Rocky Mountain Public Media Names Ayana Contreras Vice President of Radio

Friends of KUVO JAZZ,

Radio hits our ears via a magical transmission. And even after two decades in radio, I have never taken that magic for granted. When I was chosen in 2007 to be a part of the team that crafted The Secret Radio Project (ultimately dubbed Vocalo) in Chicago, our goal was to use that magic to provide platforms for underrepresented music, art and culture. So, it is no coincidence that we used our airwaves to center artists who did not get much play elsewhere.

We were the first radio station to play Chance The Rapper, for instance. In fact, I still have my CDr copy of 5 Day (the precursor to 10 Day) that he gave me when he was fresh out of high school.

Many artists in town (musical and otherwise) garnered early support from our station. And on the inverse, I have heard more times than I can count that Vocalo made Chicagoans of all stripes “proud to be from here.” Every decision we made about what to air was to that end.

And now I am so pleased to be in beautiful Colorado to continue this work of uplifting culture, informing residents, and serving as connectors to communities. Continuing to extend the powerful legacy of KUVO JAZZ is but one exciting venture. THE DROP, which was initially based on the station I helped build in Chicago, is an exciting facet of that legacy, as well.

Terrestrial radio is still free to the public, one of the very last free mass media platforms. No subscriptions. No paywalls. And yet, access to be able to broadcast is highly regulated. So, the fact that we have access to the airwaves to support ideas and feelings and creativity is a deep privilege. Our goal today is to take that magic and package it so that we can show up wherever our community is. Wherever folks tap in, the magic of radio will be there.

I cannot wait to see what we can do together!

—Ayana Contreras
Vice President of Radio, Rocky Mountain Public Media and Program Director, THE DROP

See Press Release here

Rocky Mountain Public Media’s new VP of Radio Ayana Contreras joins Carlos and Steve on KUVO’s Morning Set 09.10.24. Ayana will be at the next ¡KUVOLÉ! event, Thurs., Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at Two Moons Hall, 2944 Larimer St., Denver.

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