It would seem appropriate that during International Women’s Month, the two longest-serving radio hosts in Las Cruces are women.
In March of 2000, Fiesta host Emily Guerra and Intermezzo host Leora Zeitlin were offered radio shows on KRWG-FM, now KRWG Public Media, by then station general manager, Colin Gromatzky. They have been on the air continuously for 20 years.
“20 years at one radio station is an amazing feat,” says station general manager, Adrian Velarde, “in an age of conglomeration and automation in media, it is mainly due to the passionate support of their respective audiences that drives KRWG Public Media to continue with their shows. That, and they produce fantastic radio shows.”
Both Fiesta and Intermezzo offer unique programming not found on any other radio stations in the Las Cruces and El Paso.
Emily Guerra’s show, Fiesta (Monday - Friday, 7pm– 9pm) offers an eclectic mix of Spanish music in a bilingual format. Guerra flawlessly switches from Spanish to English introducing the music and telling stories of the various artists. The music played on Fiesta goes beyond border Spanish music. Guerra features music from all Latin American countries.
“When I first started with the program I had decided to start with an instrumental such as Flamenco,” says Guerra, “I mix each set with local, national and international music. My predecessors presented the program all in Spanish. But because we are a bilingual state, I felt we should include all of our listeners and chose to present the music in a bilingual format. We get to know other Latin countries and travel the world with music without leaving the comfort of our homes.”
In 2019, Guerra won an award from “Premios de la Gente” in El Paso for best radio on-air announcer, competing with personalities from El Paso and the border region.
Accolades are nothing new for Intermezzo host Leora Zeitlin (Thursday and Friday, 2pm – 4pm), who was recognized by the National Press Women Association with a 2019 award for her interviewing skills. Being recognized on a national level speaks volumes about the type of show she produces. Zeitlin has also won awards from the New Mexico Press Women Association
Intermezzo is a classical music show that spans music from the renaissance to the 21st century. Each piece played on the show is either handpicked by Zeitlin or requested by the audience.
“I was hearing music even before I was born, because my father was the concert violinist Zvi Zeitlin, and he practiced all the time at home,” says Zeitlin, “I love many kinds of music, and am always delighted to include other genres on Intermezzo, like jazz, Broadway, or world music. When I’m at home, you may find me dancing to Motown, which I also grew up with in Manhattan.”
In an era where radio music programming is digitized to be played on a computer using algorithms or consultants, both Fiesta and Intermezzo are unique in that the playlists are hand-selected by both announcers, who still use CDs and records.
“There is just something special about handpicking music,” says Zeitlin, “But, I love taking requests, and my listeners have introduced me to a great deal of music over the years. It’s a great opportunity to find out who is listening and what they like to hear, and I enjoy chatting with them.”
Guerra agrees that interacting with the audience is key.
“My audience is from all of our listening areas, some Hispanic and non-Hispanic,” says Guerra, “Many of our listeners do not speak Spanish fluently and thank me for the bilingual format, saying they are learning Spanish through my program. I interact with the audience with listener requests and local interviews.”
After 20 years, both Guerra and Zeitlin still share a passion for their respective shows as does the radio audience.
KRWG Public Media will air a live Voice of the Public radio show on March 20th from 1pm to 2pm, so that audience members can share stories with Guerra and Zeitlin on 90.7 FM and krwg.org. The audience will get an opportunity to call in and ask questions of the announcers.