Elvia Cardenas, a communication and media arts major at the University of St. Francis (USF), is producing and hosting the first all-Spanish-language music program on the University’s radio station, WCSF 88.7 FM.
Photo credit: Paula Garcia (’22, USF CMMA major)
Joliet, Ill. – Elvia Cardenas, a communication and media arts major at the University of St. Francis (USF), is hosting and producing the first-ever all-Spanish-language music program on the University’s radio station, WCSF 88.7 FM. The new radio program titled De Que Lado, offers a mix of Spanish language music and public affairs programming for the Joliet area’s Latinx community and airs Wednesdays from 12 to 2 PM CST on WCSF 88.7 FM in the Joliet area. The program (and all WCSF programming) is also streamed worldwide at wcsf.streamon.fm.
Cardenas said that the new show has already been received well by listeners.
“So far the show has gotten a great response. Hopefully, the number of listeners will continue to grow as time goes by. To be honest, it’s fulfilling just knowing that people are tuning in each week,” Cardenas said.
Cardenas, a 2022 winner of the Halberg Award for excellence in service to WCSF and a first-generation college student, produces the radio show to give exposure to independent Latinx artists not commonly heard on radio in the Joliet area and to inform the local Latinx community about public events.
According to Cardenas, there were several reasons behind creating an all-Spanish show on WCSF.
“I wanted to practice my Spanish more, as the only time I get to speak it was at home. I wanted my family to understand what I was saying when they listened to the show. My family is my number one supporter, so much so that my aunt in Mexico thinks that ‘anyway’ is a title of a song because of how often I say it on air. I also figured that having a Spanish show would be a good way to demonstrate that the radio club is open to any idea a student might have for a show,” Cardenas said.
Following graduation, Cardenas, who is currently a junior, will pursue a career in the communication field.
“I don’t know exactly what I want to do after graduation, as there many options for me to choose from in the communications field. However, I do know that I want to go behind the scenes in whatever I am doing, such as being a part of a crew for a show or news broadcast, or some sort of director in the radio field because I find it interesting seeing how it takes a team to make something happen,” Cardenas said.
Community organizations may submit information about their events to programmingwcsf@stfrancis.edu for airtime consideration.
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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 52,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.
University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.
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