RAUL Alarcón, SR.

Raul Alarcón, Sr. started his broadcast career in the country in which he was born in, Cuba, with his first short-wave station in Camaguey, Cuba, known as Cadena Agramonte. Eight years later, Alarcón owned 14 radio stations and could claim being one of the pioneers of media and communications in the island nation. The stations were later confiscated by the Castro regime.

Alarcon relocated to the United States in the early 1960s and became a news anchor and radio personality. He pursued his business ambitions, convincing advertisers of the importance of reaching out to the Hispanic public. Alarcón owned a recording studio and advertising agency before purchasing his first radio station, WSKQ-AM in 1983.

The company he founded, Spanish Broadcasting Systems, has gone on to become a dominant programming force reaching Hispanic audiences nationwide. Raul Alarcón, Sr. would serve as SBS Chairman of the Board of Directors for many years until he retired at the end of 1999.