Live coverage of ‘March for America’ rally in Washington
planned for Radio Bilingüe’s ‘Facing the Crisis’ economy series 

Radio Bilingüe’s year-long national multi-media series on the economy, “Frente a la Crisis/Facing the Crisis,” will return to Washington D.C. on Sunday, March 21, for live coverage of “March for America,” a massive protest that is already re-igniting a new season of rallies this spring for immigration reform. 

The Línea Abierta on the Road series will broadcast live from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-3 p.m. Pacific Time with a news team at the National Mall reporting exclusive coverage of thousands of pro immigrant demonstrators from across the U.S. The activists will descend on the nation’s capitol and urge Congress to tackle comprehensive immigration reform that could also help the economy, organizers say.  

The live broadcasts will be co-hosted by Graciela "Chelis" Lopez, the host of Línea Abierta from San Francisco, CA, and Rosalba Piña, an immigration law attorney and host of Línea Abierta’s Immigration Edition from Chicago. 

The special coverage will feature interviews with demonstrators, reform advocates, immigration analysts and members of Congress, said Samuel Orozco, executive producer of the series.  

“The March for America organizers argue that reforming the immigration system and legalizing millions of workers will help fix the economy by giving a strong stimulus to the economy, creating jobs and increasing wages,” said Orozco,  

A tape-delayed version of the Línea Abierta on the Road programs will be available on Línea Abierta’s weekday radio and podcast editions during the week. 

Since it began in September, the economy series has made stops in southern California, Arizona and Iowa as well as the Families USA Health Action 2010 Conference in Washington DC in January. 

Línea Abierta, the only Spanish-language talk show in national public radio, is a weekday service that is celebrating fifteen years on the airwaves. Heard in over 60 radio stations around the U.S. and Mexico, Línea Abierta is a program service of Radio Bilingüe, a public radio network that produces and distributes news and information for audiences in the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. The live webcast is available on www.radiobilingue.org  

Funding for the Immigration News Desk is provided in part by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The California Endowment. 

Contact María de Jesús Gómez at 559-455-5782, chuyag@radiobilingue.org.  

Línea Abierta on the Road series background

Since The Línea Abierta on the Road series began in September as part of Radio Bilingüe, Inc.’s new national series “Frente a la Crisis/Facing the Crisis,” Línea Abierta has assembled news and reporting teams to go into the heartlands of the nation and unveil compelling stories about the impact on and role of Latinos in the recession and economic recovery. They are chronicling the effects of the economic crisis in the Latino community, particularly unemployment. 

The series also is examining other elements of the crisis’s fallout such as access to food, shelter and healthcare, and mental health issues associated with job loss, home loss and deepened poverty.

The comprehensive, special multimedia series airs on Satélite Radio Bilingüe’s nationally-distributed news and talk services, Línea Abierta and Edición Semanaria de Noticiero Latino. Línea Abierta broadcasts daily at noon and Edición Semanaria airs weekly on Fridays at 4 p.m. -- each featuring weekly episodes of the “Frente a la Crisis/Facing the Crisis” series over a twelve month period.

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About Radio Bilingüe

Radio Bilingüe is a community-based radio network with a satellite system that reaches 125 affiliates throughout the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as its own six stations in California. Radio Bilingüe provides audiences with news, information and cultural programming from its award-winning programs Noticiero Latino and Línea Abierta. Programming is also available via webcast on Radio Bilingüe Internet: www.radiobilingue.org. The network’s online service features links to program audio archives, podcasting multimedia files, timely news transcripts, several interactive blogs, hyperlinks to relevant organizations and more. 

Funds for Radio Bilingüe's news services are provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Ford Foundation, The California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The California Wellness Foundation, the ZeroDivide Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.