This article was originally published in CaloNews on 8//7/2024
When we hear the word “radionovela” in Spanish, it’s common to think about iconic radio series such as “Kalimán” or “Chucho el Roto” that gained wide popularity in Latin America. While those audio series were based on legends and fiction, a new project combines the excitement of audio drama with real-life stories.
“Toma mi Mano” (Hold my Hand) is the latest project by the non-profit organization Population Media Center (PMC). The 156-episode audio drama series, completely in Spanish, focuses on social and health issues. The series includes topics such as family planning among young couples, teen pregnancy, gender-based violence, and gang violence.
Utilizing the education entertainment theory, “Toma mi Mano” involves strategizing to use entertainment media to persuade and create awareness among the audience while working for social good.
Natalia Cereser, vice president of international programs at PMC, said the non-profit has been working on similar projects, including TV dramas, audio dramas and video games, for 26 years, with the main objective of changing attitudes and behavior among the audience.
“There’s a revamping in this digital era. We see it with podcasts, YouTube music, and audiobooks, that audio continues to be in the game,” said Cereser. “Additionally, when you hear audio, it increases your imagination about what you are listening to.”
The launch event was held last Thursday at Amalia’s restaurant in Los Angeles. Guests were delighted with Guatemalan dishes while listening to the traditional marimba, a large wooden instrument played with mallets, and receiving Guatemalan souvenirs. This theme was selected in honor of the radionovela, which was originally recorded in Guatemala.
When selecting the topics for their projects, PMC first conducts a deep investigation to understand some of the main problems affecting the Latino community. Each project is created with a specific purpose.
“We try to work with the illness rather than the symptoms,” said Cereser.
To prove that the topics in the audio series can happen anywhere, the launch event of “Toma Mi Mano” organized a panel with local community members, which was moderated by Rafael Oscal from the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce (HACC).
One of the topics covered in the audionovela is the prevalence of gangs. In Los Angeles, Raul Macias, founder of Anahuak Youth Soccer Association in Lincoln Heights, said he has seen the change that positive attention causes in youth. In 1994, he founded the association with the objective of helping children stay out of gangs. Since then he has trained thousands of children. Many of them, now adults, take their own children to Anahuak to enjoy the sportsmanship that soccer engenders.
“Sports is a wall against the gang life… if we have sports plus school, we have a solid union,” said Macias.
Maria Ortiz, a volunteer parent in Highland Park, agreed with Macias, adding that if students are not involved in activities in school, their lives are not only affected by gangs but also by other difficult situations, such as teen pregnancy or dropping out of school.
“An uneducated country is a failed country,” she said.
Ortiz said she started getting involved in her child’s school many years ago to make sure he knew she was paying attention to him. She started by volunteering and then became a parent activist and dance instructor for an after school program. She said children participated because they enjoyed being part of positive activities.
The panelists agreed that while it is important to work on these items, it is also vital to understand that positive change starts with the parents. Therefore, they should also take care of themselves and try to face any traumas from their own past. These can include anywhere from learning about the new masculinity that helps understanding that machismo and culture from the past have changed, to gender and/or sexual violence and fighting against it.
Rudy Morales is an advocate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Queer (LGBTQ+) community, saying that he experienced many types of trauma from a young age, from hiding his sexual orientation from his parents to the sexual abuse he suffered as a teenager. Morales has learned to cope with it, and he hopes to help many other people who face something similar.
He said that parents often do not accept what they don’t understand. Therefore, he recommended people educate their loved ones to continue creating awareness and positive changes.
The audionovela itself not only helps break cultural taboos with stories of challenges and personal triumphs but also includes a website that provides additional resources.
Cereser said that once the radionovela is available, the website will be updated with essential resources for comprehensive well-being. Each story will have contact information so the audience can reach out if they are facing similar situations.
PMC also invites the community-at-large to contact them if they offer a service that can help the community so their entity can be added to the website. Cereser said this is a team effort, and the more resources they can add, the more impact the project will have in the entertainment and social good movements.
What is different about the original radionovelas and this new audionovela is that the audience will have the opportunity to listen to them on the go, pause and go back to them if needed. Cereser said the audionovela will be available in the U.S. starting August 14 through YouTube, Spotify and podcasts. To learn more about “Toma Mi Mano,” visit tomamimano.us
Una audionovela que rompe tabúes culturales.
Llena de desafíos, relaciones difíciles y triunfos personales que te harán vivir y vibrar.
Descubre lo que harán Alex, Jefferson, Esperanza, Ruth y muchos otros para salir adelante.
