Radio stations from Los Mochis, Sinaloa

Los Mochis sits in the northern corner of Sinaloa, a city built around agriculture, the railroad to Chihuahua, and the port of Topolobampo. For anyone who grew up there or has family in the region, the sound of local radio — banda horns, romantic ballads, morning talk — is one of the fastest ways to feel close to home. This guide walks through the history of the city's stations, what you can hear today, and how to listen from the United States.

The story of Los Mochis radio, told through its stations

The catalog currently lists 7 live stations in Los Mochis. Three of them carry documented histories that trace almost the entire arc of local broadcasting: AM roots in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the great AM-to-FM migration of the 2010s, and the constant shuffling of formats and national brands.

EXA FM 98.9: from Radio Reyna to Top 40

EXA FM 98.9 began its life on AM. On November 2, 1980, Radio Topolobampo, S.A. launched XEIF-AM on 1240 kHz, transmitting from Charay, Sinaloa. The station changed call signs twice over the decades: first to XEREY-AM when it was known as Radio Reyna, and then, around 1994, to XEMPM-AM on 1030 kHz under the name Radio Fama.

In 2010 the station took on the name La Pesada, playing regional Mexican music with local newscasts. That format did not last. On November 3, 2010, the station was authorized to migrate to FM, and XHMPM-FM 98.9 went on the air in late January 2011, transmitting from an antenna on Cerro La Memoria. After La Pesada failed to find its audience, Radiosistema del Noroeste affiliated with MVS Radio and launched the Exa FM format in Los Mochis on May 14, 2011. Today the station carries Exa's Spanish-language Top 40 sound, which explains why it's one of the most listened-to stations from the city among our readers.

Radio Variedades 103.5: a romantic signal with a turbulent end

Radio Variedades 103.5 (XHPNK-FM) also started on AM. XEPNK-AM 880 received its concession on November 19, 1980, as a 5,000-watt daytime station owned by Felipe García de León. In the mid-1980s, García de León traded it to Grupo OIR in exchange for the stations XEOS and XEHX in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. The concession moved to Radio y Televisión de Sinaloa in 1993, and XEPNK increased its power to 10,000 watts by day and 2,000 by night.

In 2011, the station migrated to FM as XHPNK-FM 103.5. In 2016, after Grupo Radio México handed operational control to Radiorama, the station was renamed from La Rancherita to Romántica as part of a format reshuffle. Grupo Radio Centro, Grupo Radio México's successor, took back operations in February 2019 and renamed the station Radio Variedades — a name previously used by XHCW-FM 96.5. But the story has a twist: on March 10, 2021, Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Institute denied renewal of the station's concession for failing to pay the final installment of its FM migration fee. A reminder that even beloved stations can disappear — so if a stream stops working, check the station page for updates.

102.5 La Maxi: the FM newcomer that went independent

102.5 La Maxi (XHMAX-FM) arrived later than the others. Originally XHMCS-FM, it received its concession on August 6, 1993, becoming the second FM station in Los Mochis — the first, XHMSL-FM, had gone on the air in 1984. The station changed its call sign to XHMAX when it adopted the name Maxi Radio.

In 2008, it became an affiliate of Ke Buena, the regional Mexican franchise from Radiópolis. That relationship lasted until August 2021, when owner Grupo Chávez Radio ended its agreement with Radiópolis and dropped both the Ke Buena and Los 40 franchises from its stations. Since then, La Maxi has operated as an independent regional Mexican station — proof that local ownership still matters in Sinaloa radio.

What to listen to today in Los Mochis

Seven stations from the city stream live through the directory. Here are the ones our listeners tune into most:

• EXA FM 98.9 — Spanish-language Top 40 and current pop hits, aimed at younger listeners.
• LA MEJOR 540 — the AM signal of La Mejor, MVS's regional Mexican brand, with banda and norteño plus local talk. Also available at 540 La Mejor.
• RADIO VARIEDADES 103.5 — romantic ballads and classic love songs, the sound of kitchens and long drives. You may also find it listed as 103.5 Radio Variedades.
• 102.5 La Maxi — regional Mexican, banda and norteño, locally owned. Also listed as LA MAXI 102.5.

A quick tip: some stations appear in the catalog under two listings (the brand name and the frequency name). Both point to the same stream, so pick whichever page loads best for you.

The genres that define the city's dial

Los Mochis sounds like Sinaloa, and that means brass. Here is how the local catalog breaks down by genre:

• Regional Mexicano: 4 stations — the backbone of the dial
• Banda: 4 stations — Sinaloa's signature sound, from hometown brass bands to modern banda sinaloense
• Pop Latino y Éxitos: 3 stations
• Románticas y Baladas: 2 stations
• Clásicos y Retro: 2 stations
• Rock en Español: 1 station
• Noticias y Hablada: 1 station

If you want the full Sinaloa experience, start with the banda stations — there is nothing like hearing a live remote from a local dance or festival. For something calmer, the romantic stations are perfect for Sunday morning coffee, and the news/talk station keeps you current on what is happening back home.

How to listen from the US

Listening is simple. Every station page in the directory has a live player, so no app download or radio antenna is needed. A few practical tips:

• Check your internet, not your radio. Streams work over Wi-Fi or mobile data, and most are light enough that they won't eat your data plan.
• Search by city or by genre. If you know the station name, use the search bar. If you just want banda, browse the banda genre page and filter for Los Mochis.
• Favorites help. Save your go-to stations so you can start listening with one tap.
• If a stream fails, try the alternate listing. As mentioned above, several Los Mochis stations have two catalog entries; one often works when the other does not.

The time difference

Los Mochis is in the Mountain time zone (Sinaloa does not observe daylight saving time, since Mexico abolished it for most of the country). What this means in practice:

• From US cities on Pacific time, Los Mochis is 1 hour ahead.
• From US cities on Mountain time, it is 1 hour ahead during summer, and the same time in winter.
• From US Central time cities like Chicago or Dallas, it is 1 hour ahead in winter and 2 hours ahead in summer.
• From the East Coast, plan on a 2 to 3 hour difference depending on the season.

Why does this matter? Because radio is live. Morning shows in Los Mochis start early, typically around 5 or 6 a.m. local time — which might be 4 a.m. for you in California or 7 a.m. in New York. If you want to catch local news, traffic on the Topolobampo road, or a morning personality you grew up with, do the math before you tune in. Evening programs and remote broadcasts from dances often air well into the night Los Mochis time, which conveniently lands during US prime time.

Explore radio beyond Los Mochis

If you have family scattered around Mexico, the directory makes it easy to hop between cities. Sinaloa as a state has 67 stations — including Culiacán and Mazatlán, worth exploring for more banda and regional programming. Beyond the state:

• Chihuahua (54 stations) — the other end of the famous Chihuahua al Pacífico railroad line that starts in Los Mochis
• Guadalajara, Jalisco (59 stations) and Jalisco (54 stations) — mariachi country, with a rich regional dial
• Monterrey, Nuevo León (52 stations) and Nuevo León (41 stations) — strong norteño and news radio tradition
• Veracruz (44 stations) — son jarocho and tropical sounds
• Ciudad de México (350 stations) — the national dial, with everything from talk to pop

Or browse the full Mexico directory to search by state.

Final thoughts

Los Mochis may not have the largest dial in Mexico, but its stations carry a century's worth of Sinaloa culture — the banda brass, the ballads, the morning chatter, and the local news that matters to the people of El Fuerte, Ahome, and the valley. Whether you left last year or thirty years ago, opening a live stream from home takes seconds. Find your station, note the time difference, and let Los Mochis play in your kitchen tonight.