Let's Talk About Sexo

By Dulce Reyes Bonilla, ColorLines. Posted February 15, 2006.

It's 7 a.m. on a Monday morning. On a Spanish-language radio station, DJs Luis Jiménez and Moonshadow tell listeners, "Llámanos y cuéntanos lo que sucedió en el fin de semana" ("Call us to tell us what happened over the weekend"). The responses?

Male Caller: "This weekend, my wife and I finally found the chica we've been seeking for a threesome; she was too nervous to go through with it, but she said she wants to learn and my wife's willing to teach her, bro'!"

Female Caller: "My man, an older guy, took me from behind. I'd heard it was gonna hurt 'cause that end is so tight. But, oh, I was enchanted! Bliss, delicious."

Welcome to Spanish wake-up radio. The last decade has seen a boom in Spanish-language radio shows that are mostly about sexo. DJs and callers discuss dildos, anal sex, group sex and not getting sex.

Although no one -- not activists, academics or community leaders -- can readily agree on what all this raunchy sex talk means for Latinos, everyone is worried.

And one thing is for certain: Howard Stern can't keep up with it. New York's leading Spanish radio show beat Stern's blunt sex talk in Arbitron ratings in 2003 and 2004. This sexy radio is not the only type of Spanish radio programming in the morning, but this format, with its emphasis on spontaneous chatter over news or music, is exploding on the airwaves.

At a moment when mainstream America seems to be abandoning radio for digital cable and the internet, Latinos are invigorating the dial more than ever. The number of Spanish-language radio stations across the United States jumped from a mere 49 in 1980 to more than 645 last year. According to Arbitron, radio's rating monitoring system, this is happening in all Latino communities, across lines of class, language and background. It is no small matter that the hottest Spanish-language radio format is the four- or five-hour block ending at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. (the time for these shows). Or that the group most likely to be listening is the highly coveted tier of 18-49 year olds. These radio talk shows are targeting a crucial audience for whom sexuality is key.

A sampling of 20 hours' worth of listening from a now-defunct station yielded constant references to intercourse, masturbation, homosexuality, "nymphomania," anal sex, group sex, sexual blackmail and violence. Some parts left me cheering, since they offered a bit of sex education that most listeners will likely never get. Others were so insulting, vulgar or homophobic that I had to shut off the radio.

So, what are we to think of the popularity of such talk shows? Does it reflect anything about the sexuality of millions of Latino listeners?

Waking up to sex

The leading show nowadays in New York City is El Vacilón de la Mañana on WSKQ 97.9 La Mega. El Vacilón (depending on whom you ask, it means "The Big Ass Party" or "The Big Goof-Off") airs weekdays from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. The show is hosted by two Puerto Ricans, Luis Jiménez and Raymond Broussard (who goes by the DJ name of Moonshadow). The show broadcasts in a fast-paced urban Spanish and Spanglish.

It's meant to be hip and modern, yet it ends up being quite traditional. In both its hosting and audience (at least as represented by callers), the show feels masculine. The DJs boast and encourage (hetero)sexual bravado; a show may start with host or listener "confessions" or jokes about deflowering virgins, overpowering wives or girlfriends who are into unwanted sexual behaviors or a secret experience -- one that usually contains transgressive undertones, hinting at homoeroticism or other highly taboo sexual topics.

Each segment begins with a sexualized parody. Using the scores of popular Spanish language songs, whether romantic ballads or the recent craze of Reggaetón, the hosts turn the lyrics into new songs that often speak of male genital mutilation or just plain having sex. Although sexual discourse is not present 100 percent of the time every day of the week, it is not uncommon for the four-hour block to contain eight different segments that include "crazy news," listener stories, jokes, matchmaking and parodies that are all about sex.

Available on the web, El Vacilón leads among dozens of other shows on other stations with a similar format, appeal and even name, many owned by the same few companies. A national phenomenon, these shows thrive in New York, Miami, Chicago, L.A., Houston and other cities with sizable Latino populations. They attract millions of fans daily across the country and internationally, "shock jockeying" their way on the air with graphic and sensational sexual talk. Republicans and the Christian Right, both of whom have made headway in Latino communities as sexual and social conservatives, would be aghast to hear some of these antics, because little if anything is left to the imagination.

In the United States, Latinos are generally lumped together as socially conservative. This assessment is not all imaginary, as many Latin American countries have no real church-state separation and still outlaw divorce, abortion and homosexuality. Unofficially there's still much value placed on female chastity, a sort of "sexual silence," and sexual morality, albeit a double standard for women and men.

Dulce Reyes Bonilla is a freelance writer and longtime multi-issue activist.

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