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 among other genres. The dialogue in this station is completely in Spanish, apart from a few snippets in English.
In 1984, when GTA Vice City Stories takes place, the DJ is Hector Hernandez and, according to him, the station is sponsored by Jeremy Robard. In 1986, the setting of GTA Vice City, Pepe is the DJ. Pepe is either Cuban or of Cuban descent.
The word "Espantoso" directly translates to as 'Horrible' or 'Awful' in Spanish.
Radio Espantoso is also the preferred radio stations of the Cubans/Los Cabrones.
In Vice City, Radio Espantoso is one of two radio stations to feature original material written and recorded especially for the game; the other is V-Rock.
GTA Vice City Tracks
- Translations for the titles, at the side, in superscript.
- † - This track was recorded especially for the game, and its performing artists are fictional.
- Cachao - "A Gozar con Mi Combo" (Let's Rejoice with My Combo) (1994)
- Alpha Banditos - "The Bull Is Wrong" (Stuart Ross) †
- Tres Apenas Como Eso - "Yo Te Miré" (I Saw You) (Craig Conner) †
- 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 Lots of Mambo) (1952)
- Unaesta - "La Vida Es una Lenteja" (Life Is A Lentil) (Craig Conner) †
- Lonnie Liston Smith - "Expansions" (1975)
- 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) (1958)
- Tito Puente - "Mambo Gozón" (Enjoyable Mambo) (1958)
GTA Vice City Stories Tracks
The logo, circa 1984.
- 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 only anachronistic song in the radios of GTA Vice City is "A Gozar Con Mi Combo" by Cachao (1994, from the album "Master Sessions Vol. 1").
- 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.
- The matter about the station's name is addressed by Pepe in the first track of the Radio Espantoso CD from the 7-CD Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set, where he makes an exclusive dialogue not included in the game. There, he states the name is intended to be ironic in nature. As he explains in this introductory track: "In Vice City we live in a «culo-tural» desert, a dirty stinking mess of a place where all of the music is made up by machines and people think you can tell how good a musician is by how much make-up he wears, eh? It is the way of the United States, that is why we call our station Radio Espantoso! Hehe... it is a little joke, OK?... all of the other radios is «espantoso», apart from ours!"
- After playing "Jamay" from Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra in Vice City, Pepe says "In fact, the other day, a shit-eating, greasy Italian man tried to steal my car when I was driving, what's up with that, people? Sure that guy didn't know with whom he was messing with, eh? Here we go, more music!" (translated from the Spanish: "De hecho, el otro día un comemierda italiano grasoso me trató de robar el carro cuando estaba manejando; ¿qué es eso, gente? Seguro que ese tipo no sabía con quién él estaba jugando, ¿ah? Here we go, more music!"). This implies that it was the game's protagonist, Tommy Vercetti, that tried to carjack him.
- It would also mean that Pepe is one of the pedestrians walking around the city.
See Also
- San Juan Sounds - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto IV which also plays Puerto Rican & Dominican music.
- East Los FM - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto V which also plays Latin American & Mexican music.
- IF99 - A radio station in Grand Theft Auto IV which plays another song by Lonnie Liston Smith.
Template:Gtaiii era radio stations