XERF-AM
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| City | Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Northern Mexico, southern United States |
| Branding | La Poderosa (English: The Powerful) |
| Slogan | Más cerca que nunca (English: Closer than ever) |
| Frequency | 1570 kHz 103.9 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | November 11, 1947 (concession) |
| Language(s) | Spanish |
| Power | (AM) 100,000 watts |
| ERP | (FM) 4 kW |
| Class | (AM) A |
| Facility ID | (AM) 103943 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°20′52″N 101°01′55″W / 29.34778°N 101.03194°W |
| Owner | Instituto Mexicano de la Radio |
| Webcast | XHRF-FM |
| Website | www.lapoderosa.imer.com.mx |
XHRF-FM is a radio station in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila. It gained fame on the AM band as XERF-AM, a Mexican clear-channel station on 1570 kHz and a 250-kilowatt border blaster owned by Ramón D. Bosquez and Arturo González, used by famed disc jockey Wolfman Jack. Now branded as La Poderosa, it is owned by the Instituto Mexicano de la Radio (IMER), a Mexican public broadcaster.
In earlier times, the station was operated under the laws of Mexico by Ramón D. Bósquez. Once world-famous, XERF commenced operations in 1947, receiving its concession on November 11 of that year, using the old facilities of John R. Brinkley's XERA, which ceased broadcasting in 1939. XERF was not a continuation of XERA.
The facilities of the old XERA border blaster which had been created by John R. Brinkley, were confiscated by the Mexican government in 1939 and the license for Villa Acuña remained silent until 1947. In that year a new license was granted to Ramon D. Bosquez who created a new radio station originally using the old facilities of the defunct XERA. The station came on the air with a power of 100 kW. For many years the station made money by selling its time after nightfall to American evangelists who broadcast in English to the United States.
In 1959 a new group of investors, Ramon D. Bosquez and Arturo González, formed a Texas corporation called Inter-American Radio Advertising, Inc. which was located on Pecan Street in Del Rio, Texas. While XERF's concession rested in the hands of Ramon D. Bosquez, a Mexican national, the actual control of the airtime and the management of the facilities in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico were under the control of Inter-American Radio Advertising.
The Texas company purchased a 250,000-watt RCA transmitter to beam an omni-directional clear channel signal on AM 1570, which originated some distance from the old XERA facilities within three new prefabricated concrete buildings with flat roofs. The sales brochure for XERF offered this explanation about the operation of the station (emphasis and wording shown as in the original text):
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