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Hispanic Link News Service
As the year-long bicentennial celebration of Latino newspapers in the United States comes to a close, its legacy continues to grow and serve a community.
“The bicentennial is a significant event for journalism and we have a responsibility to document our history,” said Félix Gutiérrez, professor of journalism, communication and Mexican American studies at the University of Southern California. “We have deep roots, We should know them and others should know them.”
Even Gutiérrez was surprised by what he discovered in his research. Before the first U.S. Latino newspaper, the first printed news in the Americas was produced in a booklet, “hoja volante,” by Juan Rodriguez in 1541, nearly 150 years before the first English colony newspaper. And in 1808 the first U.S. Latino newspaper, El Misisipí, was founded in New Orleans.
“I was surprised while digging into all this history,” Gutiérrez said. “Who would have thought the first U.S. Latino newspaper would be in New Orleans?”
Throughout the 200 years, U.S. Latino newspapers played multiple roles. They have been a voice for the people and to the people, whether they were students, women, labor unions or community organizations, said Gutiérrez.
They allowed a Cuban revolutionary leader, José Martí, to call for Cuban independence from Spain in his New York City newspaper Patria in 1892. They allowed people to voice their opinions during the Spanish American War in 1898 through various Latino publications.
During the U.S. war with Mexico in 1846, hundreds of Latino newspapers published stories that differed from what English newspapers were reporting, “reflected their own experiences,” Gutiérrez explained, “...history of America as reported by U.S. Latinos.”
In the late 1930s Latino newspapers emerged as a voice for Latino students, highlighting their achievements and their struggles in education. The Mexican Voice did it for students in Monrovia, Calif.
Then and today, they help immigrants adjust to life in a strange and sometimes hostile land.
“They’re acquainting people to the U.S. who may not have been welcomed but have always wanted to
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