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The Miami radio station WQBA-1140 AM, known for decades as "La Cubanísima", laid off its entire staff this Tuesday.
The measure, surprising to many, marks the end of journalistic practice at a historic radio station that has been a reference point for the Cuban and Latino community in South Florida for over half a century.
The news was announced on Café Fuerte by journalist Wilfredo Cancio, who detailed that the workers were informed of the termination of their duties shortly after noon on this Tuesday.
Starting this Wednesday, WQBA will remain on air only with music programming, without live broadcasts or news coverage.
"Thus, the Miami scene will at least have more sounds. More music and absurdity, as is often the case in these current times," commented Cancio, reflecting the sense of loss felt in the city.
A "new era" that lasted barely a year
The closure is even more perplexing considering that just a year ago, on August 12, 2024, WQBA was relaunched with a new editorial concept.
Under the management of the group Latino Media Network (LMN), the station adopted the slogan “The Pulse of Miami” and hired prominent figures from the media to establish a proposal focused on the interests of the local Hispanic community.
However, the promised "exciting moment" quickly collapsed.
The station was unable to attract sufficient sponsorship, which resulted in significant financial losses and ultimately led to its dismantling.
Sources close to LMN confirmed to the aforementioned source that, for now, the restructuring only affects WQBA, although changes are also expected at Radio Mambí, another station owned by them and a historical stronghold of conservatism in Spanish in the United States.
Among the dismissed voices are Oscar Haza, Neida Sandoval, José Alfonso Almora, and José Pérez Córdoba (Carlucho), as well as Pedro Sevcec and Julio César Camacho, who had already been laid off in June.
A truncated legacy
Founded in 1967, WQBA was not just a means of communication: it became a cultural and emotional institution.
Their most famous jingle, featuring the voice of Celia Cruz proclaiming "I am the voice of Cuba," sealed a shared identity for generations of Cuban exiles.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the station reached high audience levels, even within the island, and was a constant source of information, political analysis, and a connection to the roots.
The initials of the station -QBA- were conceived as a symbolic representation of "CUBA," and its radio presence was inseparable from the daily conversations in many households in southern Florida.
A tumultuous year for the media in South Florida
The closure of WQBA adds to a wave of setbacks in the Hispanic media ecosystem of Miami during 2025:
In May, the channel America TeVé–Canal 41 ceased its operations following a court order stemming from a prolonged shareholder dispute.
Employees were evicted from their facilities in Hialeah Gardens and fired without prior notice. Since then, the broadcaster has been airing repeated content with a minimal technical team, awaiting a final legal resolution.
Also in March, Radio y Televisión Martí faced a complete shutdown of operations for several days, an event described as unprecedented in its 40 years of history.
The halt occurred amid administrative turmoil and mass layoffs, following the implementation of an executive order related to the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
However, days later, the employees were reinstated in their positions and the access restrictions to the facilities were lifted.
Although the restart of broadcasts was not confirmed immediately, the station did not go off the air permanently.
These episodes reflect an alarming trend of cuts, litigation, and disinvestment in traditional media that have served for decades as informational pillars for the Cuban and Latino community in South Florida.
Somber panorama
The wave of closures, layoffs, and restructuring creates a bleak outlook for Spanish-language journalism in Miami, right when the communities it serves need it the most.
In the case of WQBA, not only is a frequency silenced, but also an identity voice, a generational symbol, and a vehicle that for decades kept alive the cultural and political ties of the Cuban exile community.
The conclusion of La Cubanísima raises an urgent question: What means are left to tell the stories of Latinos in Miami with depth, context, and authenticity?
While the historic broadcasters fade into musical silence or canned repeats, the future of Spanish-language media in the capital of exile appears more uncertain than ever.
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