Latino radio station La Raza opening new studios after destructive fire in May unrest

Sep. 16--One week was all it took for KMNV La Raza's radio station to get back on the air after its South Minneapolis building burned down in the May civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Four months later, the Latino radio station is opening at a new location in Richfield.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at 7645 Lyndale Ave. S.

Maya Santamaria, the CEO of Santamaria Broadcasting, said she felt a responsibility to represent the Latino community by keeping the station going despite the protests and the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have gone through a lot in the last three months," Santamaria said in a statement. "First the pandemic and then the May social unrest hurt La Raza tremendously, but we are happy to be moving to our new facility and continue to serve the Twin Cities."

The new station cost around $150,000, according to Santamaria, which matches the amount lost in the fire. A little over half of the cost was paid by insurance, while $25,000 was provided by the community group We Love Lake Street, $3,400 came from donations through GoFundMe.com, and the rest was paid out of pocket.

After moving temporarily to one of the studios provided by community radio station KFAI, Santamaria said, she realized there was nowhere to rebuild the station in South Minneapolis.

Richfield seemed to be the best alternative.

"It's a wonderful, vibrant community where Latinos are being very active and entrepreneurial and making their home," Santamaria said. "We have a Latina mayor, she has Latino staff, you can hear Spanish spoken in her offices. ... It's a Latino-friendly city."

Santamaria said that a lot of La Raza's audience lives in Richfield and Bloomington, and businesses that were lost in South Minneapolis are popping up there as well.

"We are so fortunate that La Raza Radio decided to call Richfield its new home," said Maria Regan Gonzalez, mayor of Richfield. "Not only is La Raza Radio an excellent source of entertainment and important information for Latino Minnesotans, they are a great asset, partner and contributor to our community. I'm excited to welcome La Raza to Richfield and look forward to exploring creative ways to partner."

Santamaria stressed the work that went into restoring their intellectual property as well as preparing and designing their new station. Her team managed to get the station back on air within a week of the fire, with one member coding for the entire week.

"As far as I know, that has to be a record," Santamaria said.

Some 100,000 musical recordings were lost to the fire, as well as commercial files, sound equipment and more.

"Our (general manager) programmer didn't sleep for weeks," she said.

Other businesses within the same East Lake Street building have yet to resurface, including El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub and Town Talk Diner.

Even with a new station, the pandemic still presents a challenge to La Raza. Santamaria said they still face difficulties in gaining advertising and doing business because of the lack of clients.

Even through pandemic and protests, La Raza has managed to return on the air in an effort to represent the Latino community.

"We've got to have the voice," she said.

Listeners can tune in to KMNV La Raza Radio at 95.7 FM or 1400 AM. The station is still collecting donations at www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-s-minneapolis.

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