Two Spanish-Language Newspapers to Serve Latinos in Colorado Springs

Things are about to change in Colorado Springs by the end of summer, as two Spanish-language newspapers will be available in the city to serve the Latino community. The estimated population of Colorado Springs in 2014 was 446,439. About 16 percent of the population is made up of Latinos and yet there are no Spanish-language newspapers available here.

From 1987 until 2007, there was a bilingual newspaper in Colorado Springs called Hispania News. However, it ceased operation in 2007 when Robert Armendariz, the paper’s editor and publisher passed away.

The first newspaper, which actually began circulating early in the year is called in English as The Voice of the People or The Village Voice. Its Spanish name is La Voz Del Pueblo, a monthly newspaper. It had been in circulation in Montrose since 2009, started by the husband and wife team of Martin Valdez Gonzalez and Susan Welk de Valdez. About 8,000 free copies of the monthly paper is currently available in 11 towns in Colorado.

In Colorado Springs and Pueblo, La Voz del Pueblo is available in 20 outlets, with Nana’s Bakery and the Carniceria Leonela as the biggest outlets. Business owners in Colorado Springs have been calling the paper, according to Valdez because they want to know if the paper is available in their area as they want to advertise directly to the Spanish-speaking residents in Colorado Springs.

In July, La Voz Bilingue will be available. This is a weekly publication, which is also available online. It is an older operation actually, as it had been publishing the paper in Denver for about 41 years. It has a circulation of close to 32,000. According to the paper’s owner and publisher, Pauline Rivera, La Voz Bilingue’s readership is nearly 120,000.

Ms. Rivera said that society had changed and in order for a newspaper to survive, the information should be available in English and Spanish and that mainstream newspapers cannot cater to the Spanish community adequately. This is because if they are not from the community, they would not be able to identify the specific stories that the Spanish community wants and needs.

Like La Voz del Pueblo, Le Voz Bilingue is also free and the paper’s staff, who are based in Denver, would be writing stories that are of importance to Colorado Springs. Ms. Rivera said that she aims to attract the non-Spanish- and Spanish-speaking Hispanics and Latinos into the discussions on national issues that are important to them.

On the other hand, Ms. Valdez, the publisher of La Voz Del Pueblo said that their paper will not focus on stories specific to the locations where their paper is available but will focus more on providing information on topics that have a wider appeal and are timeless, while educating and maintaining Latino culture. It’s a family affair for the publishers of La Voz del Pueblo, with Ms. Valdez doing the writing, editing and layout of the paper while her husband takes care of the advertising side of business. Their son Ross is in-charge of distributing the paper around Colorado Springs.

Ms. Valdez also shared that they did not envision that their paper would be reaching Colorado Springs when they started it six years ago.

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