Radio stations from Celaya, Guanajuato

If you grew up in Celaya or the Bajío, radio was probably part of the background of your life: the cumbias on while your mom cooked, the dedications on the romantic station, the university station that students at the Tec de Celaya volunteered for. The good news is that you can still hear all of it from the United States. This guide walks through the real history of radio in Celaya through its stations, tells you which ones to look for today, and explains how to listen live, including the time difference.

A Quick Look at the Celaya Dial Today

Our catalog currently lists 12 live stations from Celaya, Guanajuato. It is not a huge market compared to Mexico City with its 350 stations, but what Celaya lacks in quantity it makes up for in character. This is a city where a station can trace its concession back to the 1940s, where frequencies have changed hands between some of Mexico's biggest radio groups, and where a public university station still runs cultural programming alongside commercial grupero and romantic formats.

These are the stations listeners tune into most:

• STEREO CRISTAL 96.7 — romantic ballads
• EL Y ELLA 103.7 — the classic romantic duo format
• 88.1 Radio Lobo — regional Mexican
• ARROBA FM 99.5 — contemporary hits
• 102.9 Fiesta Mexicana — regional Mexican
• RADIO TECNOLÓGICO DE CELAYA 89.9 — university and cultural programming

The Story of Celaya Radio, Told Through Its Stations

The best way to understand radio in Celaya is to follow the concession dates. Each station's paperwork tells a piece of the city's history.

The 1940s: Fiesta Mexicana's AM Roots

The oldest story on the dial belongs to what is today 102.9 Fiesta Mexicana. The station began as XENC-AM on 1540 kHz, and its concession dates to June 1943, originally held by El Heraldo del Bajío. Think about that moment: Mexico was in the middle of World War II, and Celaya was a mid-sized agricultural city in the Bajío. A local company connected to a newspaper decided the region deserved its own voice on the airwaves.

In 1968, the concession changed hands to Radiodifusora Comercial XENC, S.A., and the station eventually migrated to FM in 2011, landing at 102.9 as XHNC-FM. Today it carries Radiorama's Fiesta Mexicana regional Mexican format — música norteña, banda, and the sounds of the Mexican heartland, essentially a continuation of what that AM signal always served.

The 1950s: Stereo Cristal and XEY

Next comes STEREO CRISTAL 96.7, one of Celaya's most-listened stations today. Its roots go back to XEY-AM, which received its concession on July 28, 1952, owned by Dolores Suárez de Zamarroni and broadcasting on 1360 kHz. The station passed through several hands over the decades — sold to XEY Radio Celaya, S.A., then bought and operated by Grupo ACIR, and later by Corporación Bajío Comunicaciones.

In 2011, XEY was authorized to migrate to FM, becoming XHY-FM at 96.7. Radiorama bought XEY/XHY in 2012 (though the concession did not formally transfer until 2015). For a time, CBC operated the station with its grupero format Radio Lobo. Then, in February 2024, Radio Lobo moved over to the 88.1/920 frequencies, and 96.7 flipped to the romantic Stereo Cristal format that Celaya hears today. So if you remember your parents listening to XEY on AM, and later to Radio Lobo on 96.7, you have followed seventy years of one station's life.

The 1960s: Radio Lobo's Journey from Salvatierra

88.1 Radio Lobo has one of the more interesting origin stories in the region. It began on September 19, 1968, when Rafael Sandoval Aguilar inaugurated XERE-AM on 1290 kHz — but not in Celaya. It was built in Salvatierra, broadcasting with 250 watts as that city's first station. Less than two years later, a competitor, XEFAC-AM on 1380 kHz, arrived in Salvatierra as well.

During the 1970s and 1980s, XERE increased its power, and by 1994 it had an FM complement. By then, the station had physically moved from Salvatierra to Celaya, following the region's growth. It was later sold to Grupo ACIR. In February 2024, under the administration of Grupo Radar, the station dropped its La Comadre format and picked up Radio Lobo, the same grupero format that had just vacated 96.7. Radio history in the Bajío is full of these hand-offs — formats hopping between frequencies while listeners just keep following the music.

The 1970s: Arroba FM's Daytime AM Beginning

ARROBA FM 99.5 started life as XEAF-AM, concessioned on June 28, 1979, to owner Enrique Bermúdez Olvera. It broadcast on 1580 kHz — daytime only, which was common for AM stations at the time, since many AM frequencies had to protect other stations at night. The station was sold in the 1990s and migrated to FM in 2012. In 2015, XHAF moved to a new transmitter site (the old one was in Ojo Seco), and in 2017 it switched from the Éxtasis Digital rock format to @FM, Radiorama's contemporary hits brand. If you were a teenager in Celaya in the 2010s, you might remember when it was still playing rock before the flip.

