R A D I O    B I L I N G Ü E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 21, 2010

CONTACT:

Maria de Jesus Gomez

559.455.5782

chuyag@radiobilingue.org

Latino Public News Service Marks Milestone With Tribute to Legendary Mariachi Trumpeter

The first and only Spanish-language news and information service for the nation’s public broadcasting system celebrates its 25^th anniversary this evening in Oakland, California in a reception featuring remarks by former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso and a tribute to Miguel Martinez – “Father of the Mariachi Trumpet.”  The Radio Bilingüe national non-commercial radio network, producer and distributor of the Noticiero Latino daily news service, is hosting the private event entitled “Voices Raised” from 6 to 9 p.m. PT at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 Ninth Street, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94607.

Since going on the air on March 1, 1985, Noticiero Latino has reported daily news coverage of developments impacting the lives of Latinos around the nation.  Through the years, Noticiero Latino and its partner talk show Línea Abierta have scored a number of firsts and exclusives in journalism that have ultimately risen to national attention: The petitioning for what today are protected voting rights in Mexico for émigrés; the claims to restore funds owed to Mexican Bracero guest workers, the early pioneering efforts to incorporate cultural competence standards in mental health in the U.S.; the story of Chatina Indian Cirila Baltazar’s successful quest to regain custody of her baby in Mississippi after being denied a court language interpreter; the cluster of babies born with defects to Spanish speaking mothers in Kettleman City, California last year. 

Broadcasting two news bulletins on weekdays and an extended weekly edition on Fridays, Noticiero Latino produces nearly 2,800 news stories every year, with the radio feed also available via webcast, podcast, and audio-on-demand archives. Línea Abierta is broadcast live each weekday at 12 p.m P.T. and also made available across the digital platforms at radiobilingue.org.

Miguel Martínez will be Radio Bilingüe’s special guest for “Voices Raised” with a Q&A session and tribute on stage. Miguel Martínez is considered by many to be the most influential instrumentalist in the history of mariachi music. Born in 1921 in Celaya, Guanajuato, and raised in Mexico City, he grew up at a time when the trumpet was a controversial novelty in mariachis, which had traditionally been all-string groups. In 1942, he became the first permanent trumpet player for the legendary Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. Over the next decade—in countless performances, recordings, and over 100 films—Martínez defined the modern mariachi trumpet and set the standard by which all future solo mariachi trumpet performances would be compared. At 88 years of age, Miguel Martínez still practices his trumpet daily, and continues to pursue his love of mariachi music.

Samuel Orozco, Founder and Executive Producer of Noticiero Latino and Linea Abierta, says “What better way mark this moment on the journey of Radio Bilingüe than to celebrate our journalists and our mariachi musicians – the messengers who have raised the voices and told the stories of Mexicanos and Latinos when no one else would?

For further information please contact in Oakland al 510-684-3125