Dynamic duo

If you tune your radio to KRWG Public Media in the afternoon or evening, you’ll hear two widely beloved voices known to listeners across the station’s airwaves. Emily Guerra ’01 and Leora Zeitlin have hosted two of KRWG’s most popular radio shows for more than 25 years and show no signs of stopping. 

Guerra and Zeitlin traveled on two different paths to reach KRWG, yet both began hosting their signature programs on March 8, 2000. They’ve since brought countless hours of Latin American and classical music to listeners in southern New Mexico and West Texas through their shows, “Fiesta!” and “Intermezzo.”

Zeitlin is an East Coast transplant who moved from Boston to Las Cruces with her husband in 1991. Guerra is a native New Mexican from the former copper-mining town of Santa Rita who lived in Arizona, California and Texas before moving to Mesilla in 1998. Both had set their sights on KRWG years before intersecting professionally.

Zeitlin was a regular supporter of KRWG, with a master’s degree in journalism and a strong background in classical music, when, in 1996, she met the station’s music director, David Brower, at a pledge drive and offered to work as a substitute host. Nothing came of their meeting until a year later, when Zeitlin phoned KRWG wanting information about the Hale-Bopp comet, and Brower answered.

“I said, ‘You won’t remember me, but a year ago, I was in the station, and I told you if you need a classical music radio host, that’s something I’d be interested in doing,’” Zeitlin says. “So, he starts asking me questions. I have no memory of what he asked me, but he kept me on the phone for several minutes. I didn’t realize what was happening, but he was auditioning my voice.”

Days later, Brower offered Zeitlin a summer job substituting for him while he was on paternity leave. When he returned to work, Brower kept her on as a fill-in host.

Around this time, Guerra was at a turning point in her life. She had lost her longtime job at Mexicana Airlines following a round of layoffs and decided to relocate from San Antonio, Texas, to Mesilla to enroll at NMSU, where she began studying broadcast journalism and Spanish. 

As a student, Guerra interned at KRWG and volunteered at NMSU’s student radio station, KRUX, at which she co-created and co-hosted a Spanish music show, “Oye Como Va” for a few months. She then was hired by KRWG’s station manager, Colin Gromatzky, to co-host “Fiesta!,” a bilingual Latin music program. 

Guerra’s first day co-hosting “Fiesta!” was the same day KRWG launched “Intermezzo,” a new classical musical program hosted by Zeitlin. Fittingly, it also was International Women’s Day. 

“For the first year, I was a co-host with Victor Ponce. He retired in 2001, and since then, I’ve been hosting by myself,” says Guerra, who eventually earned two degrees from NMSU.

While much has changed in the world over the past 26 years, Guerra and Zeitlin remain a constant presence at KRWG. In fact, not much has changed in the way they produce and host their shows. And they remain as driven as ever to continue their work, fueled largely by their love of music and admiration for their listeners.

“For many, many years, this has been a perfect job for me,” Zeitlin says. “It’s given me public presence in Las Cruces. And I love music. I grew up in a musical house, and I can share my love of music with the public.”

Still, Guerra admits she sometimes thinks about retiring, but she won’t anytime soon because, she says, “I like to share music with our listeners.” Then she adds, “You’re not going to find another me.”