Today is Public Radio Music Day and it's an opportunity to celebrate what we're building together.
Now in its seventh year, Public Radio Music Day was created by the noncomMUSIC Alliance to recognize the important role that public radio music stations play in connecting communities, supporting local artists, and introducing audiences to music they might not hear anywhere else.
This year's theme is Sounds Like Home and I can't think of a more perfect fit for Avanza.
Porque de eso se trata Avanza: de crear un espacio donde todos podamos sentirnos en casa. Un espacio que nos pertenezca y que refleje quiénes somos.
In many ways, that's exactly why Avanza was created. It's the North Star that guides the work we do every single day.
Avanza exists so that all of us can have a greater sense of community, a sense of belonging, and a space for joy. A place where we can celebrate the totality of who we are: our languages, our cultures, the experiences that shape us, and the contributions we make to Utah.
I grew up in Salt Lake City, the son of Colombian immigrants. And growing up, I didn't find too many places in local media that reflected me, my experiences, or my community.
Crecí aquí en Salt Lake City, hijo de inmigrantes colombianos. Y durante muchos años sentí que nuestras experiencias, nuestras voces y nuestras comunidades no estaban suficientemente representadas en los medios locales. Hoy tengo el privilegio de dirigir la programación de una emisora creada precisamente para servir a las crecientes comunidades bilingües de Utah.
Today, I have the privilege of serving as the program director of a radio station created to serve Utah's growing bilingual communities. And that mission is reflected in what you hear on our airwaves, the stories we tell, and the experiences we create when we come together in person.
When you listen to Avanza, you're going to hear music in Spanish, music in English, and sometimes music in other languages. You're going to hear different genres and discover new artists. But you're also going to hear songs you grew up with. Maybe it's an American hit from the 90s, followed by a Mexican or Latin American classic from the 80s.
And that's intentional. Because that's what our lives sound like. We grew up listening to different kinds of music, sometimes in different languages, and all of it is part of who we are.
En Avanza escuchamos música en español, en inglés y en otros idiomas. Descubrimos nuevos artistas y también volvemos a escuchar esas canciones que nos acompañaron durante nuestra infancia y juventud. Porque nuestra identidad no se limita a un solo idioma, un solo género musical o una sola cultura. Todo eso forma parte de nuestra historia.
It's our playlist. It's our soundtrack. And it sounds like home.
But Avanza is about more than music.
Through our community affairs programming, we have conversations about the issues that matter to us. We go beyond the headlines to explore how these issues affect our families, our neighbors, and our communities. We create space for different perspectives and for conversations that don't always happen elsewhere.
Y no se trata solamente de música. A través de nuestros programas de asuntos comunitarios, hablamos de los temas que nos importan, vamos más allá de los titulares y exploramos cómo lo que sucede a nuestro alrededor afecta a nuestras familias y a nuestra comunidad.
We're also here to celebrate the incredible talent that exists right here in Utah. The musicians, artists, cultural leaders, and everyday people who contribute so much to our community and help make this state a better place to live.
And we don't just do that on the radio.
We do it in person, too. Through events like AVANZA LIVE, we bring people together to enjoy music, celebrate our cultures, discover local talent, and simply have a good time. We want people to feel welcome, to feel connected, and to feel that this is their community.
That's what Sounds Like Home means to me. Utah is our home. It's where we live, work, raise our families, and build our futures. And it's a place made richer by the languages, traditions, and cultures that we and our families bring from different parts of the world.
Utah es nuestro hogar. Aquí vivimos, trabajamos, criamos a nuestras familias y construimos nuestro futuro. Y las tradiciones, los idiomas y las culturas que traemos de nuestros países de origen enriquecen este lugar que todos compartimos.
Avanza is not just a radio station. It's a community service. It's something we're building together, and we want you to be part of it.
We welcome your feedback, your ideas, and your participation. If you'd like to volunteer, get involved, or simply learn more about what we're doing, please reach out to us at info@avanzautah.org.
We're grateful for all of you. Gracias a todos los que nos escuchan, nos acompañan en nuestros eventos y creen en lo que estamos construyendo.
Gracias por avanzar con nosotros. Thank you for advancing with us. Avanza means to move forward. And that's exactly what we're doing, together, every single day.
