By MATT LEMMON
Lemmon@newsroom.byu.edu
The top front-page headline of La Voz de Hispanoamerica reads, in Spanish, 'Venezuela-the Worst Catastrophe of the Century.'
This and other stories about Latin America are featured in La Voz -- Spanish for 'the Voice.' The paper, started in December by local entrepreneur, Joseph Madrigal, is Orem's new all-Spanish newspaper. According to Madrigal, it has the widest circulation of any Hispanic newspaper in the state.
But La Voz's target audience, Hispanics in Utah Valley represented only 4.5% of the total population of Utah Valley in 1998, according to a Bureau of the Census estimate.
However, Robert Archuleta, chair of education for the Utah Hispanic Association, said the estimate is inaccurate, and there are many more Hispanics living in the area than census reports indicate.
Archuleta says there is a real need for a solid Spanish newspaper in Utah. He says other Hispanic papers such as La Prensa and Mundo Hispano have been inconsistent about how often they've been published and have encountered economic problems.
The Hispanic community needs 'as much communication as we can get,' Archuleta says. 'We use every tool we can get.'
Madrigal said La Voz is more professional than other Hispanic newspapers, and won't have the same problems they have had.
'We're doing well,' he said. 'The newspaper has been very well-received. People are calling us with comments.'
Madrigal, also the head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a part-time BYU statistics professor, said the newspaper carries a two-fold mission of establishing a link between Latin Americans and their countries and informing them of state-side issues that are relevant to the Hispanic community.
Socorro Valadez, a Provo resident originally from Mexico, said she is pleased to have access to a paper written in Spanish.
She said it is hard for her to understand newspapers written in English, so la Voz is 'good because it helps us know what's going on.'
Valadez said she would be willing to pay for La Voz, although it is currently distributed for free. When the paper becomes more well-known it will be sold for 25 cents an issue, Madrigal said.
The paper is funded primarily through advertising, though the planned newsstand price should also bring in some revenue, he said. The company's goal is to break even and make a profit within six months -- though that could take as long as a year to accomplish -- he said.
Its first January edition is a 14-page paper with color pictures and articles about floods and politics. It also has an article on financial planning and a section on American laws. These features are to help readers become more familiar with the system here, Madrigal said.
He pointed out that the paper also has a section called the 'cupid section,' where readers' love letters are published.
Madrigal said La Voz should 'somehow fill a void that exists right now' for Hispanics living in America.
Right now its circulation of 20,000 copies is limited to Salt Lake and Utah Valley, Madrigal said. However, he said his plans are to expand to a distribution of 40,000 in several states, including California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.
'We have more than 200 distribution points--our goal is to have 400,' he said.
Madrigal also hosts 'La Voz,' a related radio talk show Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. on the Spanish radio station 1480 AM.