Sunday, April 2, 2000

Voice of veteran broadcaster returns to morning drive

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Leopoldo Luna was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame last month in San Antonio. He returns to the airwaves Monday on Majic 105.1 FM.

Longtime Corpus Christi radio broadcaster Leopoldo Luna was thrilled about being inducted into the Tejano Music Awards Hall of Fame in San Antonio. But before the March induction, Luna admitted that what he wanted most was a chance to return to the industry he loves.
   "I think I still have a mission in radio to fulfill," the 76-year-old said.
   Luna lost his KCCT-AM job of 26 years in 1997 when the station changed formats, but beginning Monday his familiar voice will return to Corpus Christi airwaves.
   Morning voice
   Carlos Lopez, general manager and program director for KMIQ-FM/Majic 105, signed the radio reporter, news director and program director veteran on last week for the station's all-important morning-drive slot. Luna will be heard weekdays in the 5-to-10 a.m. slot on 105.1 FM.
   "This man has so much talent," said Lopez, who worked with Luna at another station during the mid-1980s when Lopez was earning money for college. Lopez's father, Humberto Lozano Lopez, KMIQ owner, also worked with Luna at one time. "He's an institution in Corpus Christi, a man I grew up hearing on the radio. I've been thinking about him for a job for awhile. For me, all this makes a complete circle now."
   New to FM dial
   Although he worked at various local radio stations during his 45-year career, this is the first time Luna takes to the airwaves on FM. However, he is no stranger to starting his shift when most are just scrambling out of bed for that first cup of coffee. Luna has been a morning-drive mainstay.
   "I want to be a voice that unites, not divides," Luna said. "And now I've got the chance again. This is something I've been praying for since 9 a.m. Sept. 17, 1997 (when he lost his job)."
   Enrique Garcia, a 52-year-old chemical plant technician, grew up listening to Luna in the morning, and hasbeen waiting to hear Luna's familiar voice back on the dial.
   "That's the voice I want to wake up to, Leo's," Garcia said. "He comprehends the working people and has a lot of goodness in him. I hope he stays there for a long while, as long as the good Lord gives him."
   Lopez shares that sentiment.
   "I say if you're never too old to rock and roll, then you're never too old to be in radio," Lopez said.
   Among his news director responsibilities, Luna will report local news, weather and traffic reports on the station. He'll book morning guests and record 3-minute updates to air at the top of the hour on Lopez-owned KTMV, which telecasts Tejano music videos on AT&T cable channel 6.
   Listening on Monday will be co-workers Luna befriended at the Bayfront Plaza Convention Center, where he had been working as a security guard until last week.
   "I'll have my fingers crossed," Luna said, "hoping that the people will welcome me back and put their trust in me again."
  
 

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