La Raza Delivers Más!

On July 11, La Raza Newspaper will deliver “Más” (more) to its readers by offering more local news, more sports, more entertainment, more advertising and more contests than ever before.

At 34, La Raza will be presenting its greatly enhanced editorial product packaged in a vibrant and youthful new graphic design. “Our mission is to stay in tune with our market which is young and asking for a faster, more lively read,” stated Victor Ulloa, Production Manager of La Raza.

“Our objective is to maintain the convenience of La Raza’s tabloid tradition, yet publish four distinct editorial sections,” stated Robert J. Armband, Publisher of La Raza. “Each section of our “four in one tab” has a specific focus and a new brand with a dedicated color,” Armband continued.

“The first section features the main news, Op/Ed, classified, autos and sports. Section “B” or ¡Aplausos! is dedicated to entertainment and lifestyles. Section “C” or Metro (North or South), features local news, health, tourism, zoned advertising and a newly established English section. Finally, Section “D” is our Panorama supplement offering an in-depth focus on any one of a wide variety of topics including, health, business, autos, education, Hispanic culture, etc. Plus, once a month, Arena Cultural, an arts and cultural magazine, will replace the Panorama section,” stated Elbio Rodriguez Barilari, Editor in Chief of La Raza Newspaper.

In the main news, La Raza’s Mexico department will be greatly expanded to include coverage from the eight Mexican states with significant populations in Chicago. In effect, the states of Mexico will be treated as if they were actual countries. This decision was made based on the fact that 75 percent of all Hispanics in the Chicagoland area are of Mexican origin.

“After Los Angeles, Chicago has the country’s second largest Mexican population. In fact, one out of every five Chicagoans is Mexican or of Mexican decent, and there are tually more people from the state of Michoacan than from any Latin American country,” declared, Mr. Armband. “Therefore, if your not doing the Mexican hat dance in Chicago, you are missing all the fun,” joked Mr. Armband.

“We are also very excited about ¡Aplausos!,” stated Publisher Emeritus, Luis H. Rossi. “La Raza will maintain its sponsorship of scores of Hispanic and mainstream events such as the upcoming “Los Temerarios Más Mexicano – Más La Raza” kick-off event on July 25th.” Thus, our new entertainment section will continue to provide the exciting exclusive interviews with top artists and celebrities that have distinguished La Raza for decades. ¡Aplausos! major enhancement will come in the form of extensive guides, music reviews, movie reviews and listings, TV & radio notes, culinary reviews and recipes, a women department featuring Samy, the world renown beautician, horoscopes and the addition of Latino oriented comics, including Condorito.

Latinos simply love sports. Throughout the years, La Raza has gained respect for providing coverage of the sports and teams that mainstream publications generally overlook. The new La Raza will feature an upgraded sports section, called Ovación, promising to cover more sports than ever before. The new format will allow the reader to flip through the pages from back to front. This section will include box scores, reviews and in-depth analysis of our reader’s favorite teams. Our sports editor, Javier Quiroz, refers to Ovacion as “La Raza Deportes on steroids!”

“We are very excited about these changes and upgrades. This will make the La Raza a more compelling and interesting product that will stay in the households for a longer period of time,” stated Associate Publisher, Carlos Olea. “La Raza will offer something for every Latino and with the new English section, everyone will hear what the voice of Chicago’s Latino community has to say,” Mr. Olea continued.

As if a prelude to the launch of the new La Raza, Editor & Publisher (E&P), considered the Bible of the publishing industry, proclaimed La Raza Newspaper, one of the “Ten Publications that Do it Right.” The winners were compiled by E&P staff and were announced on Monday, June 28, 2004. This is the fifth year E&P has been doing this and La Raza is the first Spanish Language weekly Publication to be recognized.

Governor of the State of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, summed it up best in a letter to La Raza, wherein he stated, “Since 1970, La Raza has served as a vital resource to Chicago’s Hispanic community, providing fair and accurate news reporting to citizens throughout the city. Now, as you have this terrific opportunity to offer “Más” to your readership, I commend you on your ever-increasing commitment to serving this city and state.”