By Raleigh Burleigh
Editor, The Sopris Sun
The Sopris Sun is proud to announce that beginning June 28, el Sol del Valle will embrace a new look, a new day for printing and distribution (Fridays), and a deeper commitment to the standalone product — now under the auspices of The Sopris Sun nonprofit.
With Bianca Godina leading the editorial charge and Margarita Alvarez developing the business and bringing in financial support via advertising sales, this shift reflects community feedback to simplify el Sol del Valle with its own unique identity, for and by local Spanish-speaking people living in the Roaring Fork Valley.
“El Sol del Valle is headed toward a new horizon of interactiveness with content from the community for the community,” stated Godina, who joined the el Sol team in May.
According to census data, more than one-third of the people living in the Colorado River and Roaring Fork valleys identify as Latino/a/x, with more than two-thirds of the school populations in that demographic. A survey conducted in 2022 found most have traditionally relied on radio, social media and word of mouth for local information. The Sopris Sun considers access to quality journalism essential to public health and a functioning democracy.
“El Sol del Valle is a leading example of what’s possible when communities and news organizations come together with a focus on service and what is needed,” said Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) Executive Director Laura Frank. “We know that communities with quality news are less expensive to govern — they’re more efficient, less polarized. Their residents are more civically engaged.”
El Sol del Valle began in March 2021 as a four-page Spanish-language insert within The Sopris Sun. By January 2022, a partnership blossomed with the Aspen Daily News whereby a standalone product was developed that was also printed within the Aspen Daily News. Meanwhile, The Sopris Sun continued to print original content under the same banner within its pages.
Prior to this partnership, the Aspen Daily News was also printing content in Spanish. “It’s always been very important for us to serve underserved communities,” commented Aspen Daily News Co-owner David Cook. “What comes along with that is investing in a product that will fill a void that is essentially a news desert for Spanish-speaking people in a place that relies on that community very heavily.”
From that initial partnership grew a larger, regional collaboration. In 2022, with support from a Colorado Media Project grant and audience research, COLab’s Silvia Solis helped eight media organizations join forces and select el Sol del Valle as their collective vehicle for serving the Roaring Fork Valley’s Spanish-speaking residents. Vanessa Porras, el Sol del Valle’s first full-time editor, was hired thanks to 2023 grant funding from CMP’s Advancing Equity in Local News initiative.
In early 2024 — fresh on the heels of el Sol del Valle acquiring a new website (www.soldelvalle.org) and convening an advisory council of 12 Spanish-speaking locals representing seven countries and diverse lived experiences — CMP engaged Public Media Company to help the Roaring Fork media coalition formalize a multi-year business plan and partnership MOUs for el Sol. CMP also awarded The Sopris Sun another 2024 operating grant to support el Sol.
Based on feedback from Public Media Company’s research and the advisory council, both the Aspen Daily News and The Sopris Sun will no longer distribute el Sol del Valle as inserts within their English-language papers. Instead both readers and advertisers will be treated to an easier-to-find-and-access standalone product, printed by The Sopris Sun. El Sol del Valle will continue to be free and distributed weekly.
“We are humbled and grateful to be trusted to carry this forward,” said Sopris Sun Executive Director Todd Chamberlin. “As an organization, we embrace this next step to further our mission — thanks to all our partners, donors and advertisers.”
Now and in its next chapter, el Sol del Valle stands
to represent a new model for
collaboration, statewide and nationally.
Aside from improving access to news for a population that has historically been overlooked, the initiative has strengthened relationships between participating news organizations: Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, Aspen Public Radio, Aspen Times, Glenwood Springs Post Independent, KDNK in Carbondale, Radio La Tricolor and The Sopris Sun. Additional statewide partners include Chalkbeat Colorado and The Colorado Sun.
“Aspen Public Radio has been so appreciative of this opportunity to collaborate and build a new way to work together as local newsrooms to create a sustainable, Spanish-language news service for our friends and neighbors,” shared Aspen Public Radio Executive Director Breeze Richardson.
Peter Baumann, editor and publisher of the Post Independent in Glenwood Springs, has also been a supportive member of the cohort. “El Sol del Valle has dramatically improved news access for members of our community looking to read news in Spanish, and they’ve done so with an earnest heart oriented toward improving news equitability throughout our region,” he said.
As for the Aspen Daily News — which played a vital role in propelling the initiative of a standalone Sol del Valle forward — the newspaper will continue its relationship with the larger cohort, joining as a content contributor.
“My north star remains healthy and adequate news opportunities for the Spanish-speaking community,” stated Cook, praising former Aspen Daily News editor-in-chief Megan Tackett for spearheading the creation of a standalone in 2021.
On June 29, el Sol del Valle’s relaunch will be celebrated with a party at Morgridge Commons in Glenwood Springs, sponsored by Colorado Mountain College, from 4 to 8 p.m. with food, music and activities for all ages. Businesses and nonprofits are invited to set up a booth during the event at no charge. El Sol del Valle will seek financial contributions in the form of donations, advertising contracts and sponsorships to assure its sustainable success into the future.
El Sol del Valle’s mission is simple yet imperative —
to provide a reliable, increasing source of Spanish-language information that supports and grows the health, impact and well-being of the rapidly growing and diverse Latino/a/x community from Parachute to Aspen.
To get in touch with el Sol del Valle’s editorial team, please email Bianca Godina at bianca@soldelvalle.org or via WhatsApp at 970-510-0234.
For advertising and other support, email Margarita Alvarez at margarita@soldelvalle.org or call 970-340-9369.