The ‘summer of 74’ sounds almost like it could be a movie title. And even though it’s not, the words do attach to a very special moment. It was July 1974 when the maiden edition of LaVozColorado hit the street. Since then, it has been published once a week without interruption. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Colorado’s oldest and most read bilingual newspaper.
So much has changed in the half century since LaVozColorado first went to print. Itemizing just a scintilla of these changes would take longer than anyone has time for. But here’s a small peek into just a few of the things that have appeared on the pages of the paper you’re now reading.
In the ‘summer of 74’, the nation was engulfed in a presidential scandal no one imagined could ever be repeated. (Hint: They were wrong.) To refresh, the ship of state was taking on water. The lead story everyday and everywhere back then was Watergate. Weeks after the birth of La Voz, August 1974, Richard Nixon, our 37th president, resigned in disgrace. It was that week’s LaVozColorado front page.
In the five decades that have passed, LaVozColorado has become a must read for not only Latino community news, but news and information that extends well beyond a single community. In fact, LaVozColorado has routinely featured stories of state, national, and even international importance. While offering a wide array of news, though, its focus remains Latinocentric.
The pages of LaVozColorado have celebrated the elections of Denver’s first Latino Mayor, Federico Peña, who later joined the Clinton administration in not one but two cabinet positions. It has also chronicled the election of the first Latino to win a statewide election, Ken Salazar, who served as the state attorney general, later becoming a U.S. Senator, presidential cabinet member and now serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.
While stories like these are important to everyone, they take on an even bigger role for Latinos, said Peña. “It is impor- tant to see (Latino) names writing important stories that cover state and national issues from a perspective important to the Latino community which, by the way, is often overlooked by other news sources.”
Over the course of its lifetime, LaVozColorado has gone along for the ride as Denver has grown from a ‘flyover’ city to a national and international destination. Stories on ‘The Summit of Eight,’ when in 1997 leaders of the eight industrial leaders of the world met in Denver and the 2008 Democratic National Convention when the party nominated Barack Obama to lead its party and, later, the nation have found their way to La Voz’ front page.
LaVozColorado is also the only news organization in the state to secure a one-on-one interview with President Obama when he campaigned for reelection in Denver in September of 2012. Other exclusive interviews by publisher, Pauline Rivera include, late Presidential candidate, John McCain, talk show host, Oprah Winfrey during her O Magazine visit to Denver, and Jose M. Hernandez, NASA astronaut. For its efforts, LaVozColorado has cultivated a strong and loyal multicultural readership.
“LaVozColorado is my go-to source for news about Colorado’s Latino community,” said Rosemary Rodriguez, former President of Denver City Council, Denver School Board and pillar of Denver Latino politics. “Over the years, I have also appreciated important political stories and obituaries of remarkable Latinos whose lives made a difference.”
LaVozColorado has been there to record the contributions of stalwart community members and also to memorialize them on its pages. Among them are education and civil rights champions Rudolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales and Rich Castro and Judge Roger Cisneros and wife, Adelia.
While many things that have happened to put Denver on the world map, perhaps one stands out for its everyday contribu- tions. That would be Denver International Airport.
Since its opening in 1995, DIA has grown into the third busiest airport in the world. In its shadow, a business district, sometimes called ‘Aerotropolis,’ that straddles either side of Peña Boulevard, continues to grow.
While covering the big stories affecting Denver and Colorado, LaVozColorado has also highlighted other stories that often slip by other news organizations but remain important in their own way. These stories include weekly mentions of a local Latino student who has distinguished themselves academically, artistically or athletically with its ‘Student of the Week.’
Of course, it goes without mention that LaVozColorado has also been there for Denver’s blossoming as one of America’s premier sports towns. The NFL’s Lombardi Trophies are emblazoned with ‘Denver Broncos’ for their Super Bowl wins in ’97, ’98 and 2016. Hockey’s big prize, the Stanley Cup, has come to Denver three different times, 1996, 2001 and 2022.
The paper has also extended its coverage to include southern Colorado. It features weekly stories on Pueblo, the economic hub of southeastern Colorado and the San Luis and Arkansas Valleys.
LaVozColorado offers political and economic news and information of the region, profiles interesting individuals and cultural events of the region including Pueblo’s annual ‘Chile & Frijoles Festival,’ and the Easter celebrations in the towns of Alamosa and San Luis, Colorado’s oldest town.
Also, because of the expatriate population of New Mexicans in the metro area and up and down the Front Range, LaVozColorado regularly features stories of interesting events and individuals in and of northern New Mexico.
So much of everyday life has changed since LaVozColorado came alive in ‘the summer of ’74.’ No one, for example, could have imagined a thing called the internet way back when. Today, no one can imagine a world without it! Also, no one way back then could imagine Denver as a one daily paper town. But LaVozColorado also recorded the sad and final edition of the storied Rocky Mountain News in February 2009.
Indeed, the world, including the newspaper world, has changed and sometimes not for the better. The instantaneous demand for news and information has created a whole new world and consuming public. But there should always be a place for a paper whether it be on-line or in hand.
“We should all strive to cover the rich, diverse community where we are lucky enough to live but there is no substitute for an outlet like LaVozColorado and the community news and opinion it brings to the readers it serves,” said Denver Post editor Lee Anne Colacioppo. “Here’s to another 50 years!”
Since 2008, LaVozColorado has been published by Pauline and Richard Rivera. “LaVozColorado could not survive without the loyalty of a vibrant Latino readership,” said Pauline Rivera.
“From the day we began with the paper to today,” she said, “we have made our best effort to ‘fill in the blanks’ on the news and information important not only to Latino readers but to all of Colorado. We thank our readers with each and every edition.”
