Radio stations from Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua

Nuevo Casas Grandes sits in the northwest corner of Chihuahua, an agricultural city whose name echoes the archaeological zone of Paquimé just down the road. It is not a big media market, and that is exactly the point: the radio here is local radio, the kind where the voices and the music belong to the place. For the many families from this region now living in El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and beyond, tuning in to a station from home is a small but real way to stay connected.

Our catalog currently lists six live stations from Nuevo Casas Grandes, and unlike a huge market such as Mexico City with its 350 stations, here you can genuinely get to know every signal on the dial. This guide walks through the history of local radio as told by its two best-documented stations, what to listen to today, and the practical details of listening from the United States.

The story starts with AM: XETX, La Ranchera de Paquimé

Local radio in Nuevo Casas Grandes begins with 540 La Ranchera de Paquimé. The station's AM signal, XETX, received its concession on November 23, 1948, making it one of the older stations in this part of Chihuahua. In its earliest days it transmitted with just 250 watts on 1400 kHz, and it was owned by Don Laureano Francisco Molinar Contreras.

A 250-watt AM signal covers a modest area, and the station grew with the city. By the 1960s, XETX had moved to 1010 kHz with one kilowatt of daytime power. Later, in the early 2000s, it shifted again, to 540 kHz, with 3,900 watts during the day and 700 at night — a serious signal for the region.

Today the station survives as part of the FM dial. In April 2012, Mexican authorities authorized the migration of XETX to FM, where it became LA RANCHERA DE PAQUIMÉ 90.5, keeping the AM 540 signal as well. Further technical modifications were approved in 2017, including relocating the transmitter site. Both signals, XHTX-FM and XETX-AM, belong to Grupo BM Radio and carry a ranchera format that fits the city's character.

There is one more detail worth knowing, because it explains why this station matters so much here. XETX-AM is one of Mexico's stations with a continuity obligation: it must stay on the air because, per 2018 data, it serves 33,056 people across 376 distinct communities that would otherwise be left without any radio service. When you tune in to La Ranchera de Paquimé, you are listening to a lifeline station for a wide rural territory, not just a city signal.

The FM generation: Euforia 104.9

The second chapter of local radio arrived decades later. EUFORIA 104.9, call sign XHNVG-FM, received its concession on November 16, 1994, and it has stayed under the same ownership its entire life. The original concession holder was Israel Beltrán Montes, who passed away in 2022; the station belongs to JB Multimedia.

Where La Ranchera carries the traditional sound of the region, Euforia represents the younger, more contemporary side of the dial. It is one of the most listened-to stations in our catalog for the city, and if you grew up in Nuevo Casas Grandes in the late nineties or 2000s, this was likely the station playing in the car or at the tiendita.

You may notice the catalog lists both 104.9 Euforia and Euforia 104.9 — these are separate stream entries for the same station, so pick whichever works best for you.

Together, these two stations tell the arc of the city's radio: a 1948 AM ranchera that migrated to FM after six decades, and a 1990s FM that has kept one owner for its whole history. That is a small dial, but a stable one.

What to listen to today

The six stations in our catalog break down into three genres, with some stations mixing formats:

• Regional Mexicano — 3 stations. This is the heart of the local sound: rancheras, norteño, banda. La Ranchera de Paquimé on both 90.5 FM and 540 AM anchors this side of the dial. You can browse more of this genre across the whole catalog at Regional Mexicano.
• Pop Latino y Éxitos — 3 stations. Contemporary hits in Spanish, the territory of Euforia and similar signals. See Pop Latino and Éxitos for the full selection.
• Rock en Español — 2 stations. A smaller but real presence, likely sharing airtime or programming blocks on stations that mix formats during the day. Explore at Rock en Español.

If you only have time to try one station, start with La Ranchera de Paquimé. It is the city's signature voice, and its ranchera format is the sound most people from this region associate with home.

When to listen

Nuevo Casas Grandes observes Central Time, same as Chicago — Central Standard Time in winter, Central Daylight Time in summer. Most of Chihuahua's border municipalities follow Central Time, so check the time difference from your city:

• From El Paso or Ciudad Juárez (Mountain Time): Nuevo Casas Grandes is one hour ahead.
• From Chicago, Dallas, or Houston: same hour, year-round.
• From California or Arizona: one to two hours behind, depending on the season.

For practical listening, remember that much local programming — community announcements, dedications, live remotes from local events — happens in the morning and late afternoon, local time. Music blocks run all day, so if you just want the sound of home, any hour works. Use the live player on each station's page; if a stream stalls, refresh it — smaller-market streams sometimes have limited capacity, and the alternate entry for the same station (like the second Euforia listing) is there precisely for that situation.

Beyond Nuevo Casas Grandes: radio in the region

Six stations go quickly, and part of the pleasure of listening to Mexican radio online is wandering. The natural next stop is the rest of the state: our Chihuahua section lists 54 stations, from Juárez to the capital to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc.

If you want to trace the wider musical culture that feeds this region — norteño and banda have deep roots to the west — Sinaloa offers 67 stations, one of the strongest regional catalogs in the country. To the east, Monterrey, Nuevo León has 52 stations, with Nuevo León statewide adding another 41. The big-city contrast is worth a listen too: Guadalajara, Jalisco with 59 stations, Jalisco with 54, Veracruz with 44, or the full national catalog at Mexico.

Why this little dial is worth your bookmark

Radio from a small city does something the big markets can't. When La Ranchera de Paquimé dedicates a song, it is dedicated to someone whose family probably shops at the same stores you remember. When XETX-AM stays on the air because 376 communities depend on it, that is radio doing the job it was invented for: keeping a scattered population connected with weather, news, music, and each other.

If your family is from Nuevo Casas Grandes, or from the ejidos and rancherías around it, these stations are the sound of that territory. Save La Ranchera de Paquimé 540 and 104.9 to your favorites, set your clock to Central Time, and let the dial take you back — one canción ranchera or one pop hit at a time.