Community Profile: Radio Arte

If Pilsen’s youth are eggs waiting to hatch, Radio Arte is their incubator. According to Dulce Mora, executive producer of radio programs First Voice and Primera Voz, the station is a hub where students come first to be on the air, and end up leaving with a range of new skills and a wealth of new ideas.

“Maybe they didn’t completely change, but at least they were exposed to those kinds of thoughts that had never crossed their minds,” said Mora.

           

Since 1996, when the National Museum of Mexican Art acquired the frequency of 90.5 FM, Radio Arte has been working to transform both Pilsen youths’ perception of media and the media’s perception of Pilsen, said Mora. She believes that mainstream media portray the neighborhood in a one-dimensional manner, whether they are focusing on the negative aspects or the positive.

“It’s either, there was a shooting in Pilsen—which there are—or it’s, Pilsen is so artsy and fun,” said Mora. Radio Arte produces material that fills in the gaps between these extremes, from journalistic shows to segments highlighting local music, such as Solo Local.

           

In the beginning of the show, said Mora, students’ perception of media had been drastically influenced by their environments. Instead of understanding the wide range of possibilities inherent in the news, students had learned to see news as regarding only violence and other negative events.

“When they came into the studio, they came with an idea of news as, you know, somebody getting shot…that to them was news,” said Mora.

           

With stories like profiles, short biography-style pieces on community members, Mora said, students at Radio Arte expanded their concepts of what media could be, both to them and to their community.

For example, one of Mora’s students had an idea for a profile about Francis Comendoza, her art teacher at Pilsen’s Orozco Community Academy. According to Mora, the further the student progressed in her research, the more layers she uncovered of Comendoza: not just a cool art teacher, but a political activist and central member of Pilsen’s mural-making community.

By producing stories about positive community members and events that truly mattered to them, students learned first-hand that not only stories about violence are worthwhile, said Mora. Still, she says, while Radio Arte produces stories about positive events, they don’t hesitate to cover real issues. Mora says that Radio Arte students delve much further into these matters than traditional media do, exploring not only what’s happening but also the root problems causing violence, crime, and immigration and environmental issues, as well as their long-term consequences. Often, students push beyond journalism and into activism.

For example, said Mora, some Radio Arte students teamed up with the Robert Woods Foundation to combat immigrant health issues. Others formed the Immigrant Youth Justice League, which pushed for reform measures such as the DREAM Act. According to Mora, the IYJL even participated in sit-downs in Washington—until they were arrested.

Unlike other recipients, Radio Arte won the Studs Terkel award as a group—not as a specific reporter or producer, according to Mora. She explains that the station produces programming that reflects the core values of Studs Terkel.

“Even the name First Voice/Primera Voz came out of that idea of first person reporting, of having our students really tell their stories and be a vehicle for telling the stories around them.” said Mora.

Radio Arte started as simply a place where teens could come to be with like-minded peers and learn how to be journalists.

“They are able to come to a place where they can hang out, they can do Radio Arte stuff, radio journalism stuff, but they can also do their homework and hang out,” said Mora. However, it soon became clear to Mora that Radio Arte is simultaneously a kind of sanctuary from the violence and gang activity in Pilsen. She adds that, in addition to being a literal safe space, Radio Arte provides an outlet for teens to talk about what’s on their mind and the issues they’re dealing with at home.

Students graduating from Radio Arte have the opportunity to stay and volunteer as teachers, but also to go on to further opportunities. Mora says that many of these prospects are with Spanish-speaking publications, such as Hoy, La Raza, and Extra Community News. These publications, she explains, are less concerned with college degrees as they are with experience, potential, and interest. Even so, Radio Arte students have also gone on to work in English-speaking public relations firms and even major public radio stations like WBEZ. According to Mora, Illinois State Rep. Silvana Tabares studied at Radio Arte while attending Columbia College Chicago.

The National Museum of Mexican Art sold the rights to the 90.5 frequency in 2012, turning Radio Arte into an online-only station. Just recently, the museum also sold the building that Radio Arte calls home, so the station will be moving to Little Village. This is fitting for Radio Arte—after all, the programs at the station are about expanding horizons, whether that means being introduced to fresh ideas, gaining a better understanding of the news, learning a set of skills, or just making genuine connections.

“There are students who have come here and gotten married,” said Mora.

As the station moves from Pilsen to Little Village, it too hopes to expand its horizons by offering classes and hosting events in other city neighborhoods and even the suburbs, according to Mora. Though Radio Arte continues to grow, said Mora, its focus will always be right in the center—teaching students the tools of the trade so they can break out of their own shells.