THE GORGE — Carlos Ibarra is the newest DJ and radio-show host at Radio Tierra, the non-profit Spanish-language community radio station based in the Gorge out of the Hood River office of The Next Door. About one year ago, Ibarra began hosting his show Reflexiones, which broadcasts every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 7 to 8 a.m.
Ibarra always listened to music and news on the radio, but never had any experience broadcasting or hosting his own show, he said. His suave and outgoing personality (he jokingly responds to “How are you?” with “guapo” or “handsome”) became an asset to his role as a radio host. When he met Radio Tierra Producer Arturo Leyva through volunteering with Comunidades, he was presented with the opportunity and decided to give it a shot. Now, Ibarra, who works a day job specializing in tile and hardwood installation, greets his listeners with the fluency of a seasoned announcer.
The morning that Ibarra invited me to the station to sit in on his broadcast, his first song of choice was, fittingly, called “Despiertame.” “It’s Jesús Adrián Romero and it’s a duet with a Norteño band called Duelo,” he explained. “[The singer] is telling his loved one, or maybe God, ‘wake me up’ if he’s walking through life like a zombie.”
For the rest of the show, Ibarra intersperses his songs with his own musings, community announcements, or news. Each morning’s show is centered around a particular theme or “reflection,” which can range from the philosophical and sociopolitical (“What is freedom and liberty?” and “Desertification and Drought”) to the mundane and practical (that day it was “Decisions”), which Ibarra keeps track of in paper sheet that he signs in on every morning.
“The idea is, we make a lot of decisions every day — and some decisions are automatic or intuitive, but some decisions are more intentional and result in consequences,” Ibarra explained. “I’m a little bit of a philosopher sometimes,” he joked.
Sometimes, he finds songs that relate to the reflection, Ibarra told me as “Decídete” by Marisela played in the background. Other times, he plays the music he enjoys — romantic ballads, mariachi, flamenco, or music he discovers from other stations in Portland or Vancouver. Listeners can also request songs by texting the station directly. A listener last week requested a song that his wife loves, Ibarra recalled, and the couple was very happy when Ibarra played it.
It is the simple joy of providing music and news to community members, and the importance of Radio Tierra being one of the only Spanish language radio stations in the Gorge, that keeps Ibarra committed to hosting his show, he said. Listeners can tune into Radio Tierra and Reflexiones at 97.5 FM in Hood River and White Salmon, 107.1 FM in Parkdale, 107.7 FM in The Dalles, and 96.7 FM in Carson, or online at radiotierra.org.
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