Radio show links Valley Mixtecs with Mexico

Separated by thousands of miles, the Mixtec communities of the San Joaquin Valley and Mexico came together Sunday in the small offices of a Fresno radio station.

Radio Bilingüe — the national Latino public radio network based in Fresno — launched the first Spanish/Mixteco talk show airing simultaneously on five stations in Oaxaca, Mexico.

It is the beginning of what will be a weekly partnership between Mexico's government-owned network of indigenous-language stations and Radio Bilingüe.

During Sunday's one-hour show, listeners on both sides of the border got the chance to say hello to friends and family in their native languages.

They also heard from Xochitl Galvez, Mexico's top official of indigenous affairs, who appeared in Fresno as the show's guest. "We are building a bridge with our voices today," she said.

Galvez said it was important to provide the opportunity for communities divided by distance and language to come together.

"Sometimes, people don't even know where their families are," Galvez said. "And radio can help them."

She also said the Mexican government is paying closer attention to the struggles of Mexico's indigenous groups at home and abroad.

"They have not been forgotten," Galvez said. "And we want them to know that we appreciate all of their efforts and we are working hard for them in Mexico."

For several years, the number of Mixtec Indians arriving in the Valley has grown. Many have become farmworkers, joining thousands of other Mexican immigrants in California's abundant fields.

As many as 100,000 Mixtecs live in California, station officials said. And roughly half have arrived in the past five years from the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla.

Station officials estimate their network of five FM radio stations reaches about 60,000 Mixtec listeners in the Central Valley.

For the last decade, the station has produced "La Hora Mixteca (The Mixtec Hour)," hosted by Filemon Lopez, a former Mixtec community leader.

The show serves as an outlet of information for the Mixtec community — a group that has suffered from isolation.

Mixtec interpreters are few, making it difficult for some to receive health care, maneuver through the judicial system or open a checking account.

"All of the things we often take for granted are not a part of this community," said Hugo Morales, Radio Bilingüe's executive director.

Morales said Sunday's simultaneous broadcast was a historic event for the community and the station.

"This is designed to not only provide people an opportunity to communicate," Morales said, "but we also will have the ear of the president of Mexico to deal with indigenous issues."

The five Mexican stations working in partnership with Radio Bilingüe represent a geographic area twice the size of the San Joaquin Valley.

"We are being heard by tens of thousands of people," Morales said.

The reporter can be reached at brodriguez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6327.