Radio stations from Mérida, Yucatán

Radio in Mérida, Yucatán: The Sound of the White City, Live from Anywhere

If you grew up in Mérida, or your parents did, radio was probably part of the soundtrack of the house: the morning news on while coffee was brewing, grupera on during chores, romantic ballads on Sunday afternoons. The good news for anyone in the US missing that sound is that Mérida's dial travels well. Our catalog currently lists 25 live stations from the Yucatán capital, all streamable from your phone or laptop.

This guide walks through the story of Mérida radio told through its stations, the ones worth knowing today, the genres that dominate the city, and the practical details of listening from the United States — including the time difference that matters more than you'd think.

A Dial Built Over Eight Decades

Mérida's radio history is unusually rich for a city its size, and you can read it in the concession dates of stations still on the air today. Rather than a timeline of abstract dates, think of it as a chain of families, sales, and frequency moves that shaped what you hear now.

The 1940s: radio arrives in peacetime

Two of the oldest stations in southeastern Mexico signed on in 1941. That September, XEMH-AM went on the air at 1400 kHz under the name "La Voz del Trópico" ("The Voice of the Tropics"), with a concession held by Álvaro Barquet Y. It later passed to Manuel Araujo Echeverría and then to Radio Mérida, S.A., settling at 970 on the dial with 5,000 watts by day and 500 at night. That station is still with us today as Candela 95.3, playing tropical and grupera music — a direct line from 1941 to your headphones.

That same year, in December, XEMQ-AM 1240 received its concession, founded by Lázaro Achurra Suárez and sold to Radio Mayab in 1970. Its FM descendant, La Ke Buena 90.9, carries a Regional Mexican format today, but the station's past is wonderfully varied: in the nineties it was known as "Tus Panteras Juveniles" playing pop and rock — the plural "panteras" a nod to the fact that XEMQ also transmitted on shortwave under the callsign XEQM — and in 2005 it broadcast programming in the Maya language under the name Yóol lik'. That Maya-language chapter matters. Yucatán is one of the Mexican states where indigenous-language broadcasting has real presence, and XEMQ was part of that story.

The 1960s: FM arrives and AM expands

On January 23, 1969, XHGL-FM signed its concession — the first FM station in Yucatán — founded by Andrés García Lavín, the founder of Grupo SIPSE, transmitting at a modest 8.925 kW. Power grew with the decades: 14 kW in the eighties, 45 kW in the nineties, and 80 kW today. You know it as KISS FM 97.7, an adult contemporary station that remains one of the city's most-listened signals.

The early sixties also brought two AM stations whose stories still shape the dial. XEPY-AM 1450 received its concession on July 27, 1961 as a 250-watt station, grew to 1,000 watts in the eighties, then moved to 680 kHz with 2,500 daytime watts before migrating to FM in 2010 as XHPYM-FM — today's Retro 103.1, with the "M" in its callsign standing for Mérida. And on June 8, 1962, XERRF-AM 1150 — originally "Radio Felicidad" — signed its concession to Rafael Rivas Franco, founder of Grupo Rivas, two years after the station had first gone on air. After ownership changes that took it through Radio Peninsular, Radio Juvenil del Sureste, Grupo Radiodigital Siglo XXI and Grupo Radio México, plus a move to 860 on the AM dial, it migrated to FM in 2010 as XHRRF-FM 88.5. In late 2020, Grupo Radio Centro transferred operations of the station to Peninsula Studios, and it was rebranded as 88.5 Arya, now spinning nineties English-language pop from Conkal, just outside Mérida.

The 1970s to the 1990s: new voices, new owners

XEUL-AM 1360, today 96.9 LOS40, received its concession on August 31, 1971 and broadcast from the port of Progreso with 500 watts, owned by Ester Ávila Alonso. In the nineties it moved to 930 in Mérida with 2.5 daytime kW and was sold to Radio Progreso de Yucatán in 1997. Listeners knew it as "Radio Barracua," and by the early 2000s it had gone grupera under the name "La Picosita." Authorized to migrate to FM in 2010, it adopted the callsign XHUL-FM and spent the transition years as "Átomo 96.9" until June 1, 2015, when it became Mérida's Los 40 outlet. The format had already been airing locally since 2005 on XHMYL-FM, so the change was more homecoming than debut.

In 1980, XHMT-FM received its concession, held by Ricardo López Méndez until it was sold to Grupo ACIR in the nineties. It's now La Comadre 98.5, playing grupera under Grupo SIPSE.

