Nico Bompadre is in his final year of communication and media studies with a minor in feminist and gender studies. He immigrated from Argentina to Ottawa eight years ago with his parents and little brother. “My parents and brother have since moved back to Argentina to join my other two siblings as my dads work contract ended. I decided to stay in Canada after high school to go to university and have been in Ottawa ever since!” Nico did some program training at Radio Carleton and now hosts a show called The Tea Party, along with Brianna Gardner on alternating Wednesday nights from 8 to 9 PM. They discuss Queer, Trans, and Femme issues through discussions on popular culture, news, and politics. “We strive to keep a social justice lens while bringing some humour and personal testimony to these very serious topics.” Nico loves CKCU because it “gives us a space to discuss our own experiences, celebrate difference, and question the problems that we and people like us face on a daily basis.”
“Mass media grants very limited access to marginal and dissident voices, and we believe that the conversations that marginal voices bring about are imperative to bettering communities and transforming society as a whole. The work that CKCU and community radio does is important because it remains close to the lives of its listeners and community members.” He finds that preparing a show about a topic that he and Brianna are passionate about requires not only bringing in own experiences but also doing research outside to connect our experiences with others in our communities and beyond. “The space that we have at CKCU has made us strive to be more accountable to the communities and experiences we aim to represent through our show.” He also believes that “Through CKCU we are able to constantly question our own power and greater powers through dialogue and learning.” Nico is a big music fan and is constantly looking for new artists to follow and interesting genres to discover, but he “also loves politics and political debate. I’m the person at the party stirring the pot by bringing up social issues when everyone is just trying to let loose and have a drink. It’s the Argentinian in me.”
Check out The Tea Party here: https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/535/info.html