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Piolin rocks the vote – and so much more

By Christina Hoag |
2008-08-29
| Vista Magazine

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(FOTO: VISTA / Emilio Flores) Ciudadanía (FOTO: VISTA / Emilio Flores) (FOTO: Suministrada) Piolín (FOTO: VISTA / Emilio Flores)

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When a scared 16 year-old Mexican named Eddie Sotelo crouched in desert bushes hiding from helicopter searchlights along the U.S. border, his only focus was staying alive so he could get a job and help his father send money back to his family in Jalisco.

Sotelo not only survived, he succeeded. Better known as Piolin, he is now the nation’s most popular radio personality with more than 5 million listeners in 47 cities – and his concept of the United States has changed.

“People come here to work and send money back,” says Sotelo. “This country was able to help us. It’s a blessing to be here. We have to give back to the community.”

That’s a key message that Sotelo delivers on the radio these days. He is perhaps the most influential voice in Univision’s Ya Es Hora campaign that launched last year to urge Hispanic immigrants to become citizens and register to vote for the upcoming presidential election.

The campaign’s final phase will be to push those registered voters to the polls to cast their ballots in November.

Broadcasting from his home station -- Univision Radio’s KSCA La Nueva 101.9 FM in Glendale, California, in the outer suburbs of Los Angeles, Sotelo has already proved his might.

His on-the-air chronicling of his own journey through the citizenship process was an instrumental factor in generating a 350-percent increase in the number of immigrants applying for citizenship last summer.

“It’s not unusual for journalists to chronicle their own process through citizenship, but it is unusual for a journalist with as wide a reach as Piolin,” says Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. “We appreciate what Piolin has done.”

Although many applicants were trying to beat a hike in application fees and a new test, immigration officials say Sotelo’s personal touch was invaluable in breaking down the reluctance that some immigrants may have had about dealing with government bureaucracy.

“He did a lot to demystify the process,” Rummery says. “He made it more accessible.”

Sotelo, who was sworn in as a citizen in downtown Los Angeles in May amid a media blitz, said he decided to take the step when he was approached by Univision officials about the Ya Es Hora campaign.

It appeared hypocritical for him to be pitching citizenship when he himself had not applied, he recalls. “That was the moment I decided to become a U.S. citizen,” he says.

Now he’s in the full swing of the presidential race. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have appeared on his morning show, giving a more serious tone to his normally raucous program.
He advises listeners to discuss the candidates and issues in the breakroom at work and at the dinner table at home. “It’s important to know who’s going to have the solutions,” he says. “We (Latinos) are going to make a big difference by voting.”

Sotelo’s commitment to urging Hispanics to vote is a logical progression from the issue near to his own heart: immigration.
In 2006, he gained widespread renown as the force that spurred thousands to join rallies in downtown Los Angeles against a draconian immigration reform bill. It was ultimately defeated on Capitol Hill.

Participating in U.S. society by voting and helping the community goes a long way to dispel anti-immigrant fervor by showing that foreigners are willing to give, not just take, from this country, Sotelo says.

During last year’s devastating spate of wildfires in California, Sotelo urged listeners to donate water, which he delivered to emergency shelters. “They don’t ask if it’s for the Latino community,” he says. “It’s for whoever is in need. This is what will make people have a different view of us.”

For all his zany antics and bawdy jokes on Piolin de la Manana, Sotelo is surprisingly soft-spoken and humble in person. His path to success has not been easy, he says, but it is God who ultimately made it happen. “Every morning I ask God to open the doors for me,” he says. “He’s the one.”

As a kid, Sotelo loved radio, listening to it at night and dreaming that he, too, could be on the air one day.

After joining his dad in Santa Ana, California – arriving after a harrowing journey on foot through the desert and a ride hunched in a car trunk gasping for air -- Sotelo went to work recycling cans and bottles.

But he never lost sight of his goal. For three years, he knocked on the doors of radio stations, begging for a chance to go on the air. He finally got it, when a manager at a small station in Corona, California, asked if he had experience as a news anchor. “I said ‘yes’ but I didn’t,” he said.

The experience taught him that he had to be flexible in life, learning all kinds of skills. “You have to be there when they need you,” he says. “You have to be disciplined, responsible and be there.”

But Sotelo got fired because he did not have working papers. He later got a work permit through a Sacramento station (later picked up by Univision), where he became known by his catchy nickname of “Piolin” (Tweety Bird in Spanish), earned in childhood because of his slight stature and big mouth and eyes.

At first, his bosses balked when he proposed simulcasting his show in markets outside Southern California, saying the program was too Mexican in flavor. But Sotelo persisted and again it paid off.
Now airing in cities coast-to-coast, observers say his formula works across Hispanic audiences because of his demeanor that he’s a regular guy – his own experience is just the same as many of his listeners’.

“He’s very down-to-earth,” says Jackie Madrigal, Latin formats editor for Radio and Records, which covers the radio industry. “There’s a sense that he’s really talking to the people. He’s not afraid of making fun of himself.”

