Hurban
Encyclopedia
Hurban is a relatively new radio programming format from radio chain giant Clear Channel Communications
and Senior VP Alfredo Alonso
. Hurban radio stations target young Hispanics in the United States, primarily consisting of reggaeton
, hip-hop, and dance music. Advertisements and DJs are usually presented in a mixture of English and Spanish.
The word hurban is a portmanteau of the terms "Hispanic" and "urban."
"Hurban" should not be confused with H-Urban which is a moderated, multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and dissemination of scholarship on urban history and urban studies (homepage at http://www.h-net.org/~urban/).
, Don Omar
, Julio Voltio
and Tego Calderón
. Most Hurban stations also play reggaeton remixes of popular English top 40 songs.
debuted as the first Hurban station in the continental US in late 2004. By 2007, Clear Channel dropped the Hurban format and picked up a Spanish Contemporary format. Most of the Original personalities have been let go since and the station is no longer bilingual. Most of the current personalities have been ordered to cease the "Spanglish" act on the air and stick with Spanish.
The format has grown to many other cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, and Albuquerque, NM. But more Recently, the format has been replaced in several cities. The list includes Miami, Denver, Albuquerque, Dallas (KZZA), and Las Vegas.
, hip hop
, and dance hall
music, which largely comprise and explicate Hurban thoughts and ideas through their lyrics and styles. Nevertheless, the scope of this music can be comprehended more thoroughly when we understand the movement as a grassroots attempt that will perhaps bring together the pan-Latino movement in the music industry. In relation to the Hurban music movement, there are other means by which Hispanic Urbans are being encouraged to represent their ethnic background. For example, www.hurban-wear.com sells T-Shirts with the message that the people who speak the Spanish language
need to come unite. Clear Channel Communications
, a major broadcasting company, announced in fall 2004 that it was transforming 20 to 25 of its 1,200 stations to Hispanic formats over the subsequent 18 months. Accordingly, it is also interesting to consider how some individuals may feel disappointed when they realize that one of their favorite radio stations was changed in an effort to accommodate the needs of the Hurban audience. It is also compelling to consider how the tension that exists between musical genres in subtle commercial competitions such as these has the potential to effect an individual’s prejudices that tend to develop in a multi-racial and multi-cultural America
. Hurban radio stations may provide the means for the pan-Latino population to develop a sense of communication within the community that will reverberate in America and abroad.
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
and Senior VP Alfredo Alonso
Alfredo Alonso
Alfredo Alonso is a Cuban-born media executive. He has held numerous senior management positions in Spanish-language media publishing, radio, television and event management. He is known as an innovator of new products to reach the U.S...
. Hurban radio stations target young Hispanics in the United States, primarily consisting of reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, hip-hop, and dance music. Advertisements and DJs are usually presented in a mixture of English and Spanish.
The word hurban is a portmanteau of the terms "Hispanic" and "urban."
"Hurban" should not be confused with H-Urban which is a moderated, multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and dissemination of scholarship on urban history and urban studies (homepage at http://www.h-net.org/~urban/).
Artists
Core artists of the Hurban format include Daddy YankeeDaddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez , known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican Reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball,...
, Don Omar
Don Omar
Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey (born William Omar Landrón Rivera; February 10, 1978, is a Puerto Rican Reggaetón singer and actor.-Early life:...
, Julio Voltio
Voltio
Julio Voltio is one of the reggaetón genre's best-known artists.His nickname came to be as the result of an accident. Before joining Karel, he worked as an electrician. One day, he stuck his hand in the wrong place and got shocked...
and Tego Calderón
Tego Calderón
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper and actor.-Early life:Calderón was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native...
. Most Hurban stations also play reggaeton remixes of popular English top 40 songs.
History
KLOL in Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
debuted as the first Hurban station in the continental US in late 2004. By 2007, Clear Channel dropped the Hurban format and picked up a Spanish Contemporary format. Most of the Original personalities have been let go since and the station is no longer bilingual. Most of the current personalities have been ordered to cease the "Spanglish" act on the air and stick with Spanish.
The format has grown to many other cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, and Albuquerque, NM. But more Recently, the format has been replaced in several cities. The list includes Miami, Denver, Albuquerque, Dallas (KZZA), and Las Vegas.
Development of the Hurban Ideology
The new radio format dubbed Hurban may seem like it is merely another attempt to profit off of the tastes of a particular ethnic group that has a preference for a given type of music, but this is not the case. These pan-Latin radio stations are embracing reggaetonReggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, and dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
music, which largely comprise and explicate Hurban thoughts and ideas through their lyrics and styles. Nevertheless, the scope of this music can be comprehended more thoroughly when we understand the movement as a grassroots attempt that will perhaps bring together the pan-Latino movement in the music industry. In relation to the Hurban music movement, there are other means by which Hispanic Urbans are being encouraged to represent their ethnic background. For example, www.hurban-wear.com sells T-Shirts with the message that the people who speak the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
need to come unite. Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, a major broadcasting company, announced in fall 2004 that it was transforming 20 to 25 of its 1,200 stations to Hispanic formats over the subsequent 18 months. Accordingly, it is also interesting to consider how some individuals may feel disappointed when they realize that one of their favorite radio stations was changed in an effort to accommodate the needs of the Hurban audience. It is also compelling to consider how the tension that exists between musical genres in subtle commercial competitions such as these has the potential to effect an individual’s prejudices that tend to develop in a multi-racial and multi-cultural America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Hurban radio stations may provide the means for the pan-Latino population to develop a sense of communication within the community that will reverberate in America and abroad.