Radio Espantoso

"The sound of Vice City's burgeoning latin scene of the early 1980's. Carribean-infused jazz to soothe the soul and take your mind off the city's troubled streets. Featuring specially selected tracks from Irakere, Lonnie Liston Smith and more."

- GTA Vice City Website

Radio Espantoso is a radio station that appears in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. This station plays Afro-Latin American tropical music, ranging from Latin Jazz to Mambo, Son, Salsa and Latin Funk/Disco among other genres. The DJ of the station in 1984 is Hector Hernandez. In 1986, Pepe replaces Hector, and Pepe is of Cuban descent. Radio Espantoso is also the preferred radio stations of the Cubans/Los Cabrones. The word "Espantoso" directly translates to as 'Horrible' or 'Awful' in Spanish.

In 1984, the station was sponsored by Jeremy Robard, according to Hector Hernandez.

GTA Vice City Tracks
*These songs were created solely for the game, and the artists are fictional.
 * Cachao - "A Gozar con Mi Combo" ("Let's Rejoice with My Combo") (1994)[[Image:Scary.jpg|thumb|right|The logo, circa [[1984]].]]
 * Alpha Banditos - "The Bull is Wrong" (2002)*
 * Tres Apenas Como Eso - "Yo Te Miré" ("I Saw You") (2002)*
 * Deodato - "Latin Flute" (1973)
 * Mongo Santamaría - "Mama Papa Tú" ("Mom, Dad, You") (1969)
 * Mongo Santamaría - "Me and You Baby (Picao y Tostao)" ("Chopped and Toasted") (1969)
 * Machito and his Afro-Cuban Orchestra - "Mambo Mucho Mambo" ("Mambo Much Mambo") (1952)
 * Unaesta - "La Vida Es Una Lenteja" ("Life Is a Lentil") (2002)*
 * Lonnie Liston Smith - "Expansions" (1974)
 * Irakere - "Añunga Ñunga" (1980) (Incorrectly credited in the booklet as "Aguanile")
 * Deodato - "Super Strut" (1973)
 * Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra - "Jamay" (Nahuatl word, means "adobe crafting place") (1955)
 * Benny Moré - "Maracaibo Oriental" ("Eastern Maracaibo") (1957)
 * Tito Puente - "Mambo Gozón" ("Enjoyable Mambo") (1958)

GTA Vice City Stories Tracks

 * Ray Barretto – "Acid" (1968)
 * Pete Rodríguez' band – "I Like It Like That" (1967)
 * Tito Puente – "Oye Cómo Va" ("Listen How It Goes") (1963)
 * Bobby Valentín – "Mi Ritmo Es Bueno" ("My Rhythm Is Good") (1974)
 * Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco – "Químbara" (1974)
 * Héctor Lavoe – "Mi Gente" ("My People") (1975)
 * Eddie Palmieri & Ismael Quintana – "Revolt/La Libertad, Lógico" ("The Freedom, Logical") (1971)
 * Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe – "El Malo" ("The Bad") (1967)

Video
GTA Vice City soundtrack GTA Vice City Stories soundtrack

Trivia

 * The song "A Gozar Con Mi Combo" by Cachao (1994, from the album "Master Sessions Vol. 1") is the only one which is anachronistic in the playlist.
 * Although Irakere's song "Añunga Ñunga" is incorrectly credited in Vice City's booklet as "Aguanile", there's another song from the band called "Aguanile Bonkó".
 * Despite the name of the station meaning "awful" or "horrible", the station is very popular among the Latin American and Spanish fandom of GTA, having achieved cult status, with "La Vida Es Una Lenteja" ("Life Is A Lentil") being the most recognized song.
 * This is reinforced in the CD of GTA Vice City Original Soundtrack of Radio Espantoso during the opening track featuring Pepe. In this intro, Pepe states that the name of the radio is a satirical joke calling themselves "awful" as the station features more instrumental music compared with the rest of the stations that play "music made by a machine" or "how good a musician can be by how much makeup he wears".