MONTROSE - The only Spanish language newspaper in the Uncompahgre Valley launched its first publication on Tuesday, Oct. 20. La Voz del Pueblo, co-founded and co-owned by Montrose residents Susan Welk de Valdez and Erica Lewis Kennedy, is a monthly newspaper focusing on education, health news and cultural celebration.
“While Susan and I work throughout the Montrose community, we both saw a communication gap,” Kennedy, publisher of La Voz del Pueblo, said. “We were working on another project and we started talking about the possibility of a newspaper.”
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Welk de Valdez and her husband, Martin Valdez Gonzalez, own Cultural Connections, a local translation and interpretation business. Welk de Valdez who worked in advertising in the midwest relocated to Mexico for a change of pace. While living in Mexico, she taught English classes and met her future husband. The couple then relocated back to the United States with their twin son and daughter — currently seniors at Montrose High School.
Martin Valdez Gonzalez, a native Spanish speaker, serves as the newspaper sales director and brings extensive cultural and community connections to the publication. In the first edition of La Voz del Pueblo, Valdez Gonzalez wrote about his experience of legally immigrating to the United States.
Kennedy, owner of the local PR firm ELK Media Services, has extensive writing, newspaper and publishing experience. She has studied Spanish for six years and continues to improve her language skills daily as she works on the paper.
Welk de Valdez, the CEO, said it is the unique skill set combination of these three people that make La Voz del Pueblo possible. “Not only we do all work well together but our skills compliment one another, she said. “We all write, sell and collaborate on the newspaper. We make a great team.”
Newspapers are delivered to homes and several key locations throughout the valley. Copies of the newspaper are free to readers.
562moms wrote on Nov 8, 2009 6:16 AM: