24185: Severe:(pub) NY Daily News Story on Radio Soleil 2/1/05 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Constantin Severe <csevere@hotmail.com>

A Haitian station - if
you know how to pick it up


By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

You won't find Radio Soleil on your regular radio dial. But if you visit any
of the area's half-million Haitians, odds are good you'll find it on theirs.
"We tie the Haitian community together," says Ricot Dupuy, station manager
and co-owner of Radio Soleil, which has offices on Nostrand Ave. in
Brooklyn.

Radio Soleil is one of many stations, most of which carry ethnic
programming, that are known as "subcarriers." They broadcast from the
transmitters of regular stations - in this case, WSKQ - but picking up their
signal requires a special receiver.

Happily, those receivers are inexpensive, so they are common in immigrant
homes. "On regular radio, you might get an occasional program for Haitians,"
says Dupuy. "We have Haitian programs 24/7."

That includes a full-service mix of music, news and talk. From 6:30 to 8:30
a.m., for instance, it links with Melody-FM in Haiti to carry news from the
island.

"Haitians are hungry for news," says Dupuy. "Unfortunately, Haiti is marked
by a lot of instability, so it is important to have a direct, immediate
connection."

On the other end of the scale, Radio Soleil also acknowledges that its
listeners are living in the U.S. It follows immigration issues closely and
broadcasts some of its programming in English.

"We are about 40% French, 40% Creole and the rest English," says Dupuy.
"Some of our listeners, particularly the younger one who have grown up here,
are more comfortable with English."

Like regular broadcast stations, of course, subcarriers must make enough
money to stay in business. Some do this by selling receivers, but Dupuy says
Radio Soleil has reached the point where it is a valuable advertising
vehicle.

"We reach the whole Haitian community," he says. "And these are hardworking
people. They hold jobs. They buy things."

Radio Soleil recently launched a project that is both classic and unique. It
is sponsoring its own orchestra, a radio tradition that goes back to the old
NBC days of Arturo Toscanini.

The 12-piece Charanga Soleil recently played a well-attended dance at
Satalla, on W. 26th St., and it's scheduled to play another one there next
month.

"It's ambitious," says Al Angeloro, who with DJ Neva does a music show at
midnight on Fridays and was the primary force behind organizing the
orchestra. "The only other active radio orchestra today is in Finland. But
we think it can succeed here."

Besides appealing to the station's audience, Charanga Soleil gives the
musicians artistic possibilities it's hard to find elsewhere, says Angeloro.

"They can play merengue, zouk, rumba, danzon, son, racine, whatever they
want," he says. "And the association with the station gives them the
exposure."

"In many Haitian homes," says Dupuy, "we are on 24 hours a day."