Dear friends, activists in the immigration movement:



Last Monday Elisa Alfonso, host of the renowned Spanish language radio program Chicago Al DÃ*a (Chicago Today), was fired. The only reason for her dismissal was "tough economic times".



Chicago al DÃ*a was on the air for about two decades, the last one conducted by Elisa Alfonso. Both the program and Elisa have received numerous awards and wide recognition from community and business groups. It also helped the radio station La Tremenda 1200 AM to get the one of the highest awards in journalism in Chicago, the Studs Turkel Award, in 2007.



Chicago al DÃ*a was the only radio program who broadcasted live the historical immigration demonstrations in 2006 and 2007, from the Federal Plaza and Grand Park.



Every week, Elisa opened up the microphones to denounce raids and deportations, as well as to give legal advice on workers rights, against discrimination and many other issues.



To fill up the vacuum created by Elisa Alfonso's dismissal, La Tremenda is using a program created in Los Angeles or Miami, dedicated to "learn how to choose the right size of brassieres", and how to live in harmony at home by using Feng Shui.



As community and immigration activists, we are all loosing this space. Chicago al DÃ*a should remain on the air and its microphones should continue on the service of the community who buys advertising time in La Tremenda.



Please call César Canales, Operations Manager of Univisión Radio, at 312-981-1920, or write him an e-mail at ccanales@univision.net, demanding the immediate reinstatement of Elisa Alfonso and Chicago al DÃ*a.


--
Jorge Mujica