ITHACA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Ithaca Community Radio opened its’ studios in 2002 and has since grown to provide an alternative voice for the Finger Lakes region.
The initiative was started by community members seeking to create a platform for independent voices and news. Thanks to years of fundraising, the radio station now features sixty local hosts. A new transmitter has also been installed, extending its coverage across the Southern Finger Lakes and into Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“It’s explicit in our mission and it's always been to amplify local and underrepresented perspectives,” says Felix Teitelbaum, Executive Director of WRFI “We recently reworked our mission statement and it really kind of nailed it. We are hands-on homegrown radio for Ithaca and the Finger Lakes and putting the most emphasis on local and underrepresented perspectives.”
Among the group of volunteers, is radio host, DJ, and promoter Carlos Gutierrez who has dedicated his time to amplifying the voices of individuals in the Latino community who often go unnoticed.
“It’s a medium that gives an opportunity for our people, our community, to get the chance to have a voice. It also serves as a link in the democratization of a community.”
Born in a small town in Chile, his journey would allow him to arrive in Boulder, Colorado in 1976 after being exiled from his home country. By 1985, he had moved to New York City, where he lived and worked until five years later when he settled in the Southern Tier of New York.
“I attended a secondary industrial school before going to a university and learned many skills about different areas of work. I graduated as an electrician, not so much as a sound engineer, but that I learned here [at the radio station].”
From mixing music on a soundboard to working on cars as a mechanic, he sees himself as a jack of all trades. However, he dedicated a significant part of his life to serving New York State before moving on to the Tompkins County Workers’ Center, where he worked closely with labor advocacy. He credits much of his experience there in now bringing forward more conversations centered around justice reform.
“What I do here is relay messages around social justice in Spanish, concerning relations with North America and countries in Latin America and the rest of the world. I also do this through music with my interviews.”
When tuning into ‘Alcance Latino,’ Gutierrez finds a way to weave in music, often by political or social activists, to tie in with the theme of that day’s segment or interview. Many of his guests have faced political prosecution in their country and are credible authors who bring expertise to a specific topic, or someone with direct experience of the issue at hand.
The stories he comes across can also be described as reflective of the environment that surrounded him when growing up in South America.
“I come from a poor family,” he explains “My mother worked for many years, 16 hours a day to be able to support me and my sisters.”
In the 1960s, U.S.-Chile relations took a hit once the U.S. became concerned about the rise of the Chilean left and the nationalization of industries like copper.
“During that time when I went to school, I came across newspapers on the streets, and I couldn’t quite understand it because I couldn’t read yet. So, I dedicated myself to learning to read. It gave me a better understanding of the world around me.”
It was during this time President John F. Kennedy launched The Alliance for Progress in 1961 to stop the spread of socialism in Latin America. Despite how hard his mother worked, Gutierrez understood that their struggles stemmed from a corrupt government.
“I realized that our situation was not because of a lack of work on my mother’s end, or those who were around me. It was a product of the existing systemic barriers inside of the Chilean society. In that sense, when I made that realization, I became part of alternative groups.”
Gutierrez would go on to join the Socialist Youth of Chile which would ignite a revolution in the country.
“Chileans have lived in a region of riches, but they also live in poverty. These cities were exploited.”
Searching for meaning in his life has served as a great moral compass in his work today.
“Carlos has been such a great gift to the station,” says Teitelbaum, “He’s been here [over ten years] providing one of the only, if not the only Latin, Spanish programming here in the area, bringing in conversation with immigrant communities and farming communities, and helping people connect with resources.”
His advocacy is especially reflective through the stories shared over the airwaves, says Teitelbaum.
“I think that there’s an important social and civic value to that, to opening our eyes and ears to each other, and to different folks in the community that might not otherwise hear these stories.”
‘Alcance Latino’ airs every Wednesday at noon on 89.7 WRFI Community Radio.