Sunday, August 9, 2009

Gloria Soltero is my idol



Newscaster Gloria Soltero makes an impassioned plea against the government of Luis Fortuño (or Luis Infortunio as wits refer to him) and his incessant and ruthless cuts of Island arts and culture organizations. Tu TV is like the PBS of Puerto Rico. According to Wikipedia (I know, I know) it first aired in 1958, so it was "The first educational TV station in Latin America" and it is non-commercial and affiliated with PBS.

Some people can also see it in the continental US (at least I used to be able to in Brooklyn). I used to watch their news broadcasts and their excellent documentaries about the history and culture of the Island.

Apparently the Governator cut the news program and let them know just a few minutes before they went on the air to present their last newscast. This is the moment you see above, the beginning of the broadcast, where Soltero, one of the anchors, explains what happened. As she says, "un pueblo sin prensa es un pueblo esclavo." And "un pueblo sin libertad de prensa es un pueblo esclavo." (a people without press are enslaved people and a people without freedom of the press are enslaved people)

http://www.tutv.puertorico.pr/08_09.htm