Live Satellite Broadcast on U.S.-Latin America Relations in Times of War goes on the Air on Community Stations Thorughout the Americas

April 16, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patricia Hernández
(559) 455-5782
patriciah@radiobilingue.org

United States - Latin American Relations in Times of War

The Bush administration touts the 'maturation' of U.S. cooperation and ties with Latin America. Yet, there are a number of issues under contention. This special program explores the impact of the current U.S. war on terrorism on foreign policy and immigration. The program will broadcast live from KUNM-FM in Albuquerque, NM, as part of the activities at the annual conference of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, a gathering of more than 400 radio professionals and leaders of non-commercial radio stations from around the country.   

The Spanish-language program will be conducted by hosts in Albuquerque and Quito, Ecuador. Broadcast journalists from El Salvador, Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador and Puerto Rico will be connected via conference call and will direct questions to each guest. GUESTS: Gov. Bill Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in 2002. He served for 15 years as a member of Congress. In 1997 served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and in 1998 was unanimously confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Energy. Attorney Jose Angel Gutierrez, founder and former director of the Center for Mexican American Studies and associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington. As co-founder of the Raza Unida Party, he was a leading Chicano activist and political leader in the 1960s and 1970s.  Attorney Cruz Reynoso, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was the first Latino appointed to the California Supreme Court in 1982. Currently, he serves on the boards of directors of numerous civil-rights organizations and is a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law.  

Co-hosts: Mario Villalobos (Quito) and Samuel Orozco (Albuquerque) Guest commentators/reporters: Broadcast journalists from radio stations in Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Perú, Ecuador and BoliviaSound engineers: Tristan Clum (KUNM), Jorge Ramírez (Radio Bilingüe), Gonzalo Garófalo and Miguel Andrade (ALER)   

The 59-minute long program will go on the air at 3:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time) 

Audio promos will be available to affiliate stations during the week of the broadcast. Promotional fliers will be distributed at the NFCB conference site. The program will also be announced via e-mail, broadcast fax and DACS. A news release is also being posted on the Internet.   

Nearly forty stations in the U.S., three stations in Mexico, and about one hundred stations in Central and South America are expected to broadcast this special program. The program will be available in the U.S. via the public radio satellite system on C-band satellite Galaxy 4R and Ku-band Galaxy 11 satellite. It will also be available in Latin America through Panamsat satellite. The live audio streaming will also be available online at www.radiobilingue.org.  

ALER - Asociación Latino Americana para la Educación Radiofónica is a non-profit, community-based radio network based in Quito, Ecuador. The network distributes programming via satellite to about 100 community-based stations in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, and Venezuela.  Radio Bilingüe is the Latino public radio network in the U.S.. From its main offices in Fresno and San Francisco, CA, the non-profit satellite network distributes news, information and cultural programming to about sixty affiliate stations around the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico. KUNM-FM in Albuquerque, NM, the station hosting this special broadcast, is a listener-supported organization owned by the University of New Mexico.   

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters is a national alliance of stations, producers, and others committed to community radio. Based in Oakland, CA, this year the organization holds its annual gathering in Albuquerque .

Satélite Radio Bilingüe is owned by Radio Bilingüe, a non-profit network of five community radio stations in California, with main offices in Fresno and San Francisco.

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