SPRINGFIELD — To outsiders, the notion that western New England could be a hotbed of Latino activity may not be obvious. In truth, the cities of Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee have exceptionally large Latino populations, and their communities drive policy, economy, and culture in the region.
With as much as 15 percent of the entire western New England population identifying as Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Latino demographic makes up a significant part of our diverse community — with many important stories to tell.
For a third season, Presencia, led by its co-hosts Veronica del Rocio Garcia and Zydalis Bauer, returns to tell those important local stories.
Presencia is a production of WGBY, public television and PBS station for western New England. The weekly program features segments in English, Spanish, and “Spanglish” about the people, places, and policies affecting the communities in our western New England.
CELEBRANDO DIVERSIDAD
With the tagline, “Muchas Voces, Un Pueblo” (or, “Many Voices, One Community”), Presencia was conceived as a platform for cross-generational and cross-cultural connections.
According to 2016 WGBY research conducted in partnership with UMass Amherst, Presencia is the only bilingual public television program in the PBS system.
“It was important that we create a bilingual program,” explains Presencia’s Executive Producer Vanessa Pabón-Hernandez. “We wanted to tell the many different types of stories from the Latino community in a way that maximized engagement — and that meant encouraging guests to feel comfortable speaking English, Spanish, or ‘Spanglish.’”
For WGBY Deputy General Manager Lynn Page, who helped develop Presencia, the bilingual characteristic of the show made captioning especially important.
“One of the missions of public television is to better connect diverse communities,” Page says. “Language barriers are real obstacles, and we weren’t going to engage a wide audience for Presencia without translating both English and Spanish dialogue.”
While most programs offer closed captioning in single languages, Presencia features an English-Spanish bilingual option.
“What I appreciate about Presencia is its courage,” says WGBY General Manager Anthony V. Hayes. “To be bilingual, to toggle back and forth between two languages — both widely used in the region — in a sincere effort to bring different demographics and ethnic groups together to reach a common understanding about our shared environment is truly admirable. I’m proud of our Presencia team, and I encourage everyone to tune in and watch this unique local program.”
THE THIRD SEASON
Each episode of Presencia third season will carry an overarching theme. These episodic themes include such topics as inter-generational family relationships, Peruvian culture, cancer, depression, and others. Each broadcast will feature hosted discussions, digital stories created by local community members, and additional field pieces.
“It’s important to get out into the community,” Pabón-Hernandez says. “We want to show our stories, not just tell them from the studio.”
Presencia will air Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on WGBY beginning April 5 on WGBY. Program segments are available for anytime streaming at wgby.org/presencia. Full episodes will rebroadcast on Univision Saturdays at 11 a.m. on WHTX Springfield and Friday at 6 a.m. on WUVN Hartford.
Presencia is sponsored in part by the Chicopee Savings Charitable Foundation, Freedom Credit Union, and Springfield Technical Community College. Media sponsors include La Voz Hispana. Additional media partnerships involve MassLive, El Pueblo Latino, and The Republican.
