Musician’s Dreams Come True When His Music Is Aired on Coyote Radio

Sergio Palafox’s lifelong dream came true on Wednesday, Sept. 18, when his music was played on the radio. Diagnosed with leukemia in January 2010 and very weak as a result of the disease, he told employees at Cal State San Bernardino’s Coyote Radio he didn’t think he’d get the chance to see that wish fulfilled. About that, he was mistaken. The 31-year-old Fontana resident’s music was broadcast during a special segment on the university’s online radio station Wednesday, Sept. 18, just two days before he passed away in his home on Friday, Sept. 20. The segment also featured an interview with Palafox’s best friend and, in a surprising twist of events, a brief phone interview with Palafox himself. The segment ran from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday morning and the broadcast was replayed again that same day at 3 and 6 p.m. It aired again online Sunday, Sept. 22 at noon. Palafox, who lived with stage 4 leukemia, was originally scheduled to come into the studio for the interview segment, which would have taken much of the strength he had left; the night before the broadcast, he suddenly went unconscious. It wasn’t until the following day, in the middle of the broadcast, that he awoke in time to hear the segment on the radio. “His best friend came in [for the interview] and 10 minutes into the show, she got a call from [Sergio’s] sister saying he had woken up. The hospice nurses turned on the radio and he was able to call in,” said Lacey Kendall, a broadcast consultant to CSUSB. “He was really weak.” When Palafox was asked on the air what message he had for his fans, he said simply, “Never give up.” Friends close to Palafox and Coyote Radio employees said this message stood out in his interview and is also evident in the music he created. “His message [was] about the struggle he is going through but also about not giving up,” said Yvonne Hernandez, Palafox’s best friend and the mother of his 3-year-old son Gavin. “He [wanted] to be an inspiration. He’s telling people to stay strong. He says if he can do it, you can too. Don’t give up on anything.” It was during the Rock the Bells music festival at the San Manuel Stadium on Sept. 7 that Palafox and his best friend, Yvonne Hernandez of Ontario, struck up a conversation with Coyoto Radio Promotions Director Amanda Palafox, a Rancho Cucamonga resident who is a junior at CSUSB. After Fernandez learned of Palafox’s experience, she was drawn to help play his music on the air. “I’ve gone through health issues myself; I’ve been living with lupus for 10 years and I’ve gone through some similar stuff. Music has always been my outlet, and I understood him,” said Fernandez. She said she pitched the idea to other employees at Coyote Radio with the intent to feature some of his songs and possibly do an interview with Palafox, but Fernandez admitted she was pleasantly surprised at how the idea grew into an hour-long segment. “I think it’s really cool the way it [expanded],” Fernandez said. “Lacey took it and ran with it. I just thought if he could touch one person out there [with his music], or maybe hundreds or maybe thousands, that was going to be a really important thing for everybody.” The radio station has not before done a segment quite like this, Kendall noted. The station is committed to exposing local musical artists, but this was the first time an hour-long segment revolved around one artist. “We knew this was something very special and different,” Kendall said. Palafox wrote lyrics, mixed beats, rapped, and played keyboard and guitar. His music can still be heard on social platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud. “When I asked him what song he wanted them to play on the radio, he said ‘ours,'” Hernandez said. The two performed a song together called “Last Forever,” which pays homage to their relationship. “It’s about how I was with him before and after [the sickness], and how I stayed by his side in the battle. He wrote about our love.” Palafox’s song “My Angels” describes the strength he derived from his four children. Palafox’s three other children are Isaac, 11, Anabelle, 9 and Angelina, 7, who live with their mother in San Bernardino. Coyote Radio Director Brandon Williams said Palafox’s music was “super positive,” and Fernandez said his “craft is really professional.” In all, the broadcast is not one Coyote Radio employees, Palafox or his family and friends, or listeners are likely to forget, Kendall hinted. “I’ve been in radio for 30 years, and this was really good radio. It was a fantastic hour.” Palafox’s music can be found on YouTube by searching “Sergio Palafox” and on SoundCloud by searching Mistery909.