Hispanic Heritage Spotlight: Francisco X. Rivera

To read this story in Spanish, please click here!

When I was offered the opportunity to audition for the LA Kings Spanish play-by-play announcer job, I felt like I needed to jump at it based on personal reasons. With three of my nephews playing the game in Mexico and Canada, in addition to several childhood memories involving hockey, I was ready to show I could make it to the NHL and work with a bona fide organization.

Never in a million years would I had thought that this job would change my life forever. Not only was I able to fulfill a few milestones in broadcasting, but my alternate role as a consultant to lead the team’s efforts to connect with our Latino community, led me to connect even stronger with my roots.

It all started at a Kings advisory board meeting, where I was just “invited” to listen to a very rich exchange of points of view, amongst a group of elite professionals and hockey enthusiasts that include rock stars, actors, media executives and CEOs. I had an opportunity to share some ideas as of how to cater to the Latino community, and that led to an invitation to join the board full time.

My Spanish announcer role gave me the opportunity to not only take the sport into the homes and mobile devices of thousands of people around the hockey community, but it also provided me with an in-depth perspective of the demographics of our fan base. From in-broadcast trivia, to impromptu photo opportunities around the arena, I wanted to push the envelope and get to know our loyal followers in person as well.

The knowledge that I acquired through those organic experiments took things to a different level: I was offered a consultant position to help lead our strategy within our Latino community in Southern California. I must admit I was pretty afraid on taking on an post where I didn’t have such an accomplished path as in broadcasting, but this was something I needed to explore for the sake of my love of the game and my love for this organization.

One of the initiatives I’ve felt most proud about is spreading the word about how fun, intense and unforgettable of an experience it is to attend a Kings game in our venue. Soccer legends, Grammy winners, iconic actors and even a former Los Angeles County Sheriff have graced our Spanish radio broadcast booth to discuss their love for the game, and scream GOOOOOL at the top of their lungs when our team scored.

Serving as team ambassador in jersey presentations to celebrities of the stature of Marc Anthony, Miguel “Piojo” Herrera and Group Firme, created moments that will forever live in my memory. Just as special is having superstars that you admire telling you how much they enjoyed the whole hockey experience and asking you for a chance to come back to the arena and relive the excitement of a Kings game.

With the solid engagement and connection we have with our Latino community in Southern California, it totally made sense to try to continue south of the border and cater to a country that embraces hockey well and that keeps on growing after a mid-nineties boom. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we were able to build our Mexico City Jr. Kings program in 2020, becoming the only major league team in the U.S. with a Mexico-based academy.

The three times I’ve flown to my native city with our Kings alumni and staff have brought tremendous flashbacks of the early years in which I was introduced to this sport while growing up in Mexico. Playing Ice Hockey on NES with my father, attending a United States-Russia exhibition game at the Lomas Verdes ice rink or watching the Kings on cable TV in the early 90s, are moments that marked my childhood, at a time where I never though hockey would become such a focal point of my life.

Interesting enough, I never put on skates during those early years, but such has been my eagerness to be entrenched within the organization, that I decided to learn how to skate in my 30s and experienced firsthand how refreshing and relaxing it is to glide around the ice. Learning how to skate, for example, allowed to jump on the ice with Latino children from East Los Angeles, in a collaboration with our team and Plaza de la Raza, getting to see closely the smiles and the excitement felt by these kids that skated for the first time in their lives.

It’s been six years of calling goals for the Kings on Spanish radio, in addition to a few goal calls on the English side with our Ontario Reign. Six years of interacting with our fans and spreading the world around our Latino community, making sure everyone knows how great of an experience you’ll have when you come to a Kings game.

And just days apart from my seventh season in the National Hockey League, I still feel as happy as that 15-year-old kid that got his first Kings jersey as a Christmas present in Mexico City, proud to represent my country and my roots on the ice.