Picture from Destino 2008
The Obama Campaign in Nevada is enthusiastically anticipating the historic Spanish-language presidential debate at the University of Miami Sunday night.
Many of our supporters and communities all across Nevada rank immigration as one of their most pressing concerns. This debate has been a long time coming and we are looking forward to a national debate on these important issues.
This debate is also an opportunity for the Hispanic community to learn more about Barack Obama’s record of fighting for real change and standing up for comprehensive immigration reform, of fighting against health care disparities and of challenging the failed policies of the last seven years.
Many of us here at the Nevada HQ are also HUGE fans of Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas. Once you have read about their great work we are SURE you will feel the same way!
...More After the Fold...
Jorge Ramos: From a Time Magazine profile:
As a 24-year-old reporter in Mexico City, Jorge Ramos felt choked by more than just the capital's notorious smog. Tired of censorship from Mexico's then ruling party, the P.R.I., Ramos bolted for Los Angeles in 1983, and in just three years he won the top CONNews anchor spot at Univision, the U.S.'s largest Spanish-language network. An Emmy-winning journalist who combines looks and eloquence with bluntness and tenacity, Ramos, 47, once got slugged by Fidel Castro's bodyguard for asking Castro if Cuba would ever hold democratic elections.
A partial biography from JorgeRamos.com:
• Jorge Ramos has been the anchorman for Noticiero Univision since 1986.
• He received the Maria Moors Cabot award from the University of Columbia.
• Jorge has won 8 Emmy awards for excellence in journalism.
• He was honored in 2002 with the “Ruben Salazar” award by the National Council of La Raza.
• Jorge received the Latino Book Award in 2006 for his book Dying to Cross. He has authored seven books total.
• Jorge writes a weekly column for more than 40 newspapers in the United States and Latin America
Maria Elena Salinas: From a Hispanic Magazine.com profile:
That commitment began on her very first assignment: an L.A. election at a time when there were no Hispanics on the city council, the Board of Education or the Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County, when redistricting had just opened up a possibility for a Hispanic to be elected to the city council. To cover the story, she remembers, “I did my man-on-the-street interviews and out of fifteen people, fourteen had no idea that there was an election in the first place. And I thought, you know, our people are never going to be empowered, our people are never going to have representation. They’re never going to have political clout unless we educate them.”
That commitment began on her very first assignment: an L.A. election at a time when there were no Hispanics on the city council, the Board of Education or the Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County, when redistricting had just opened up a possibility for a Hispanic to be elected to the city council.
To cover the story, she remembers, “I did my man-on-the-street interviews and out of fifteen people, fourteen had no idea that there was an election in the first place. And I thought, you know, our people are never going to be empowered, our people are never going to have representation. They’re never going to have political clout unless we educate them.”
From Maria Elena Salinas’ official website:
• Maria’s coverage of Hurricane Mitch helped win Univisión two national Emmy Awards in 2000, the first time a Spanish-language network has received that coveted prize.
• She earned an Emmy Award for a network broadcast town hall meeting she moderated with Mexican President Vicente Fox in Los Angeles
• Her weekly column on U.S. Hispanic issues and Latin America is distributed by King Features Syndicates in both English and Spanish to more than 55 daily newspapers in the country.
• Salinas was Named "Journalist of the Year" by Hispanic Media 100 and was recently awarded the first International Scholar award from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School which also named her a distinguished Dean’s Speaker.
• Salinas is a former vice president and founding member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been a featured speaker at media and women’s conferences throughout the country.
• Salinas sponsors the Maria Elena Salinas Scholarship for college students interested in Spanish news broadcasting.
• On April 11, 2006 her autobiography, Yo Soy la Hija de mi Padre (I Am my Father's Daughter) was released as a hardback edition.
These prestigious reporters will do great justice to the important issues being discussed during the first-ever Spanish-language presidential debate. This isn’t going to be a debate with a snowman asking questions about global warming… be prepared for some fantastic questions!
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