Interview with David Gonzalez

by Ben Erdmann

Guerra, who is a very famous Dominican artist, widely regarded as one of the artists who popularized a current form of Dominican music—bachata—and gave it broad appeal that allowed it to spread across the island, where it used to be a niche and frowned-upon genre.

Over the last year-and-change, how has your relationship to the station evolved?

So, can you introduce yourself and talk a bit about your involvement at WKCR?

I’m David Gonzalez, a senior at Columbia. I’ve been involved with KCR for a year and change now, so, since last fall. And since I became a programmer, I’ve been relatively involved in the Latin department. I’ve hosted Urbano Latinx, which is our Tuesday morning show of urban Latino music. I’ve hosted Mambo Machine a handful of times and a Sunday Profile.

Who was the Sunday Profile on?

I did it over the summer. It was on Juan Luis

It’s definitely changed a ton; I really didn’t know what to expect when I came in. I originally joined with my friend Noel Gomez, since he was interested in the radio and I was vaguely interested in the prospect of being on air but didn’t know what it was really about. As I got more involved with the station, I came to understand better what goes on around the station, how everything’s operated, and how to program stuff on air. Over time I’ve gotten to know a lot more people at KCR; I’ve gotten to be a part of this wonderful community which I think has really been a highlight of my time here at Columbia. I’ve also got to know a little more about the history of the station and get feedback from listeners, which has been very rewarding. It’s also nice to be able to express myself and learn a little more about different genres of music and have people appreciate that I’m putting in this time and effort. I’ve really grown to appreciate it all.

You mentioned Urbano Latinx and Mambo Machine; have those shows always been in your repertoire? Have the shows you’re interested in changed?

I originally took Urbano because it’s one of the slots that was open when I got licensed—you know, Tuesday [early] morning, I thought I’d try it out. But as I got to do it a little more, I realized it was actually perfect for me. I come from a Mexican-Dominican family: my dad’s from Mexico City and my mom is from Moca, and I grew up in the Bronx. So, unintentionally, I listen to almost entirely urban Latino music, which works out. I stuck with the show and found it really fun. I appreciate the openendedness of it. It’s not super constrained since I can play urban Latino music from literally anywhere. It can be stuff being made in the US by second-gen Latino artists, or it can be stuff from the 50s that was being played out in Buenos Aires. So much variety has given me a lot of freedom with the show. It’s never the same thing every week; I still don’t think I’ve done the same thing on any given show.

Do you have a favorite theme or artist you’ve done for Urbano?

There’s so many. I did a ticket giveaway for Aterciopelados, and I got to listen to a couple of their songs. I had heard some stuff, but I hadn’t heard some others, so it was cool to listen to some more. My very first show [was] doing Latin indie music, which was secondgen Latino artists trying to get into the indie scene. That was super fun because I hadn’t heard most of the indie music I played, and the day before I was trying to listen to more stuff, to find music, which was a cool learning experience. It showed me that there are people out there who have similar backgrounds to me, making music and trying to put it out there on their own.

What should listeners be listening to today?

Do you have any recommendations?

Oh boy. If you’re looking for a more modern scene, there are a lot of cool Latin indie artists out there. For some that are more homegrown, I can think of Cuco as a really big one who has blown up over the years. Kali Uchis has become a really big part of the indie/R&B scene, and she’s still putting out some really cool stuff while sticking to her roots. If you’re looking for recommendations abroad, the popular music now is reggaeton, and there are a lot of cool artists doing stuff there. I am always going to be a little biased toward rock en español: Café Tacvba is a big one, Molotov is also really fun to listen to. And if you want to get to know some of the early stars in Latin America, Soda Stereo is a really big one. Between Latin indie and rock en español, there’s a lot of music you could dive into.

Do you have a favorite piece of WKCR history?

Ah, there’s so much! I didn’t know that we were the first FM radio station, which I think is very, very cool. There’s a lot of Latin lore that is really fascinating. We were the first station in the city to play salsa music, which is bizarre to me. I didn’t expect that to be the case, and especially with a lot of up-and-coming salsa artists and hip-hop artists—I think in the 80s—we’ve essentially been at the forefront of playing new music, which I think is really cool. The fact that a college radio station has so much impact and has been able to push new genres in New York is really sick.

How has WKCR impacted your college experience?

On the one hand, I got to experience a lot more community and get to know a lot more people. I’ve gotten to meet a ton of really cool people in my time here at KCR, and I’ve gotten to make some really good friends. I originally came in with my friend Noel, and we started out doing it for fun but ended up really bonding over doing KCR and sitting in on each other’s shows late at night, which has been really rewarding. And also the idea of just having a regular (though very active) time by myself that’s already allotted has been grounding for me. It’s been nice to have an hour where it’s just me, the music I’m playing, and any listeners that might call in. It’s been a grounding force even when I

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