Carmelita Tijeras

Most first loves dont last, but for Hip Hop radio diva Carmelita Sanchez, that just wasnt the case. From the age of 8, she knew that she wanted to be the voice that came from the Tyco transistor radio she kept by her bedside. At 14, her chance came when, while chatting with the dj at her high-school dance, she was asked to intern for Vegas' most well known radio DJ, Ken Jordan, now of Crystal Method fame. Carmelita would sneak out of her bedroom window to work the 2am-6am shift at college station KUNV (University of Las Vegas). Her first time on the air came about when the DJ on shift passed out on the board one night. Sure...she sucked, that first time; nerves and sleep got the best of her, but it wasnt long before she earned her own timeslot, while still in high school, no less.Soon after graduating high school, she moved to El D.F. (Mexico City) to study at the Televisa networks school of journalism and broadcasting. She hustled for two years in D.F., determined to learn the ins and outs of all aspects of the music and media businesses. Until, that is, she got busted for working without a permit and was deported, a Mexican deported back to the United States!After returning to Vegas, Arista Records in Los Angeles contacted Carmelita about a [non-paying] position of college intern. What was great for her burgeoning career was not so great for her car, however, since she spent the first 2 months of her job driving 600 miles a day between Las Vegas and Los Angeles! Her career took off first furthering her experience at several hip hop record labels, before returning to radio with Sway and Tech of The World Famous Wake Up Show in 1996 [working for free, since they didnt have a budget to pay her].She is the show's producer, marketing manager and an on-air personality. She says with genuine affection "Sway and Tech have been like brothers to me, but more importantly, from the beginning they really made me remember why I started this journey in the first place. Their pure love of music rejuvenated my fire for radio."Her expertise in the marketing arena inspired her to start her own company; La Ciudad/The City, which helps mainstream corporations reach the ever-growing Latino consumer. Not only has Carmelita managed major projects for Universal Music, Trimark Pictures, MCA Pictures, Lowrider Magazine and Adidas, she donates 10% of the company's billings to youth and community service organizations in Los Angeles.By 2001, after the birth of her son Xolo, she began focusing on not-for-profit endeavors, founding Hip Hop 101, a program using the four elements of Hip Hop to encourage middle school students to excel in and beyond the basicsmath, writing, reading, etc.as well as presenting for them career options in the music business. A sister program, r.e.i.n.a.s. (realizing every idea needs a start), provides under-resourced female students with the information they need to successfully pursue higher education [and vocational alternatives], from how to obtain scholarship funds to partnering them with mentors who commit to advising them throughout their high school yearsCarmelita has indeed triumphed with a string of firsts: the first rap radio promotion person (Jive Records), the first female and first Chicana vice-president of any hip hop label (Poetic Groove/Interscope Records), the first Chicana on a hip hop radio program and first female radio DJ to reach over 10 million listeners, on The Wake Up Show. But just because she's been many firsts, doesnt mean she wants to remain the only. "I want to train my replacement, to see the next bad ass chica come and continue what I've started," she insists, "so I can eventually retire and raise my son."She has traveled to throughout Mexico and visited Habana, in search of pure music that is unlike anything in the U.S. at the moment. Her interest in Hip Hop is to watch it grow organically in Latino America and to share in the experience.Her first love has indeed endured as her longest love affair, half her life and she is still crazy in love.