Sotelo says his show works because there are more similarities among Hispanic communities than differences.

“Everyone wants to wake up with a positive attitude in the morning. They want to laugh,” he says. “We try to do a show that everyone’s able to understand. Everyone’s able to participate from all different areas. It’s working really well.”

Piolin de la Manana’s reach entices some big-name guests to appear on the show – and not just Spanish-speakers such as Andy Garcia, Vicente Fernandez and Luis Miguel, but also the likes of Mel Gibson and Ryan Seacrest.

But Sotelo makes sure there’s ample time for non-celebrities, too, such as a mother appealing for donations to pay for her child’s leukemia treatment.

For Sotelo, that’s what particularly jazzes him about his job. “When everyone gets together to help a need, I love that,” he says.

When he’s not on the air, Sotelo’s agenda is filled with promotional appearances. He recently emceed Univision’s “Tecate Premios Deportes,” the TV network’s first Hispanic sports awards and visits the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.

In his scant free time, he loves playing soccer and works out in a gym.

“My biggest satisfaction is to make sure our people receive our message: venimos a triunfar!,” he says. “We make them understand that they should have a bigger vision. No matter where you come from, anything’s possible.”

Want to vote? First you have to register

One of our fundamental rights as citizens is the right to vote. Registering to vote is a two-step process.

1) In order to vote, you must be eligible. To be eligible, you need to fulfill all of the following:

a) Be a U.S. citizen, with a valid i.d.
b) Be a legal resident of the state where you intend to vote
c) Be at least 18 years old on or before election day
d) Not be declared mentally incompetent by a court (this varies from state to state)
e) Not be in prison or on parole/probation for a felony (this varies from state to state)

2) To register you must provide:

a) Identification to prove your identity (varies from state to state)
b) Date of birth
c) One of the following or both – social security number or valid state license (varies)
d) Full name
e) Address where you currently reside
f) Your signature

You can register in the following ways:

a) At the department of election office in your county (may be known as the Supervisor of Elections)
b) At certain locations such as county libraries, U.S. Post Offices, Department of Motor Vehicles offices, and public schools where available and as determined by your local county department of elections;
c) Contact a local office of one of the political parties and ask for help;
d) Through non-partisan organizations that register people to vote, such as Democracia U.S.A., which ensures that voter registrations end up on the county voter rolls;
e) By mail, after obtaining a hard copy voter registration through any of the above locations or by downloading from a website online
Each state and county determines how a voter registrant may register to vote, for example, not all county department of elections allow you to register via mail.

In most states, you must register 29 to 30 days before an election to be able to participate in that upcoming election. Deadlines vary from state to state.

¿Desea Votar? Primero debe inscribirse

Uno de nuestros derechos fundamentales como ciudadanos es el derecho al voto. Incribirse para votar es un proceso de dos pasos.

1) Para votar, usted debe ser elegible. Para constatar su elegibilidad, debe cumplir con los siguientes requisitos:

a) Ser ciudadano(a) de los Estados Unidos con identificación válida.
b) Ser residente legal del estado donde intenta votar.
c) Haber cumplido 18 años antes o el mismo día de la elección.
d) No haber sido declarado mentalmente incompetente por las cortes de justicia
e) No estar en prisión, libre bajo palabra o en probatoria, a consecuencia de la comisión de un delito de primer grado (ésto varía de acuerdo con el estado)

2. Para inscribirse tiene que proveer:

a) Documentos que prueben su identidad (varía de acuerdo con el estado)
b) Fecha de nacimiento
c) Uno de dos, o ambos—número de su seguro social o licencia válida de conducir (varía)
d) Nombre completo
e) Dirección donde reside actualmente
f) Su firma

Puede inscribirse de las siguientes maneras:

a) En las oficinas del Departamento de Elecciones en el condado donde reside (se conoce también como Supervisor de Elecciones).
b) En ciertos lugares, como en las bibliotecas del condado, Oficinas de Correos de los Estados Unidos, el Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados, y en determinadas escuelas públicas que se encuentren acreditadas por su departamento local de elecciones.
c) En las oficinas locales de uno de los distintos partidos políticos donde puede pedir ayuda.
d) A través de organizaciones no partidistas que se dedican a inscribir votantes, tales como Democracia U.S.A., que asegura que las inscripciones se añaden a las listas oficiales de votantes del condado.
e) Por correo, después de haber obtenido copia escrita de la solicitud de inscripción en cualquiera de las localidades aquí citadas o bajándo la solicitud de la página oficial de la red.

Cada estado y condado determina cómo los futuros votantes han de inscribirse para votar. Por ejemplo, no en todos los condados el Departamento de Elecciones admite inscripciones por correo.

En la mayoría de los estados usted debe inscribirse de 29 a 30 días antes de las elecciones para que se le permita votar en las próximas elecciones. La fecha límite varía de un estadoa a otro.

Para más información visite: http://www.impre.com/votolatino/home.php

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