- Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo
Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo is a
Mexican-American radio personality, born inOcotlán, Jalisco , in 1972. His show, "Piolín por la Mañana," runs weekday mornings onKSCA in Southern California. His nickname means "Tweety Bird " in Spanish, a nickname he acquired as a child. [ [http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2006/07/making_radio_waves.html Making Radio Waves ] ] The "LA Times " ranked Sotelo in 2006 amongst the 100 most powerful people inSouthern California . His show is one of most popular show on Los Angeles radio, with a 9.9 rating. [ [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-arbitron1may01,1,3325520.story In L.A. radio, espanol pays off - Los Angeles Times ] ]In 2005 Sotelo gave illegal immigrant supporters four hours on his program. [cite news |date=2005-03-24 |first=Ben |last=Quinones |url=http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/despiertese-despiertese/814 |work=L.A. Weekly |title=Starting the day with Piolín] His support of the illegal immigrant protests in 2006 is often credited as the main reason for their enormous turnout, even though many other media personalities helped to make it. He has explained that his own experience of crossing the border and living in the United States as an illegal immigrant helped him identify with the situation. He is now residing legally in the United States where he encourages peaceful political activism for immigration reform.
In early 2006, radio listeners and Spanish-language radio in Los Angeles made history when according to a conservative estimate, 500,000 persons marched against controversial proposed legislation that was viewed as unconstitutional and unfair by many. The marches were a turning point for the national debate on immigration and shed light on the power of Spanish-language radio.
In 2007, Sotelo encourage listeners to have U. S. citizens sign a letter proposing an immigration reform. Over 1 million letters were recruited. Sotelo and his team led a caravan to Washington, DC were they turned them over to Congress. The 1 million letters plus awakened political leaders and took place to pass a law for immigration reform. The law was not passed, but showed the perseverance of Sotelo, his team, his listeners, and the Hispanic community.
Sotelo provided the voice of Rafa, one of the dogs in Disney's 2008 movie, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua."
Apart from his commitment to his listeners, Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo is also one of the most televised radio personalities in the nation with regular appearances on national shows like Sábado Gigante, Cristina, Escándalo TV, Qué Dice la Gente, Don Francisco Presenta, and interviews on CNN, Fox News Channel, Larry King, MSNBC, Anderson Cooper, and Good Morning America, to name a few.
This philosophy for putting the audience first has earned Piolín por La Mañana the top ranking for morning shows in Los Angeles (regardless of language) and its 50 syndicated markets and growing make it the #1 Show in the country.
Though "Piolín por la Mañana" is often noted for its political consciousness, it claims to be mainly for entertainment only, comparable to a combination of
Howard Stern with standard drivetime banter.References
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