John Méndez

I was born and raised in the economic hub of Central America, San Miguel, El Salvador. Since and early age, I showed interest in music, media and politics. My first experience in Radio was in an old Radio Station called La Pantera. The station was very popular with the Migueleños youth because, in the sixties and seventies this was the place where San Miguel heard The Beatles, Los Iracundos, Palito Ortega and all that old rock’n’roll. We used to bring LP’s—do you remember those—and play them for the listeners who would call us and ask us to play some of their favorite stuff.

I went to La Univesidad de El Salvador to study Languistics and Teaching. Although I am a really bad acto, I was part of the University’s traveling Theater. There I helped found the first Circuito Cerrado radio “Alternativa”. The name Alternativa was not only the name of the radio but also an internal political movement of which, of course, I was part.

I came to the Hood River in 1996 when one of the most memorable snow storms happened. I am married to Karen Murphy, who is the de facto official voice for Radio Tierra’s jingo. I currently work for a preschool organization and I have a community and music show every Saturday, “Musica, entrevistas y comentarios, en Resumen Semanal”

Keep on listening!