Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Born and raised in New York City, Ray Cruz never questioned his heritage until his parents — both Puerto Rican immigrants — moved the family back to Puerto Rico when he was a teenager. Though he could read, write and speak fluent Spanish, island-born Puerto Ricans called him a “yanqui” (Yankee). In school in Puerto Rico, he was ahead of his classmates.
Cruz joined the Air Force after high school, completed his enlistment and was attending college when a friend said that fluency in two languages would get him a good job with an airline. Cruz thought he might get hired to refuel planes but was offered a job as a flight attendant. It was the start of a 25-year career that included being based in Hawaii. Oahu became his home in 1988.
A lifelong lover of music, Cruz began working at a radio station while he was attending the University of New Mexico. He tapped his experience as a radio DJ when he starting spinning records at a nightclub in Denver, and again later at Oahu clubs.
He resumed his radio career in 1990 after meeting the program director of KTUH, the University of Hawaii’s radio station. Cruz moved to Hawaii Public Radio the next year, working with Nancy Ortiz on her “Alma Latina” show and then hosted his own Latin music program. He has played salsa and Afro-Cuban Latin jazz on HPR ever since.
Cruz, 69, ends 30 years on-air Friday when his two-hour show, “Latin Beat,” broadcasts for the final time from 8 to 10 p.m.
Why step away when you’re on top?
I figured 30 years is a good round number. I’m turning 70 (in December) and now I’m manager of operations here at the radio station with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of things going on. (Editor’s note: Though he’s not going to be on the air, Cruz will continue his operations job at HPR.)
Who are some of the memorable artists you’ve met?
Tito Puente, for sure. I remember as a little kid, like maybe 3 years old, listening to (his) records. I grew up around that kind of music, so listening to Tito Puente and then finally meeting him — it just blew me away. Celia Cruz — when I met her here, I think it was one of her last shows. Marc Anthony, Pancho Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri — Palmieri is 84, and he is still doing his thing. He’s another guy that when I met (him), I was just floored when he did his concert here. These guys are icons.
I remember Hawaii discovering salsa in the 1980s, starting with Puerto Rican servicemen in military clubs and then out into the non-Latin civilian community where it took off. Did your work as a DJ and radio personality influence that?
Yes. I didn’t do it by myself, but we put Hawaii on the map. People would visit Hawaii, go to Rumours (nightclub) and say, “Damn! You’re better than New York.” I’m very, very proud of that. I think I had my finger on the pulse of what Hawaii needed and the direction it needed to go.
Puerto Ricans brought the cuatro (a string instrument similar to a guitar) to Hawaii more than 100 years ago, but as far as I know no one has ever played Hawaiian music with a cuatro. Why not?
That’s a good question. I know that there’s a lot of local Puerto Ricans who still play cuatro, but as far as the cuatro in Hawaiian music, I haven’t heard it. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone pulls it off.
With one show to go, how do you see the legacy of “Latin Beat” as a platform for salsa and related music?
In the last year-and-half or two years I’ve been able to expand the show so that people can hear the show not only locally but globally — Scotland, China, all over the world. Artists have been seeking me out to play their music because commercial radio isn’t.
What will Hawaii hear on Friday?
I’m going to open up my personal jukebox and have some fun. I’ve been very fortunate. Not many people get a chance in life to do all the things they’ve dreamed of. It’s not over yet, but up to this point it’s been one hell of a ride.
80