We are on air!
Conecta Arizona is much more than a WhatsApp group. It is an experiment in journalism that others want to emulate. We meet our people where they are — and we are now having cafecitos on the radio.
¡Buenas tardes! Good afternoon, my Conecta Arizona family; welcome to La Hora del Cafecito… now on the radio!
The “on air” sign lights up and the music welcomes our listeners and then they hear a voice that many know only via emojis and text messages.
I am Maritza Félix and it is a pleasure to be with you! How are you doing? I want to hear from you… go grab a cup of coffee and join me! Let’s talk!
And yes, it is actually a pleasure to be with them, a pleasure that becomes addictive.
My hands were shaking and sweating the first time I sat in front of the radio station’s microphone, but my voice was calm; I swore I could hide all the nervousness that I was feeling launching my own radio show. It was the first week of February when Conecta Arizona Radio debuted in the middle of the pandemic, with face masks and the harsh odor of disinfectants in the studio of La Onda 1190, the only Spanish speaking news radio station in Phoenix.
On Launch Day everything was running smoothly, until it hit me: I’m hosting my first radio show today. ¡Ay, Dios mío! My throat was suddenly dry, my breath hitched, and I began to gasp, just as I do whenever I get nervous. I had to close my eyes for just a moment that seemed to last forever… I inhaled, exhaled. I breathed again. I opened my eyes, and I came back ready to take over the world for 59 minutes. I kicked out my impostor syndrome and after that it was simple: I remembered who I was -am-, the journalist who chats with people, the one who listens, jokes and reports. And I’m really good at it.
The time flew by.
Thank you very much for joining me on this first program and thanks for the good luck kick! Shall we have another coffee next Thursday? Of course!
A year ago, I would not have imagined anything like this. I had big plans for my 2020 and none of them included WhatsApp, a community journalism project, much less a radio show. But today I know that I would not want to be anywhere else. Conecta Arizona has won my heart and I’ve decided to bet everything on it. My reward is a new and bigger family, a work team that has accompanied me through the pandemic, and the JSK Stanford fellowship that supports me with advice, contacts and wisdom. Just for today, I have it all.
I still cannot believe that I won one of the most important journalism fellowships in the United States with a community project whose magic is its simplicity, dialogue, closeness, empathy and solidarity. In Conecta Arizona we do not have millions of followers or spotlights, but we are moving the boat together, showing that traditional journalism is not always the one that takes us to port. We do not have luxuries or a big budget, but we have people, talent, desire, passion and intensity … and that is worth a lot.
It opened my eyes, too: We have idealized elitist journalism full of privileges and comforts, of mass audiences and short statements, without realizing that the heart of the information is in our neighborhood, in community meetings, in coffee with the comadre, in school meetings, in the marches, in our own personal social media … in the everyday.
Conecta Arizona is much more than a WhatsApp group. It is an experiment in journalism that has become a model that others want to emulate. We meet our people where they are. We listen to them and read what they have to say; we pay attention, we know our members by their names, their concerns and their dreams. Yes, we have brought human contact back to journalism. And I’m so proud of that.
In WhatsApp we have had more than 220 cafecitos, virtual “coffee hours,” with our group, and more than 40 experts have joined us to talk about subjects including health, immigration, money, taxes, politics, elections, nutrition, emotional health, education and more.
We have faced multiple challenges, too. For example, WhatsApp limits the number of people who can be in our group. Through the radio program we can overcome the limitations of social media.
We only have aired a few radio shows, but our guests have already included the consul general of Mexico in Phoenix, psychologists from both sides of the border, the spokespersons in Spanish for the local and state health departments, a Catholic priest, and even a DEA agent. Our plans include a long list of names, at least three per program, to reflect and expand on what we do in our WhatsApp group.
We talk about everything. We do not censor; we respect. We have difficult conversations, and we are a clear example that you can disagree, express your ideas or emotions and still have a very productive dialogue even if we do not reach a consensus. We chat, we text, we speak, we call and we listen.
We are not done. We are dreamers and we do not stop creating. Our people inspire us and we let ourselves be loved. I see a podcast in our future, I see a website, I see cafecitos in person and more Conectas, for sure! Would you join us? Text me! 602- 775–8989.
