Friday, July 22, 2011

New Station Extrema TN Offers Music from All Latin American Cultures

by Cindy McCain

Elvis, Shakira, Pitbull and the Beatles. EXTREMA TN, the passion project of Venezuelan-born Nere Vargas and Mexican native Rigoberto Velasco recently launched, offering Music City a multicultural, multigenerational, bilingual choice for Internet radio.

It all began last November in a Nashville bilingual cafĂ© when a public school Spanish teacher asked Vargas where students could listen to Spanish music to learn the language. Vargas named local AM stations, but on the ride home, she realized a need. She recalls telling Velasco: “All those stations play regional Mexican music, but they don’t play music from other Latin American countries and cultures.” Rigo agreed. He said since there wasn’t such a station, they’d create one, and EXTREMA TN was born.

"Our goal,” said Vargas, “is to show the American people all the types of music we have and to give our Hispanic community, which has grown fast these last ten years, a choice to hear different music from their countries.” Of the existing stations owned by friends, Vargas says the new station is not meant to compete but to complement by filling a void. Another distinction is that EXTREMA TN will play music in English as well as Spanish. Vargas explained:
In our native countries we listen to English music, classic songs no matter how old they are like 'Hotel California,' and 'Let It Be.' We listen to classic artists like Whitney Houston, Celine Deon, Elvis Presley, Phil Collins, and Madonna, as well as contemporary artists like Britney Spears, JLo, Pitbull, Lady Gaga, and Brianna. We’ll play Latin musicians who sometimes sing in English, like Shakira and Enrique Iglesias. We will play to all age groups and support Hispanic and American local musicians since many Hispanic families have children born here as Americans. What better place than Music City to show the world our local talent.
Velasco, the station’s programmer, has worked in radio almost twenty years in Mexico and the US. Vargas, owner of a printing company and the magazine 4U TN News handles is the PR and Sales Manager. While they first pursued an FM station, seeing the 2012 cars loaded with Internet persuaded them to go with the wave of the future.

After FCC meetings and much planning, the couple is excited about programming starting in August to include a morning show, a romantic show, and local news. The station plans to cover such topics as immigration, community, local entertainment, news, classifieds, and the Top 10 for each country from Argentina to the USA. Vargas says DJs will be local as well as from Memphis and other cities, and the station will stream live from Nolensville Pike, which the station owner says is “the heart of the Hispanic community in Nashville.”

You can listen to EXTREMATN online at www.extrematn.com , and on the Blackberry and iPhone @ www.mobil.extrematn.com. Check the website for an application coming soon for downloading on the Android. For more information call (615) 474-6135.

Writer Cindy McCain is the Nashville Latin dancing Examiner for Examiner.com. This is her second article for HispanicNashville.com.  McCain says her gypsy soul trapped in a Southern body finds cultural diversity and community in Nashville's pulsating Latin Dance scene. A longtime lover of dance and travel, the English- Instructor- By- Day, Salsa-Seeker- By- Night discovered in her own backyard not just an escape hatch but a portal to a new world. She showcases this global scene where people passionately dance beyond borders, finding joy and friendship in the Athens of the South. She invites you to bachata with her in the shadow of the Bellsouth Building and merengue rather than march to a different beat in Music City. You can contact her here with comments, events, or ideas for articles.


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