ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown radio station on Tuesday is scheduled to broadcast its Spanish-language morning show from the White House.
Victor Martinez, owner of La Mega Radio, will set up his broadcasting equipment and air "El Relajo de la Mañana" from an undisclosed location in what may be America's most famous residence.
The four-hour morning show starts at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and Martinez said he must be at the White House at least an hour earlier.
“All I know is I need to be at the White House gates at 5 a.m.,” Martinez said Monday while driving to Washington, D.C. He told LehighValleyNews.com he could feel the excitement building as he approached Baltimore.
“Just another day in paradise."La Mega Radio owner Victor Martinez on broadcasting from the White House Tuesday morning
Martinez said he also was invited to a White House reception Tuesday evening ahead of Dominicans on the Hill, an annual event held by U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York.
But early mornings and long days are nothing new to Martinez, a morning show host and La Mega FM founder.
“Just another day in paradise,” Martinez said.
He said Tuesday’s broadcast is the coolest venue at which he's ever recorded the show.
"El Relajo de la Mañana" will be mostly the same as any morning, but it could feature some high-profile guests.
Martinez said he hopes to interview some administration officials, including Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, one of the highest-ranking Latino officials in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.
Building 'energy and enthusiasm'
Martinez is no stranger to politics. The Democrat ran unsuccessfully last year for Lehigh County commissioner.
Reaching out to Latino voters in Pennsylvania could be critical to Biden’s chances for re-election in the 2024 presidential race, according to Martinez.
The White House broadcast may be heard by up to 200,000 Latinos in Pennsylvania, with La Mega on airwaves in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Reading, Lancaster and York, Martinez said.
“A show live from the White House is going to be broadcast, basically, to all the major cities where Latinos are at" in Pennsylvania, he said.
The Route 222 corridor — which runs from Allentown through Reading and Lancaster to the Maryland border — holds a lot of political power, Martinez said.
And Biden’s recent focus on Allentown and the Lehigh Valley could pay dividends if it helps him win Pennsylvania, which is expected to be a key battleground state this election cycle.
Biden met with Allentown firefighters Jan. 12 at the city’s new Fire Training Academy after visiting Nowhere Coffee Co. in Emmaus to highlight his administration’s economic policies.
“The Lehigh Valley is definitely the place to keep an eye on in Pennsylvania for growth and the expansion, not just for the Latino community, but period."La Mega Radio owner Victor Martinez
His visit last month generated a buzz for several days as Emmaus businesses and Allentown officials prepared to welcome the president.
Biden name-checked Allentown a week later while speaking to the 2024 U.S. Conference of Mayors, where Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk was a guest.
“Places like Allentown, once left behind, are now coming back,” Biden said, according to a transcript of his speech. “The folks I met in your cities and towns are a big reason why I’ve never been more optimistic about our nation’s future.”
La Mega’s live morning show Tuesday at the White House could help generate some “energy and enthusiasm” for Biden among Latino voters in the region, said Martinez, who co-hosted a Spanish language show on PBS39 several years ago.
“The Lehigh Valley is definitely the place to keep an eye on in Pennsylvania for growth and the expansion, not just for the Latino community, but period,” Martinez said.
“I think that's why the president has been [here] already quite a few times. And I can predict that we're going to see him quite a few more times between now and November.”
