La Campesina - KNAI

A regional Mexican-formatted AM radio station licensed to Phoenix, Arizona, operating on 860 kHz and owned by the Chavez Radio Group. Its studios are located near Piestewa Peak in Phoenix, with its transmitter situated in South Phoenix near Broadway and 27th Avenue. The station operates with 940 watts non-directional during daytime hours and 1,000 watts at night using a directional antenna configuration. Programming is simulcast on two FM translator stations, K270BZ and K270CV, both broadcasting at 101.9 FM, under the branding "La Campesina 101.9." The station carries a long history as an early pioneer of Spanish-language radio in Arizona. Its predecessor, KIFN, signed on November 22, 1949, as Arizona's first full-time Spanish-language radio station, initially broadcasting at 250 watts before increasing to 1,000 watts in 1952. The 860 kHz frequency is a Canadian clear-channel allocation, with CJBC in Toronto holding Class A status, which historically constrained KIFN to daytime-only operation for decades. The station passed through several ownership groups over its history. The Western Broadcasting Company held the original construction permit. H. Walker Harrison acquired the station in 1959, and the Tichenor family — whose holdings eventually became the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation — purchased it in 1966. Mauricio Méndez acquired KIFN in 1979 under Hispanic Communications Corporation. In 1982, Beta Communications relaunched the station under the callsign KVVA, retaining Spanish-language programming. Beta also rebranded an associated FM station during this period. Subsequent ownership transfers led to the current callsign and Chavez Radio Group ownership, with the regional Mexican format continuing to serve the Phoenix metropolitan area's Spanish-speaking population.