La Raza Celebrates 35 Years of Service and Receives Honorable Recognition, Including a Chicago Street to be Named, “La Raza News”
Chicago, December 28, 2005--La Raza Newspaper was honored with multiple recognitions from the state and local level at its 35th Anniversary Christmas Fiesta which took place December 20th at Chromium Nightclub in Chicago.
In recognition for 35 years of commitment and dedication to the Hispanic community of Chicago, La Raza Newspaper received a proclamation from the Governor of the State of Illinois, Rod R. Blajojevich proclaiming December 20th, 2005 as La Raza Day in Illinois.
“Not only have Latinos found useful information in the pages of La Raza for the past 35 years, but La Raza has also played a key role in Illinois, bringing to the forefront issues that have become legislation and initiatives that have benefited the state’s Latino community, said Governor Blagojevich.”
The ceremony followed with a congratulatory letter from the Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley. “With penetrating local coverage of news and events, La Raza serves as an important means of keeping the public informed on the latest issues, events and trends. Its commitment to excellence in journalism has made Chicago a better place to live, work and raise families,” stated Mayor Daley.
For 35 years, La Raza has been providing many people with accessibility to local, state and national news. La Raza has been a vital resource for Latinos in Illinois, from its founding by Alfredo Torres de Jesus, through the successful leadership of Luis H. Rossi, to its 2004 merging with ImpreMedia, LLC, making La Raza part of the top ranked conglomerate of Spanish language newspapers in the nation.
“Not only have you covered changing times in this country, but you have also made history as one of the most influential Spanish-language newspapers, said Judy Baar Topinka, Illinois State Treasurer.”
Also, in honor of the 35th Anniversary, Alderman Manny Flores and Alderman Billy Ocasio presented a resolution that will name the block of 2700 W. North Ave., La Raza News St. This block was chosen due to the fact that when La Raza was founded in 1970, the “editing room” consisted of a single office in a building located at 2750 W. North Ave.
Tom Oliver, Executive Director and CEO of National Association of Hispanic Publication (NAHP) was present at the party to proudly salute La Raza Newspaper on its 35th Anniversary serving the Hispanic community. The NAHP, America’s premier Hispanic print Association, is comprised of hundreds of publications targeting the U.S. Hispanic reader. By adding the combined circulation of all the member publications, the NAHP delivers more than half of the total U.S. Hispanic population.
Robert J. Armband, Publisher & CEO of La Raza Newspaper accepted the recognition on behalf of his team. He stated that, we are very proud of all the tributes that our publishing house has received this evening and I assure you that with the backing and resources that La Raza enjoys today with ImpreMedia behind us, our mission to cover the news that impacts the quality of life for Chicagoland Hispanics will continue to improve and hopefully make a difference in the socio-economic condition of our community.”
About La Raza Newspaper:
La Raza is the # 1 Spanish-language newspaper in Chicago with an audited circulation 186,012 according to Certified Audit Circulation (June 30, 2005). La Raza Newspaper is also the largest Sunday Hispanic publication in the Nation. La Raza has been recognized by the National Association of Hispanic Publications as the "Best Spanish Language Weekly" five times over the past decade and in 2004 it was named by Editor & Publisher as one of "Ten That Do It Right."
About ImpreMedia:
ImpreMedia is the leading publisher of Spanish language newspapers in the U.S. The company publishes El Diario La Prensa and El Diario Contigo in New York, El Mensajero in the San Francisco Bay Area, La Opinión and La Opinión Contigo in Los Angeles and La Raza in Chicago, the number one Spanish language newspapers in each of their respective markets.
