After nearly two decades as a radio host, the sound of Pedro Biaggi’s boisterous laugh has become something of a staple for Spanish-speakers throughout the DMV. As a longtime morning drive personality, he’s been a familiar voice for commuters early in the day, whether they’re tuned in for advice or to share a laugh.

Biaggi’s background in Spanish-language radio is what helped convince Jose Villafane, the CEO and managing partner of Costa Media, to invest nearly $1 million to launch La Pantera, the region’s newest Spanish-language radio station.

“Pedro’s experience and know-how of D.C. is very important, but his connection to the local community is priceless,” says Villafane.

Before Villafane and Costa Media purchased the frequency, WFAX 100.7 FM/1220 AM had been running Christian programming out of its Falls Church, Va. location for more than 70 years. Since officially launching in July, La Pantera is now working to build a new identity – which includes both entertainment and programming that focuses on local issues.

“You have to want to be a station that represents,” says Biaggi. “We are a community based station, [which] means that we are useful to the community, for the issues, for their needs.”

The station can be heard over a five-mile radius outside of Falls Church – while its second frequency features a larger coverage area of a 20-mile radius outside of D.C. According to Villafane, the station wants to serve the region’s Spanish-speakers by complementing similar stations, including El Zol and Radio América.

“We reach that audience. So whether we have the biggest signal around the market, radio is fragmented,” says Villafane. “It’s not about competing.”

In addition to Biaggi, La Pantera is relying on regional Mexican music and Spanish “urban” music to fill the airwaves. Villafane says it’s a move that makes sense for much of the local Spanish-speakers, which includes a large Central American community. He also says the genres can pull an even broader audience.

“Salvadorans tend to listen to regional Mexican music. And Spanish urban has become one of the largest formats around the world, not just in the U.S. or DC. So it leads to the opportunity for more listeners to listen to our station,”  Villafane says.

In Falls Church alone, the Hispanic population has grown to nearly 11 percent of the city’s population from 9 percent in 2010. According to Villafane, that population growth is reason enough to enter the region.

“We think that by providing good content, local content, community content, we could win in most markets,” Villafane says.

Meanwhile, La Pantera is betting big that it will also be a standout by establishing itself as a home base for local sports fans. The station has the exclusive rights to air the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Spanish this November. It’s a move that no other local station has pulled off, says Biaggi.

“Soccer is religion and food to most of our people,” says Biaggi. “To have the rights to the World Cup, well, that is just amazing.”

For Biaggi, the ambitions of La Pantera are a welcome prospect. He says the platform is not only about entertaining listeners, it’s also breaking the mold of what a Spanish language radio station can sound like. As host, he’s been having regular conversations that include tips from legal and health experts, like Claudia Campos, a local psychologist who specializes in human sexuality and health resources for survivors of domestic violence.

“The radio is a bridge,” says Campos, who was born in Colombia. “It’s un medio. It’s a medium to reach the community for education. No es solo información. It’s not only information, it’s education.”

While Biaggi uses his sense of humor to keep people listening, he believes it’s crucial to bring difficult conversations to listeners – a choice he says was not always welcome at previous stations.

“I was told in my previous engagement to avoid doing so much community. ‘It doesn’t pay. Be funny. Do jokes,’” says Biaggi. “I was literally told that. And I thought to myself, ‘Wow. How could I turn my back into the people that are making it happen for me? How could I not be useful to them?’”

As a survivor of child sexual abuse, Biaggi says the topic can sometimes be ignored by Spanish-speaking communities, and that hearing from experts can instead offer resources for those in need.

“Of course I like jokes. Yes. And gossip, I love gossip. But I found a bigger satisfaction doing things that, at the end of the day, could change somebody’s life,” says Biaggi.

To Villafane, Biaggi’s values and transparency is what makes him different from other radio personalities. He says he hopes people will tune in as the station gets a foothold in the region.

“You can’t fake that,” says Villafane. “It just gives us credibility that we’re really trying to build a station that’s for the community.”

Studio engineer Felix Mariano, aka DJ Piojo, is glad to be working at a station that is mission-driven. As an immigrant who grew up in Springfield, Va., he says they want to highlight the real issues facing local communities, particularly those who are not U.S. citizens.

“I always love to share whatever problems the community is having,” says Mariano, who was born in Argentina. “I came here when I was 12 years old. And so I know every aspect people like me, a lot of the immigrants, that they struggle and they go through every day.”

Most recently, La Pantera has been hosting regular on-air conversations about the growing number of migrants being bused to D.C. from southwestern states, and what community members can do to support them. For Ary Mondragón, the co-host for La Pantera’s morning show, it’s about highlighting the issues that listeners care about most.

“We have the ability and the power to change other people’s lives,” says Mondragón. “I’m proud to be making history alongside other Black and Brown faces that are here and to make their voices heard.”