On Friday, Rich Valdes announced he is joining Raul Acosta’s Festiva TV on Roku, which will utilize AI to translate his content into Spanish for Latin American and Caribbean audiences.
Barrett Media caught up with Valdes to talk about the new initiative and the role AI is playing on his show.
Krystina Carroll: Congratulations on the syndication! Tell me more about this new venture. Your show is going to be AI-dubbed in Spanish? This is blowing my mind. Tell me how this came about.
Rich Valdes: I was helping Curtis Sliwa with his mayoral campaign and got in touch with Raul Acosta (Oro Solido), who was interested in endorsing Curtis Sliwa. We started talking, and he was like, “Yeah, look, I’m a fan of yours. I’ve seen you on TV, and you do great work.” I was like, “Oh, thanks. I had no idea you even knew who I was.”
We hung out one time, then had a meeting, and he said to me, “You know, I have a TV network that is popular in the Caribbean and Latin America that we use to promote our music content. We’ve also just gotten into doing some news — international news from Latin America and the Caribbean — but we don’t have much from a United States perspective. We could really use that type of commentary because of all the changes we’re seeing.” This was before Maduro was arrested, but the writing was on the wall. With the election of Javier Milei and the Bolivian president, there seems to be a shift toward the right in many Latin American countries.
Oro Solido said, “I think conservative commentary would be good,” and he added that they could translate my content through AI.
(A note: Valdes speaks fluent Spanish, but translating the show through AI would avoid him having to do a second show.)
RV: I also wanted to get into more of the streaming television and video-sharing side of the industry with Rumble and YouTube. It’s a different world today than it was even three or four years ago. In the last two and a half years, I can’t remember the last time somebody asked what radio station I’m on. It’s almost always, “Where can I watch your podcast?”
KC: Do you have to pre-record anything for the AI so that when it translates your voice into Spanish, it sounds like you?
RV: Yeah, basically, the way I believe it works — and don’t quote me on this — is that you can do the stream live in English, and then it eventually gets stored in the cloud somewhere. That’s when the AI dubbing takes place. Then the production team moves that file over and puts it up. So I guess somewhere between you watching it and me saying it, this happens. It’s interesting because I do speak Spanish, but I’d be doing a completely different show. We’d need a whole different slate of guests, and not every guest speaks Spanish.
KC: For non-Spanish speakers, does the AI give them a generic, robot-like Spanish voice?
RV: No, it translates everybody’s voice in their own voice, which is pretty cool. That’s the technical stuff I’m not deeply involved in, but I know we’re working on it. Our scheduled release is in February. I haven’t put out a specific date yet because we want to make sure everything works really well. I don’t mind doing a soft launch around the Super Bowl and then continuing to build.
I’ve got a really interesting first guest lined up, and I’m excited about that. As soon as I’m able to say who it is, I will. I’m just waiting on a couple of confirmations. The idea is to make my existing show better, kick it off on video-sharing platforms, and make it much more robust in Spanish — Rich Valdes en Español on Roku.
KC: What can people expect video-wise from this? Not a new show, but this expansion of your show?
RV: It’s totally an expansion. I’m partnering with GMF and Oro Solido’s media company, and the production studio we’re using overlooks Times Square. That’s going to be a really cool addition — doing the show with Times Square as the backdrop and bringing guests into a brand-new location right in the center of New York City.
Radio is king. It’s the love of my life, and it always will be. I adore radio because there’s a skill set involved — respecting the clock, hitting breaks on time, broadcasting live, not talking over guests, and giving the audience the most important information in the time you have. That’s a skill I truly love.
I also love the ability, when there’s no guest, to take 10 or 12 minutes and do a strong monologue or tell a meaningful story. You can do that in streaming, but you don’t always know when people will hear it. On radio, you know they just heard it because you can go straight to the phones and get instant reaction.
I’ve always joked that Twitter is cool, and it doesn’t really matter how many followers you have — radio is better. People are listening in real time, and if they want to tell you how they feel, they’ll call you and tell you. That’s something I’ll always love about radio, and through technology and AI, we’re bringing that functionality into both the podcast and TV versions of the show.
We’ll have prearranged call-in times during production. People can call our 800 number — 877-VALDES-1 — and be part of the video and podcast versions of the show. They can also call 24 hours a day and leave a message if they miss us. Our production team can then incorporate those messages into the show. It really expands access for people who couldn’t call in before.
KC: For your non-Spanish-speaking audience, you’ll still be available on all your iHeart stations and everywhere people normally find you?
RV: Absolutely. We’re still on iHeartRadio every day. The podcast will be on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. None of that has changed. I’m still doing the same show I’ve done since 2018. It’s just more condensed now — typically an hour, sometimes two when warranted. There’s been a shift away from longer shows, not one I personally like, but it’s driven by audience habits.
KC: Is there anything I missed or anything you’d like to add?
RV: I’m thankful for the blessing Christ grants me and excited about this Spanish syndication opportunity.
As media continues to grow, integration is happening organically because people consume so many different types of content. Look at Stephen A. Smith. For decades, he was a staple in sports broadcasting. Then he expanded into cable, podcasts, and eventually commentary beyond sports. He realized he had a platform and something to say.
That’s what’s happening across media. People might listen to rock, oldies, reggaeton, or hip-hop, but they’re also deeply interested in news, politics, culture, and society. Those interests are merging. More people are on TikTok and Instagram, and consumption patterns are evolving.
That’s why I’m excited about partnering with Global Media Federation, owned by Raul Acosta — the lead singer and merengue legend of Oro Solido. I grew up listening to their hit after hit. They’ve expanded beyond music into television, media, and events.
In my conversations with Acosta, we’ve talked about politics in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the broader Caribbean. These geopolitical issues affect everyone. I’ve always covered a wide range of topics — entertainment, mental health, politics, and news — and now more people are interested in that blend.
Teaming up with a media company that has such strong reach into the Hispanic community from an entertainment standpoint is a golden opportunity for me.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
