by Cody Braun
Carrboro Commons Writer

Felipe Labrada, right, shows Christina Rivera how to operate the sound equipment at WCOM 103.5, where Pa’lante creates their program. At top left is Jaime Mancilla, who helps out with the show.
Cody Braun photo

At the Radio Pa’lante picnic, children and dogs wander underfoot as a handful of adults move back and forth from an overflowing table and the aromatic kitchen. Fittingly enough, the greetings, farewells and conversations that fill the air are spoken nearly evenly in Spanish and English.

“Our mission is two-fold,” says Laura Wenzel, director and founder of the Radio Pa’lante program, “to promote harmony in Orange County among the existing communities and the Latino immigrant community and improve graduation rates among Latino immigrants.”

Pa’lante broadcasts every Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. from the WCOM 103.5 radio station on North Greensboro Street in Carrboro. The name Pa’lante is a contraction of the Spanish phrase “para adelante,” which means “let’s roll.”

Wenzel says that, like most of the choices made about the program, the name was the decision of the high school students who run the show. “It’s a youth-directed program, our work is determined by the ideas and needs of the youth,” she says.

The program, which began in June 2005, is intended to aid Latino immigrants in settling in the area.

“I think people get a lot of information about the Triangle and the events here,” says Byron Rodriguez, an East Chapel Hill High School student who has been working with the program for about two months.

“I hope a lot of other teenagers listen to the show,” says Rodriguez.

Radio Pa’lante member Johanna Aljure, center, interviews a guest about volunteering at the Orange County Animal Shelter.
Cody Braun photo

Wenzel says that though program has had open enrollment, and students came and went as they wanted, the program is changing to a set enrollment of 12-14 high school students.

Some students, like Rodriguez hope to use the skills they learn at Radio Pa’lante somee day in their future careers. “I get to use the (control) board here,” Rodriguez says, grinning.

The students involved in the program stress that one of the most important aspects of the station is the lack of other media outlets supplying the music, information and public forum provided by Radio Pa’lante.

“I think there really isn’t anywhere else to listen to this kind of music,” Rodriguez says.

Felipe Labrada, a junior at Carrboro High School who has worked with the program since it was created, says, “People listen to hear reggaeton and salsa.”

The students say they enjoy the fact that they are free to change the show as they please. “We just go ahead and do what we feel like,” says Rodriguez. “You can just chill and play some music.”

The atmosphere at the station when the program is being aired is very relaxed; students come and go, family and friends visit and a large group chats outside the station.

The students conduct interviews on-air, which often deal with the experiences of Latinos living in the area, the difficulties of adapting to a new country and the services available to area residents. Each show begins with the students introducing the station and voicing some of the station’s goals and purposes.

The students list many different reasons to work with the program; “Get youth to stay in school, have a hobby, keep in touch with the community,” but the most important, says Labrada, “is to have fun.”

For more information, or to listen to Radio Pa’lante, go to http://radiopalante.org/.