KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Communication is key for so many people during a time when many feel out of touch. For the Latino community, staying in touch as they celebrate their heritage is as simple as communicating through a weekly, bilingual newspaper.
Life for a Latino living in the United States among other Hispanics is a fiesta, full of family and faith, music and merriment.
Latinos are a communicative people, ready to share their colorful culture with each other and with their communities, which is centered around their church, like Our Lady of Guadalupe.
At church, they pray together and play together, and it’s where a young future journalist practiced his skills of storytelling.
“I got to have stories in the newspaper that have an impact on our community,” Joe Arce said.
Arce’s had an impact himself, with 50 collective years in news, 26 of them on TV and 24 years at KC Hispanic News, which is published weekly. The newspaper has a readership of 35,000.
“Oh they love it, they love it because they get the information that they need, and so often mainstream media, sometimes they don’t cover the Latino community on a daily basis or weekly basis, and so we have to be that vehicle to get the information out to them,” Arce said.
Stories are told in both English and Spanish, reminding them of the unique bond they share with other Latinos.
Mira esta historia en español
“And I love seeing the paper when it comes out, and seeing the big headline stories that are being translated so people who speak Spanish can understand what are the big stories, what’s going on in politics, what’s going on in business, as well as the celebrations. You get towards the middle and you start seeing the Quinceanera pictures,” Sandra Olivas said.
And Latinos love to celebrate their heritage, celebrate their families and celebrate their accomplishments, like Arce’s Hispanic newspaper, which keeps thousands in his community connected.
“I just want to be known as a journalist. The day that God calls for me, I just hope people remember me as a journalist more than anything else, because that is my love,” Arce said.
