Spring of ’72—1972, that is. Another Detroit winter faded across the campus of Wayne State University. That spring, WDET public radio launched a groundbreaking bilingual, bicultural radio program: El Grito de Mi Raza. It would go on to become the longest-running Hispanic radio program produced by local students from Southwest Detroit—El Barrio—spanning the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. What a run!
We began with nothing but a vision—no budget, no sponsors—just passion. Young volunteers, brothers and sisters, came together to offer alternative programming that reflected our roots. We featured bilingual and bicultural news—local, national, and international—along with music and personal stories. All of it recorded on reel-to-reel tape.
The heart of El Grito was born from Latino En Marcha (LEM) and the Chicano-Boricua Studies Program, which lived in the basement of LA SED. Gumecindo Salas, Liz Salas (no relation), and Carlos Arce from Chihuahua, Mexico, challenged a group of 50 students to lead—to serve the community and give back.
We were diverse. Mexican-Americans, Chicanos, Puertorriqueños—Boricuas—RAZA. That’s how the show got its name: “The Cry of My People”. It was a time of learning, planning, and discovery—a movement as much as a media project.
Latino En Marcha’s mission was leadership and development. It focused on education, social justice, economic empowerment, equality, and mentorship. We stood on the shoulders of those who came before—parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—some of whom had immigrated a century earlier. Leaders like Lee Silva, Gus Guynett, Israel Leyton, and my father Benjamin Esquivel Gomez, tore down barriers so that the new generation of the ’70s could rise—hungry and thirsty for change.
It was a time of history in the making. The ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s marked the Civil Rights Movement, union activism, anti-war protests, urban consciousness, political uprisings, and global unrest.
Southwest Detroit was a melting pot of ethnic groups—working-class families, small business owners, major corporations, and industrial giants. From Zug Island to the steel mills and auto plants like Fisher Body Fleetwood and Cadillac Motors, we all lived side by side.
Now, back to El Grito. Some jokingly mispronounced it as “the grotto de me razza…” But we were serious. The co-directors and producers—Leonor Sotelo, Clemente Tovar, Julian Caudillo, Miguel Bermudez, Marta Lagos and yours truly, Benny Esquivel—were committed to becoming the voice (las VOCES) for those who had none. Other collaborators like Mario Salas, Miguel Sanchez from Mexico City, Rolando Garcia brought their sabor flavor and expertise to the team. Unity, respect, consensus, camaraderie, and love were the core values of our team.
We spent hours—so many hours—recording every Wednesday for the Saturday afternoon broadcast, which followed Don José Alfaro’s Mexican Hour on another FM station. Tough act to follow. We were just kids—young adults—with big dreams. Many local radio shows blossomed during those years, but then came Tejano Julian Suarez, with his unforgettable catchphrase:
“¿Cómo se siente mi gente?”
“Pretty good fine,” he’d answer with a grin.
Brothers like Ricardo Guzman and Bud Spangler Director of Programing who initiated the original concept of the radio program, Ozzie Rivera, Thurman Bear (our Native American amigo and host of Indian to Indian) pushed us to grow and mature. We recorded on the 15th floor of the Schools Center Building at Woodward and Larned—a crash course in radio production, broadcasting, and public media. We were on our own, and we grew together.
We even had a slick, hand-crafted sign—white cardboard with a bold Aztec-Mayan face in red and green, announcing:
“El Grito de Mi Raza”
WDET FM 101.9
Sábados 3:00pm to 4:00pm
We passed out 50 to 100 of those signs by hand to local stores and community centers. We didn’t know it then, but we were running a grassroots marketing campaign—no budget, no blueprint, just heart. Sadly, no copies survive.
As a kid, I was obsessed with radio and TV. On a summer trip to La Feria, Texas, my birthplace, I visited my uncle Tío Nacho, an engineer at the local TV station. He let me tag along one day. That experience lit the spark. My abuela called me “the Italian” of the family because of my Spanglish. I even took a few media classes at WSU—only to learn this field wasn’t for me. But El Grito stayed in my soul.
So, what were some of our major highlights, accomplishments?
We scored one-on-one interviews with legends like Carlos Santana, Cesar Chavez, and Arturo Rodriguez of the United Farmworkers Union. We featured Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Latin musicians, Puerto Rican artists, historians, and local community leaders. We covered the stories of Farah garment strikers in El Paso Texas, Mexican Consul Jorge Alcocer, and even Hank Aguirre and Aurelio Rodriguez, Hispanic Latino players on the Detroit Tigers. We interviewed so many hermanos and hermanas—local, national and international voices that shaped our community.
After the original crew stepped away, the program carried on. Passionate hosts like Ozzie Rivera, Angelo Figueroa, and Lupe Lara continued the mission. The spirit endured.
Back then, we faced countless issues. Today, in 2025—over 50 years later—we’re still fighting for immigrant rights.
We stand with you all. ¡Estamos Contigo!
“El Grito”—our cry—was a vanguard project ahead of its time. It changed us, and it lives on: in our memories, our hearts, and our shared history.
Collaborating with “Benny’ Esquivel Rodríguez on this column were Ozzie Rivera, Julián Caudillo, Ricardo Guzmán, Maria Guadiana and Beatriz Esquivel. EL CENTRAL would welcome more chapters to share with our readers and followers about the historic contributions of El Grito de Mi Raza.
