Veteran DJs Alaskan-Hispanic radio show

  • Published
  • By Curt Biberdorf
  • Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Dave Luera gives Anchorage "something new" every Sunday night.

The human resources specialist at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District is host of "Algo Nuevo" - Something New - on KSKA 91.1 FM.

The music program on the public radio station plays cumbia, merengue, salsa and other styles of Latin music from 7:45 to 11 p.m.

"I enjoy the program so much that it's probably the best few hours of my week," Luera said, who never thought he would be involved in radio.

Luera, 54, was born and raised in Deming, N.M. Spanish was spoken at home, and English became his second language. In 1977, he enlisted in the Air Force, serving his first 18 years in vehicle maintenance before retraining to become a first sergeant for his last four years.

His final duty station was in Alaska, where he retired in 2001 and settled in Anchorage.
After trying several jobs, he pursued the human resources field and eventually landed a position with the Army's Civilian Personnel Advisory Center for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

He was assigned to the Alaska District in March 2010.

"It's been awesome," Luera said. "I really enjoy it here."

Although having no radio background or broadcasting ambition, music has always been an active part of his life.

Luera and his brothers learned to play the guitar while growing up, and he played in several bands and made a 45 rpm record with one of them.

He gave up playing in bands, but his music collection flourished. He owns about 400 each of 45 rpm records, LP records and cassette tapes as well as nearly 1,000 CDs and counting.

When KSKA canceled its local Hispanic program in 2007, an unexpected opportunity opened.

Some of his friends told Luera that the show had a limited music selection and encouraged him to contact the station about his variety.

In July that year, he called the station's program director, Bede Trantina, who invited him to the studios at the Alaska Pacific University campus for an audition.

All Luera desired was to lend his music collection, but he agreed to make an audition CD with several songs.

At the tryout, Trantina told him to go past the planned cutoff time.

Twenty minutes stretched to 40 minutes. Afterward, Luera said he thought that was the end of his venture. Puzzled that he listed his experience as "none," the 32-year radio broadcasting veteran was impressed with his announcing skills and music selection.
Three days later, Trantina invited him to start a two-hour program for the upcoming Sunday.

"My head was spinning," Luera said. "Here I was going to present music for a program and now I have to produce it? It was thrilling and nerve-racking. I wanted to prove to myself that I can do it."

He chose the name "Algo Nuevo" because it was a new show. It was a fresh start for Hispanic radio in Anchorage and filled a vacant market niche.

Each edition is recorded during the week, which allows him to listen and critique his performance, Luera said. Extraneous studio noises picked up on the microphone and seconds of dead air were eliminated, but he still finds ways to refine his skills.
"I've learned a lot of little tricks along the way," Luera said.

He spends almost six hours weekly to fill out a playlist, answer email and prepare the studio.

Playlists with the name of the song title, artist name, album title, CD label and duration are archived on the KSKA Web site.

Luera announces first in Spanish and then English, but admits he sometimes "gets carried away" and forgets the English.

During breaks, he mentions the show's sponsors, thanks the audience, and gives "shout outs" to friends and listeners for special occasions and to acknowledge song requests. Listeners are invited to send him email, and he weekly receives about 10 to 15 messages at the station address algonuevo@alaskapublic.org.

Many of the notes merely extend greetings, but they sometimes are more memorable. Bands have thanked him for playing their music. Email is the easiest way to request a song, but finding it is not always simple. When a woman requested a song to dedicate to her husband but only knew the band, Luera bought a CD of the artist, listened to it and guessed the right song to play.

"She was so impressed," he said.

Another listener asked if Luera could type and send him the lyrics to one of the songs on the show so that guests could sing it during a family member's 75th birthday party.
With the Internet, people can listen to his show online wherever they are connected.
Last year he received a note from a woman tuning in that he thought was from the Lower 48 but was actually in Nicaragua.

One way the show gains listeners is when they search for an artist's name online find it in the Algo Nueva playlist, he said.

The show's popularity as measured by the DAR.fm podcast service in late September ranks Algo Nuevo No. 3 out of 24 Latin radio shows, topped by stations in Mexico and Canton, N.Y. It ranks No. 35 out of 133 Anchorage radio shows listed on the site.

"If they could only add another zero to my pay," said Luera with a laugh, who is a volunteer. At least the radio show is the least expensive of his hobbies, which include drag racing a car he built on his own and restoring a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

Last year Algo Nuevo expanded to 3 hours, 15 minutes, and he said he thinks the show has a future, but his one wish is for an earlier time slot. That would make it easier for more people to experience "something new."