See what indigenous-led Radio Bilingüe plans to do with $2 million it received from the state

When Hugo Morales was raising funds to jumpstart his dream of a public radio station for farmworkers – with farmworkers as disc jockeys and production staff – menudo sales helped fuel Radio Bilingüe’s first broadcast in 1980.

Wednesday morning, the Mixteco native whose family was too poor to afford a radio pocketed a $2 million state allocation from Assemblymember Joaquín Arámbula to support the public radio station’s plans for a much-needed new facility or an upgrade of the southeast Fresno facility that has housed them since 1995.

“Radio Bilingüe has long proven its importance in public service and advocacy for equity for marginalized communities, whether it’s about education, health care, immigration, government, the arts, and more,” said Arámbula, whose father, former Assemblymember Juan Arámbula, helped his fellow Harvard graduate in starting the station.

“The station is integral to the lives of many people, and it is my hope that this state allocation will help guarantee a new home that the network needs to continue its invaluable work in the years ahead, including a hoped-for space for training Fresno area youth in community media.”

Radio Bilingüe has grown into the largest Latino public radio network with 25 FM stations in California and others throughout the Southwest. Its broadcasts, which reach into México and Puerto Rico, reach about 500,000 listeners.

“With this seed money, we envision new or refurbished facilities that ensure Radio Bilingüe continues the highest quality production and broadcast of impactful news, information, music and cultural offerings far into the future,” said Morales, who is currently looking for a co-executive director to follow in his footsteps.

The $2 million makes up a portion of the estimated $6 million it will take for Radio Bilingüe to grow its current offices or locate elsewhere. Morales was adamant that a move would keep the operation in southeast or southwest Fresno.’

“There is a commitment to stay south of McKinley. That’s where the greatest concentration of Latinos are in Fresno,” said Morales. “Fresno is an important center, not just for agriculture but for wonderful people.”

Radio Bilingüe, whose previous offices were in the Helm Building downtown, has a staff of 26. The network, whose programming is mostly in Spanish but includes indigenous languages like Mixteco and Triqui – was credited by the state lawmaker and others for providing valuable information regarding the pandemic, voter registration and the census.

“Radio Bilingüe has been there at the forefront to really get the information out,” said Reyna Villalobos of the Sierra Health Foundation. “I still remember decades ago when I first came to Radio Bilingüe to talk about the important work of Medi-Cal expansion and how important it was for our communities to get relevant information out in a timely way, Radio Bilingüe was read for us.”

Morales, who remembered the first song broadcast by Radio Bilingüe was ‘Gracias a la Vida’ (Thanks to Life) by Violeta Parra, said the Latino network is vital in preserving the music and culture.

“Our music, our música, is so rich. That was not on the air,” said Morales. “The Spanish-language commercial services did not represent our community; and that’s what we do at Radio Bilingüe daily.

“We literally give the microphone to indigenous people, Mixteco, Zapoteco, to youth. And, literally, we trust them with the mic.”

Morales, who noted the median age of Latino is 24, said the radio station is as needed today as it was needed in 1980.

“The majority of our gente (people) are still low income with major needs, and need a lot of support. Radio Bilingüe is so critical to serve in this community for decades,” he said.