After Long Delay, Brazilian Duo Finds Radio Outlet

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Christian Yarnell in Immigration

Ricardo Sarmento on the air at Radio America’s studio in Newark.  Click here to listen live to Radio America.

By Christian Yarnell

Ricardo Sarmento, wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and a New York Red Bulls baseball cap that partially covers his graying hair, waits for the song to finish in his D.J. studio. Then he cuts in. Speaking Portuguese in his deep voice, he says: “Radio America AM. Uma rádio feita pra você!” — “A radio made just for you!”

It took a long time for Sarmento to say those words.

He is half of a husband-and-wife team who founded Radio America, a Brazilian music and news station based in Newark’s Ironbound district, about 18 months ago.

Sarmento, 41, and wife Marcia Martins, 32, moved to the United States nine years ago. Sarmento had worked in radio in Brazil, at one point appearing on a weekly show, but his dream of becoming a full-time radio host remained unfulfilled after arriving in the United States as he faced the struggles of many immigrants, finding work and keeping his family together in a new country.

When they first arrived in the United States, Sarmento worked in construction and Martins, who was a kindergarten teacher in Brazil, as a bartender. Sarmento never gave up, though, on his dream to be on the radio, but it took some six years to get the radio station up and running.

He did not think that his biggest obstacle would be navigating the rules set by the Federal Communications Commission, which he described as tortuous. The breakthrough came at the beginning of 2008 when the FCC opened a new window for AM broadcasts, allowing Radio America to appear in March at the end of the dial on 1700 AM.

At first unable to secure studio space, Sarmento and Martins launched Radio America from their living room. “People thought we had a radio station. We didn’t mention we were at home,” Martins recalls. The station, now based in a small office on Monroe Street, features Brazilian music and news for the Brazilian community.

Brazilians came to Newark’s Ironbound in large numbers starting in the 1970s, in part because of their linguistic and cultural connection to the Portuguese who had settled in the area decades before. Adnor Pitanga, from the Brazilian American United Association or BAUA, estimates that about 70,000 Brazilians live in Newark and surrounding areas, with the highest concentration in the Ironbound.

Pitanga, 63, came to the United States 11 years ago. He was a filmmaker in Brazil and rose to become president of the country’s state-run film agency Embrafilme. Embrafilme was disbanded in 1990 during the failed presidency of Fernando Collor de Mello, whose resignation amid impeachment proceedings led to a purge of many who had served in prominent government positions.

“I had no way to work,” said Pitanga. “I couldn’t make movies anymore.”

When he first arrived in Newark, Pitanga found work as a handyman in a small hotel. Like Sarmento, however, Pitanga found a way back to his craft before too long. He now operates a video production company in New York City that films commercials and private events.

Listeners can tune into Radio America over the internet, but Sarmento and Martins want it to be a traditional radio outlet that serves the local community and offers some public service on their airwaves. They recently gave airtime to a local resident, 28-year-old Cleo Santos, one of many victimized by an unscrupulous moving company that targeted the Brazilian-American community. The company a year ago took $340 from Santos to deliver two boxes to her family in Brazil, but the boxes were never delivered. Workers from the moving company then moved on to a new company, which took another $200. The packages still did not come.

Santos says she was inspired to act because the shipment included Christmas presents for her 10-year-old daughter. She approached local newspapers with the story, but could not find an audience until Martins let her on Radio America. After the radio broadcast, other victims came forward, and many began working together. Brazilian Customs also contacted Santos, and they believe they have located her packages in the Port of Santos.

Radio America can be heard in Newark and a few surrounding towns. Sarmento and Martins are hoping to upgrade their antenna to expand the station’s reach, although the couple says they already run into many fans in the community.

“I can’t stop now,” says Sarmento. “We’re everywhere.”

Tags: featured, Ironbound, Newark