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KMO-AM Radio Sol launches Seattle's first all Spanish-language radio programming on January 14, 2002.

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On the morning of January 14, 2002, KMO-AM (1360 kh) inaugurates a new 24-hour schedule of all-Spanish music, talk, and news. It is the region’s first radio station to broadcast entirely in the Spanish language, although some stations such as KXPA-AM (1540 kh) also devote portions of their schedule to programs en Espanol.

KMO-AM previously presented Christian broadcasting. Its conversion to Spanish reflects the significant “browning” of the greater Seattle-area population, which is currently estimated to include 30,000 residents of Mexican, Central American, and South American descent, among other Spanish speakers. The Latino population living west of the Cascades now (2002) exceeds that of Eastern Washington, which has historically attracted large numbers of permanent and migrant agricultural workers from Mexico and the Southern Hemisphere. Washington state is currently served by eight Spanish language newspapers and periodicals, and 1,200 Western Washington businesses cater primarily to Hispanic customers, according to Ramon Rodriquez, publisher of El Directorio Commercial.

Sources:
Florangela Davila, “Spanish-language Show Debuts,” The Seattle Times, January 15, 2002, p. B-1.

By Walt Crowley, January 15, 2002

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