Yarel’s Reventon Countdown

After a long night covering an LA music event for a local television station, Yarel Ramos went straight to a casting call that would change her life. “The red carpet and everything went on until three in the morning. I was doing all the behind-the-scenes work and we had to edit everything for the 1pm newscast. I didn’t even sleep. I went straight to the casting call with knots all over my hair and fake eyelashes,” Yarel remembers. When they told her she got the job as host of the show Reventón on mun2, she was beside herself. “I am a very giddy girly-girl and I just remember screaming when I got to my car,” says Yarel. “I was so excited, and the first people I called were my parents. I felt like, this is when the rest of my life starts.”

For the past three years, Reventón has been showcasing the best that regional Mexican music has to offer. As the host of this bilingual show, the 23-year-old Yarel presents interviews with hot artists like Pepe Aguilar and Los Tigres del Norte, top videos, and audience-involved live performances. “It’s about the new hip and trendy generation of Mexican American viewers that speak Spanish and English.” says Yarel. “It’s all about embracing our culture and celebrating our music.” When she is not working on the show you can find her taking up her duties as a board member of the organization Corazon de Vida (www.corazondevida.org), which helps orphanages on the Mexican border, or on the way to a service trip with the organization Be the Cause (bethecause.org). Most recently, she helped rebuild homes and aided relief camps in Haiti. “It was definitely a trip that humbled and transformed me. It was truly a life-changing experience.”

When Yarel was growing up as a first generation Mexican American in the San Fernando Valley, the radio in her home was cranked up to every kind of Hispanic tune. “My dad is a huge fan of all kinds of music. I remember when I was nine years old, I fell in love with the Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra,” she fondly recalls. Also big in her household was education, something that Yarel is very thankful for—even though she admits that she wasn’t always the coolest kid. “I was a nerd growing up. I loved school, the arts and of course, music.” To preserve the family’s heritage, minding what language you spoke was key. “It was a rule that my dad would not allow us to speak English at home.”

Living in what she call her duality of worlds, Yarel understands that she is doing more than just counting down the latest music videos. “I would love to reach all Hispanic Americans because we need to make sure that our voice is heard and I think that’s our challenge in the next couple of years,” points out Yarel. “We have to encourage the younger generation of kids to follow their dreams and embrace who they are.”