BLOG: TUDN Deportes' Esparza, Moreno Bringing Hockey to New Audiences

In February 1992, New Jersey Devils winger Bill Guerin laced up and became the first player of Hispanic descent to play on NHL ice. Almost thirty-years later, the NHL continues to work on expanding the game to Spanish speaking audiences with the league-wide initiative Hockey is for Everyone™ campaign.

The Latino community represents Chicago's second largest racial group and make up roughly 18% of the state population
per the 2020 Census
. Being the primary hockey team in the Chicagoland area, the Blackhawks have made great strides to become an inclusive space for Spanish speaking fans. The team held their annual Hispanic Heritage Night on Oct. 25 vs. the Florida Panthers, which featured live performances by Hispanic musicians and dancers, offered authentic specialty food and drink, and featured an in-arena announcer calling goals in Spanish.
Tweet from @nhlespanol: ��Y despu��s la presentaci��n en espa��ol!S��bele al volumen para escucharla 🔊👂 @NHLBlackhawks #NHLHispanicAndLATAMHeritage #HockeyIsForEveryone pic.twitter.com/zCVYsJ6EE0
The night also showcased Miguel Esparza and Jorge Moreno, the respective play-by-play and color analyst for the Blackhawks' Spanish radio coverage on Univision Chicago. Both Esparza and Moreno play an important role in making the Blackhawks an inclusive place for Spanish speakers.

Humboldt Beginnings

Every gameday on Univision's TUDN Deportes Chicago 1200 AM, Esparza and Moreno control how their Spanish speaking audience experience Blackhawks' hockey.

"[With] radio, we have to be on every single second," said Esparza on the most recent episode of the Blackhawks Insider podcast. "I'm nonstop, so I have to make sure that yes, I have certain ways of saying where [the players] are and how they [play]."
The Blackhawks first launched their Spanish-language radio broadcast in 2016 when the team began their partnership with Univision. For the past three years, TUDN Deportes Chicago 1200 has provided play-by-play announcing.
Growing up in Humboldt Park, Esparza's first love was singing. While he still performs as an Elvis tribute artist today, his other avocation - sports - became his occupation when he got hired by the Spanish radio station to cover the Blackhawks broadcast.
"I watched a video on YouTube, created a demo, [and] sent it over," said Esparza. "And I was on the [Blackhawks] broadcast the next game. So [learning play-by-play for hockey] was self-taught. I said, 'You know what, I want this and I'm going to make it happen.'"
NHL pedigree often finds itself into a hockey broadcast booth, with regional broadcasts often featuring a former veteran of the league who long ago traded in their hockey stick for a microphone. For Moreno, his journey as a color analyst first began with a joystick.
"My passion and love for hockey initially started with NHL '94," said Moreno referring to the legendary video game from the early 90's. "That was what started everything off."
Also having grown up in Chicago, Moreno continued playing NHL video games through his youth. His hockey fandom reached a new level when he went to his first Blackhawks game - the team's 2006 home opener - and then later experiencing the team's Stanley Cup runs.
"I just fell in love with the game," said Moreno. "With the rink, with the excitement. Just the sounds of hockey, because they're very distinct sounds [from] any other sport."

Found in Translation

Calling a hockey game in Spanish goes beyond simple translation. Some of the challenges that Esparza and Moreno face are translating hockey terms like 'icing' and 'toe-drag' that don't have direct translations in Spanish.
"The way that my mind works," said Esparza, "is like 'Okay, how can I make this sound good for our audience and make them understand what I'm trying to say?'"
With a sport as fast as hockey, calling a game requires an in depth understanding of the strategy on the ice. Possessing the level of empathy and understanding are important to have in order to connect with an audience who may not have grown up playing the game.
"I try to get certain words from different sports," said Moreno. "For example, in soccer, [there's] a pass that's kind of like a saucer pass [in hockey]. [So, I try] to relate it to soccer and try to translate so that the Spanish speaking community could relate it to a sport that they know."

Expansion Era

A half-decade since the first Spanish-language Blackhawks broadcast, the number of Spanish-language hockey broadcasts has increased. Los Angeles, Nashville and Vegas are the three other NHL teams that have Spanish radio broadcasts for every regular season game with many more teams providing partial coverage over the length of the season.
"It's just amazing just being one of the original six teams to have Spanish broadcasting [covering the Blackhawks] all over the city," said Moreno. "For the fans to be able to listen to the sport of hockey in Spanish, it's a blessing for us and an honor for us to be the voices behind it."
Moreno and Esparza's nontraditional journey to the broadcasting booth reflect the multifaceted paths many people become fans of hockey. Their presence on the air every game night provides a reminder that hockey truly is for everyone.
"It wasn't a thing that my father said. 'Let's go watch a Blackhawks game,'" said Esparza. "It was 'Let's go and watch a baseball game.' So, I think that's what we've been doing … [it's] been fantastic just to have that outreach and be able to show the beauty of the sport."