When 39-year-old journalist Dan Reyes was thinking about
starting a bilingual newspaper, he worried about how it might be
perceived by people inside and outside the Hispanic community. But
even before his first issue hit the streets, Reyes realized that
his fears were unfounded.
When 39-year-old journalist Dan Reyes was thinking about starting a bilingual newspaper, he worried about how it might be perceived by people inside and outside the Hispanic community. But even before his first issue hit the streets, Reyes realized that his fears were unfounded.
“When I started to tell people about what I wanted to do, they kept saying, ‘It’s about time.'” he said.
It’s a sentiment backed up by San Benito County’s demographics. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 48 percent of the county is Hispanic, including 35 percent that speaks Spanish at home. Until now, the county hasn’t has a local Spanish-language newspaper to call its own.
“From a personal perspective, I grew up in this town, and there was no publication, no newspaper that spoke to me as a Hispanic,” Reyes said. “From a practical perspective, 50 percent of the county is Hispanic. I want this to appeal to them, whether they speak English or Spanish. I want it to have news, but also culturally relevant information.”
The newspaper that Reyes unveiled two months ago is called The Bridge/El Puente. Reyes said his girlfriend came up with the name, which encapsulates his desire to build bridges between the Hispanic and non-Hispanic community, as well as within the Hispanic community itself.
“(The name is) perfect, because what I’d like for the paper … is for anybody to be able to pick it up,” Reyes said.
He added that finding the paper’s focus has been a challenge, because the Hispanic community is so diverse and complex.
“There’s kind of a myth that the Hispanic community is one thing … so focusing on one thing is tricky,” Reyes said.
This complexity has played a role in his own life. Reyes said that when his mother was a child, she and her siblings were slapped in the mouth if they spoke Spanish at school. As a result, Reyes never learned Spanish. Although Reyes said this is a common occurrence among members of his generation, it’s something that his friends have commented on, and it creates a challenge for a journalist wanting to cover the Hispanic community. Reyes noted that he does everything at The Bridge – editing, layout, writing and photography – except the translation from English to Spanish, which is provided by Ericka Aguilar.
As an example of the coverage he wants to provide, Reyes pointed to his Oct. 27 article on water rates. It’s a topic that matters to everyone, he said, but Reyes didn’t think the information had been getting out to the Hispanic community.
Overall, the paper mixes Reyes’ writing and photography with press releases and material that he’s culled from the Internet. The current issue, published on Nov. 9, features Reyes’ photos from election night and Oakland’s Dia de los Muertos celebration. The material that Reyes didn’t write ranges from announcements of local photography exhibits to a recipe for leftover turkey.
“I’m not actually doing a lot of hard news until I have more support on the editorial side,” Reyes said. That support would include a subscription to the Associated Press’ wire service, as well as more advertising and more outside contributions to the community calendar; Reyes said these things would allow him to spend more time writing and less time searching for things to fill the newspaper.
Although Reyes currently lives in Los Gatos, he said he’s no stranger to the local community. He was born in Watsonville and raised in Hollister. He’s worked as a reporter at both the Free Lance and the Pinnacle, as well as an art teacher and public information officer at Gavilan College. Most recently, Reyes was the managing editor at El Observador, a bilingual newspaper in San Jose. Reyes said that as his paper grows, he hopes to move back to Hollister.
And although he can’t pay contributors yet, Reyes also hopes to see more contributions from the community – writing, photography, art and calendar items.
“This paper is about reflecting the community,” Reyes said. “There’s absolutely no way that one person can be on top of everything.”
The Bridge is published twice a month and is available for free in local stores and restaurants. However, a local storeowner who carries The Bridge said none of his customers have asked for it.
“A few people probably picked it up,” he said.
Eden Gonzalez, who works at Discoteca Y Video, hasn’t seen many people picking The Bridge up from the front of the store.
“Maybe if they advertised it more,” she said.
The Bridge is also available online at www.thebridgenews.com.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
