March 15, 1997 Mexican Radio

A Mexican Experience

I am sitting here listening to Mexican FM Radio: 93.7. New-venta-Trace, Punta-Set-tenta, I can’t understand more than one word out of ten, and none of the meaning of the songs, but they are nice to listen to, good pop tunes. Just now there was a song with a “Santana” like electric guitar and a nice beat, and some young Mexican vocalist.

It’s one of the first things I do when we get to a new place: find the local radio stations on the dial. I just punch the scan button and save each station on a memory button. Here in Barra de Navidad I got two stations. In Puerto Vallarta I got four. The one that is on now has fewer English songs but also it has fewer “tuba” songs. The typical Mexican folk songs, the ones that all the Mexican workers seem to listen to on their boom boxes, have tubas prominent in the rhythm section. I get tired of the “tuba” songs after a few hours. “Om-pah, Om-pah” endlessly.

Fred Roswold, SV WINGS, Mexico