The nineties brought two more concessions. XHYU-FM — AMOR 100.1 — was granted on February 19, 1993, originally destined for 100.9 MHz under Mensaje Radiofónico, a Radiorama subsidiary, before a quick frequency change, a sale to Grupo ACIR within five years, and finally SIPSE's 2006 purchase of ACIR's Mérida stations. And on September 24, 1992, XHTVY-FM was concessioned, soon changing to its current callsign XHMIA-FM and going on air in 1996 as "Mia 89.3," owned by Arturo Iglesias y Villalobos with José Laris Iturbide of Cadena RASA supporting operations behind the scenes from separate studios. Laris Iturbide eventually took 50 percent of the concessionaire in 2010. That station reinvented itself constantly: N-ergy in the early 2000s, Ultra in 2008, Sona in 2012 with a pop format, then Wow in September 2019, and finally Radio Mundo 89.3 in 2022, with a news and adult-contemporary format owned by Multimedia del Sureste.

The 2000s to today: consolidation and the great AM migration

Two threads run through recent Mérida radio. One is consolidation: SIPSE's 2006 purchase of the ACIR stations (XHYU and XHMT, with the concession transfers formally approved in 2012 and 2013), and Cadena RASA's growing footprint across the city.

The other is the AM-to-FM migration authorized in 2010, which remade the dial. XEPY became XHPYM-FM, XEMQ became XHMQM-FM (adopting W Radio talk programming during the transition before the La Ke Buena grupero format moved over from XHMRI-FM 93.7 in 2015), XERRF became XHRRF-FM, and XEUL became XHUL-FM. Mérida's AM era didn't end quietly, either: on January 30, 2018, Cadena RASA formally told the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones it would surrender Candela's AM frequency, and the format lives on at 95.3 FM — the station had been authorized to run as a combined AM-FM operation since 1994.

Even the recent years have plot twists. On January 1, 2023, Cadena RASA moved the Los 40 format and its on-air staff from XHUL-FM 96.9 to XHPYM-FM 103.1, displacing the classics format "Retro FM" that lived there. XHUL-FM was then leased to El Heraldo Radio, whose programming ended on November 29, 2024. Los 40 came back to 96.9 on January 1, 2025, and Retro FM returned to 103.1 that same day — a rare case of a dial shuffle undoing itself, and a useful reminder that station pages here stay current even when frequencies swap formats.

The Stations to Know Today

From the 25 stations in our Mérida catalog, here are the ones listeners tune into most, organized by what you're in the mood for:

For romance and relaxation:

• AMOR 100.1 — SIPSE's romantic station, the sound of slow evenings and dedications.
• Retro 103.1 — adult contemporary classics in English and Spanish; back in its original home since 2025.
• KISS FM 97.7 — adult contemporary, from Yucatán's first FM signal.
• Radio Mundo 89.3 — news plus adult-contemporary music, good for mornings.

For energy and dancing:

• LA COMADRE 98.5 — grupera, bands, and plenty of energy.
• LA KEBUENA 90.9 — Regional Mexican from the Radiópolis La Ke Buena network: banda, norteño, and the like.
• 95.3 Candela — tropical and grupera, the heir of "La Voz del Trópico."

For pop and charts:

• EXA FM 99.3 — youth pop and current hits.
• 96.9 LOS40 — the Los 40 chart format, top 40 pop.

Something different:

• 88.5 Arya — nineties English-language pop, a favorite among bilingual listeners.
• 101.5 Xe'ek — a distinctive local voice on the Mérida dial.
• +Azul Radio — another independent option worth a listen.

A note on the catalog: you'll sometimes see the same station listed two ways — for example, 100.1 Amor and AMOR 100.1, or WOW alongside +Wow. These are stream listings under different names rather than different stations. If your favorite doesn't load on one page, try its twin — the stream quality or server sometimes differs, which brings us to the practical part.

What Genres Fill Mérida's Dial

The station count by genre tells you a lot about the city's taste:

• Pop Latino and hits: 18 stations — the dominant sound, chart pop and reggaeton-era éxitos
• Rock en Español: 11 stations — a striking number that reflects how deeply rock in Spanish runs in Yucatán
• News and talk: 9 stations
• Regional Mexican: 5 stations
• Románticas and baladas: 4 stations
• Clásicos and retro: 4 stations
• Tropical: 2 stations and Salsa: 2 stations

That rock count is worth pausing on. Eleven rock en español stations for one city is a lot, and it matches Yucatán's reputation as a region with its own strong rock and trova traditions. If your mental image of Mexican radio is all banda and ballads, Mérida will surprise you.

