2006年VOA标准英语-Spanish-Language Radio Station Profits From His

By Greg Flakus
Washington, DC
07 September 2006
 
watch Spanish Radio report

Since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans a year ago, the Hispanic population of that city and surrounding communities has grown dramatically.  One beneficiary of the growth has been a small Spanish-language radio station, KGLA. The station recently won the Broadcast Journalist of the Year award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists for its service to the Hispanic community following the disaster.

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KGLA's van for remote broadcasts. The station is better known as Radio Tropical Caliente  
  
KGLA, better known as Radio Tropical Caliente, was a beacon¹ of hope and encouragement for Spanish-speaking people in southern Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. The station kept the community informed and established a link between displaced residents and their relatives in Latin America.

KGLA is primarily a music station. But it also runs news, weather information and sports coverage² of both U.S. and Latin American teams and events.

 

Jaime Cerrato   
  
Announcer Jaime Cerrato is a native of Honduras. He says the station has a very loyal following. He says many people call the station to express their appreciation³. They say they are tuned⁴ in all day long -- they go to sleep with the station and wake up to it.

Ernesto Schweikert, from Guatemala, owns the station. Almost every one on staff is from a Central American country. The audience ranges from Mexicans to Puerto Ricans and even some Spaniards.

Schweikert says the audience for his station has grown along with the Hispanic population in the New Orleans area. It was around three percent before Katrina and is estimated at well above 20 percent now.

 
Ernesto Schweikert 
  
He says advertising⁵ revenue also has grown. "The big companies, the national companies, they are getting real results here with the Hispanic community and they want to keep putting more money into it because they are getting the results."

Many of the people listening every day are immigrants from Mexico and Central America who came here to work on construction and recovery projects.

Schwiekert says this reminds him of the effort made by Hispanics to rebuild New Orleans following a disastrous⁶ fire in 1788. That was during the 40-year period when the city was under Spanish control.

"Because the Spaniards were governing Louisiana, they were the ones that were rebuilding," says Schwiekert. "It is ironic⁷, because here, if you go look at any roof in any part of the metropolitan⁸ area, you are going to see Hispanic people rebuilding the homes and the buildings and cleaning up."

Ernesto Schweikert says this city has deep Hispanic roots and that its ambiance has always appealed to people from Latin America.

"Why do you think Latinos like New Orleans? Because we feel at home. There is 24 hours (a day) drinking, the food is like in our countries, you know, they use a lot of condiments⁹. They even use a lot of hot sauces here. Even the politicians are the same. So we feel like home."

Ernesto Schweikert is planning to open a Spanish-language television station for New Orleans, to build on the success he has had with radio in this rapidly growing Hispanic market.

 

1 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

8 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

9 condiments   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• Refill and clean all salt and peppers, sugar bowls, and other condiments. 清洁并续满所有的胡椒瓶、盐瓶、糖缸及其他调料。
• Go easy on condiments, they tend to be salty. 别放太多调味品，这样往往会太咸。