarcón Sr.’s
company had become one of the largest Spanish language radio
station (owner-operators) in the United States. Today, the
Alarcón brand owns over 20 radio stations located in Puerto
Rico, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, New York,
San Antonio, and Dallas.
For his accomplishments and contributions to the greater growth of the Latino media, Raul Alarc ón Sr. was posthumously
awarded the Medallas de Cortez Lifetime Achievement Award
at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference in Miami, Florida,
earlier this year.
Raul Alarcón Jr. continues to transcend his father’s leadership, via his management of SBS. Since 1999, Alarcón Jr. has served as chief executive officer, president, and chairman. If SBS keeps expanding by matching their radio success in other media outlets (the internet, television, film, etc.), Raul Alarcón Sr. will go down in history as the founder of a media conglomerate with the rare distinction of being owned and operated by Hispanics.
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