If you want to browse rather than commit to one station, these genre pages collect everything streaming from Mérida:

• Pop Latino and Hits — the biggest slice of the dial
• Rock en Español — stronger here than in many Mexican cities
• News and Talk — local headlines and national shows
• Regional Mexican — banda, norteño, grupera
• Romantic and Ballads — the AMOR tradition
• Classics and Retro — Retro 103.1 territory
• Tropical and Salsa — smaller categories, led by Candela

How and When to Listen from the US

The time difference, explained simply

Mexico stopped observing daylight saving time in 2022, while most of the US still changes its clocks. Yucatán stays on central-zone time year-round. That means the offset between Mérida and US cities shifts during the year:

• Roughly November to March (US on standard time): Mérida matches US Central Time — same hour as Chicago and Houston, one hour behind New York, one ahead of Denver.
• Roughly March to November (US on daylight time): Mérida is one hour behind US Central Time — same as Denver during that stretch.

Why it matters: live morning shows and news blocks air early. If you're in California wanting to catch a 7 a.m. Mérida morning show, that's 5 a.m. Pacific for most of the year. Evening drive-time in Mérida (around 5–7 p.m. local) lands early-to-mid afternoon on the West Coast and mid-afternoon on the East Coast — perfect background listening during your own workday wrap-up. Music stations like EXA FM or Candela are time-zone-proof, but if you want the live feel of talk radio, Radio Mundo 89.3 or any of the city's news stations are best caught in Mérida's morning or evening windows.

Practical tips for daily listening

• Stream on the station page. Every station above links to its own page here with a live player — no app hunting required. Bookmark your two or three favorites so you're one tap from home.
• Try the twin listing if a stream fails. As mentioned, several stations appear under multiple names in the catalog. When one player stalls, the alternate page often works.
• Use talk radio for Spanish practice. Radio Mundo 89.3 is excellent for intermediate listeners: clear diction, news pacing, and Yucatán accents that differ from the Mexico City Spanish most learners hear. Comparing a Mérida newscast with a CDMX one is a great ear-training exercise.
• Build a two-station routine. Many expat and second-gen listeners settle on one music station for background and one talk station for commutes. A common pairing: KISS FM 97.7 for work hours, Radio Mundo for the drive home.
• Check local holidays. Mérida stations go all-in on regional celebrations — expect special programming and lots of trova yucateca around big local dates. Even if the catalog lists formats, holiday weekends sound different.
• Mind your data. If you stream on a commute, the standard players on these pages are tuned to work over mobile connections, but an hour of streaming still adds up on limited plans. Wi-Fi downloading of podcasts from the same networks is a good complement.

Beyond Mérida: Cities Worth Exploring

If Mérida has you browsing the wider Mexican dial, our Mexico section is the place to start. Yucatán's own regional identity — Maya language programming, trova, tropical music — sits within a national radio landscape that's fun to compare:

• Ciudad de México — the giant, with 350 stations, where national networks premiere
• Sinaloa — 67 stations and the home turf of banda
• Guadalajara, Jalisco — 59 stations in one of Mexico's biggest radio markets, with Jalisco state adding 54 more
• Chihuahua — 54 stations with a northern flavor
• Monterrey, Nuevo León — 52 stations, with Nuevo León state at 41 more, and a similarly strong grupera scene
• Veracruz — 44 stations, and the closest cultural cousin to Yucatán's tropical tradition

A fun listening exercise: put Candela 95.3 next to a Veracruz tropical station and hear how two coastal traditions interpret the same genre. Or compare La Ke Buena Mérida with a Sinaloa banda station to hear the regional range within "Regional Mexican."

The Sound of Home, Whenever You Want It

Mérida's radio story — from a 250-watt AM signal in 1941 to a 25-station streaming catalog — is really the story of how a city kept talking to itself across generations. Stations here have changed owners, frequencies, languages, and names, sometimes more than once, and yet the dial still sounds like Mérida. Whether it's your abuela's románticas on AMOR 100.1, your tío's grupera on La Comadre 98.5, or your own nineties playlist echoing on Arya 88.5, the White City's dial is live right now — and it's only a tap away.