A University Station Born from Persistence

Not all of Celaya's radio history is commercial. Radio Tecnológico de Celaya is the station of the Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya, and its story is one of patience. The Instituto had wanted a radio station since the late 1960s, and authorization finally came in 1974 — but the school had no equipment. It took until April 14, 1978, during the celebrations for the ITC's 20th anniversary, for XEITC-AM 1200 to go on air for the first time, using a transmitter donated by XEFG-AM.

In the early 2000s, the station moved to 1210 kHz, increasing power from 250 watts and avoiding interference with WOAI, the well-known AM station in San Antonio, Texas, on 1200 — a nice reminder of how Mexican and American radio dials have always been connected. The big change came on March 22, 2014, when the station debuted on FM as XHITC-FM at 89.9 with 6 kW. Today it remains Celaya's home for university and cultural programming, and one of only a couple of community and cultural stations in the city.

What Genres You'll Hear in Celaya

Celaya's musical identity leans heavily Mexican, but with room for everything. Based on our catalog:

• Rock en Español — 5 stations, the largest genre count in the city
• Románticas y Baladas — 4 stations, including Stereo Cristal and El y Ella
• Regional Mexicano — 4 stations
• Pop Latino y Éxitos — 3 stations
• Comunitaria y Cultural — 2 stations
• Clásicos y Retro — 2 stations
• Banda — 2 stations

What does this tell you? Celaya listeners love their bandas and grupero music — no surprise in Guanajuato — but the strong rock en español presence reflects a younger audience too, and the romantic stations serve listeners who want boleros and balladas at dinner time. If your household arguments were always about which station to put on, you'll recognize this lineup immediately.

A Suggested Listening Day

Here's how a day of Celaya radio might look from the US:

• Morning: News and talk segments on Radio Tecnológico or wake-up energy on Arroba FM.
• Midday: Grupero and banda on Radio Lobo 88.1 or Fiesta Mexicana — perfect companions for lunch and household work.
• Afternoon: Pop and contemporary hits on Arroba FM.
• Evening: Ballads and dedications on El y Ella 103.7 or Stereo Cristal, when the romantic formats really shine.

How to Listen from the US

All 12 Celaya stations in our catalog stream live online, which means distance is no longer an issue. A few practical tips:

• Check the time difference. Guanajuato sits in Mexico's Central Zone. Most of the year it aligns with US Central Time, but the US and Mexico now follow different daylight saving schedules, so there can be a one-hour gap for a few weeks in spring and fall. A morning show that starts at 8:00 in Celaya may begin at 9:00 or 10:00 your time depending on where you live and the season. If you're on the East Coast, add two hours; on the West Coast, you're two hours behind Celaya most of the year.
• Match your schedule to the format. Music stations like Radio Lobo and Fiesta Mexicana run fairly consistent playlists all day, so they're safe any time. Talk-heavy and dedication shows are where the clock matters.
• Search by city, not just by station. If a stream is down, the station page in our directory shows alternative streams for the same station — Celaya stations like Radio Lobo often appear under both their FM and Bajío regional listings.
• Use the genre pages. If you just want banda or baladas without caring which city the signal comes from, the genre filters pull in stations from across Mexico.

Beyond Celaya: Nearby Radio to Explore

Celaya sits in the Bajío, and its stations often serve (and compete with) neighboring cities. If you've exhausted the Celaya dial, these regional catalogs are worth exploring:

• Guadalajara, Jalisco — 59 stations, the biggest nearby market and the heart of banda and mariachí radio
• Jalisco (state) — 54 stations covering the whole state
• Sinaloa — 67 stations, essential for banda and norteño fans
• Monterrey, Nuevo León — 52 stations, with a strong norteño and news tradition
• Chihuahua — 54 stations
• Veracruz — 44 stations, home of son jarocho and tropical music
• Nuevo León (state) — 41 stations

If your family is from the Bajío, start with Guadalajara and Sinaloa — the regional Mexican formats you hear on Celaya's Radio Lobo and Fiesta Mexicana share DNA with stations across these states, and you'll hear many of the same artists and shows.

A City You Can Hear From Anywhere

There is something special about local radio from a mid-sized Mexican city. Mexico City has the big networks and the famous voices, but Celaya's stations are the ones that announced the feria, read the birthday dedications, and played the quinceañera waltz. The fact that a station conceived in 1943 as an AM signal in a newspaper office can still reach you on your phone in Houston, Chicago, or Los Angeles is the quiet miracle of internet radio.

So whether you left Celaya last year or your family left decades ago, the dial is still there. Put on Stereo Cristal for the baladas your mother loved, Radio Lobo for the grupero that filled family parties, or Radio Tecnológico to hear what students at the Tec are producing today. Celaya is only a click away.