Rodrigo Olivas, known on the air as Chikirrirris DJ, has been with La Poderosa (105.3-FM) for 10 months. He gets about 250 to 300 text messages a day from listeners.

Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

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Rodrigo Olivas never has to worry about getting in trouble for texting on the job.

Every weekday from 3 to 7 p.m., Olivas spins a healthy mix of cumbias, mariachi, banda and other Spanish-language genres as a DJ for La Poderosa, KZLZ (105.3-FM).

Between sets, Olivas, 37, gives out his personal cell-phone number and asks his listeners to text him. He estimates he gets between 250 and 300 texts during his four hours on the air.

Some are requests and well wishes for the popular radio personality. He also reads messages that people send for their family and friends to hear.

"I try my best to get to them all," said the native of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora. He matches the eclectic selection of music with animated, fast-paced chatter between songs.

"People shower him with messages," said station spokesman Jose Luis Olmos. "I think he is really shining right now because of the way he communicates with the people. "

Olivas came to Tucson 14 years ago from Mexico. A salesman by trade, he eventually found himself working as an ad executive for Radio Exitos (1030-AM).

It was during his time with Radio Exitos that Olivas got his first taste of on-air life in Tucson. His approach was unlike that of some of his counterparts, he recalled.

"I would hear DJs who were disrespectful to their audiences," Olivas said. "They would say rude and offensive things. I wanted to do it in a different way."

Today, Olivas is one of the leading DJs at La Poderosa and has been a driving force for the station since joining the team last February.

Olivas joined the station as part of its push to feature more local voices. Before that time, La Poderosa was broadcasting mostly out-of-state programming as part of a larger, national network of radio stations.

Aside from the texting, Olivas, who moonlights as a car salesman, says his popularity is due to the fact that he "plays the music that the people ask for."

Olmos attributes his success to his ability to communicate with his audience.

"He is very genuine," Olmos said. "He says things the way they are. He is crystal clear. He will relate to his audience depending on where they are from. People who emigrate from Hermosillo, he will say are from Orange City because of their orange groves. He will say people from Cananea, where there is a lot of copper, have copper hands. He came aboard full-force and since day one has developed a very charismatic way of conducting the show."

Olivas, known to listeners as Chikirrirris DJ — a slang term that means "mamacita, baby, when the female is beautiful," according to Olmos — hopes to expand his show in the coming year to include an hour of more romantic music from artists such as Marco Antonio Solís and Pepe Aguilar.

"The people who listen to me work at restaurants and for construction companies," Olivas said. "They like to listen to good music while working hard, and I expect to give them a good time."