By Nancy Devine

Toronto’s Spanish-speaking community will soon be able to hear local news in their own language.

Voces Latinas AM 1610, Toronto’s first primarily Spanish radio station, will soon hit the airwaves from the basement of San Lorenzo Anglican Church near Dufferin and St. Clair.

The idea to develop a community-based radio station arrived with the Rev. Hernan Astudillo, himself an immigrant from El Salvador.

“It was seven years ago, and I was not yet an ordained priest,” he says. “But I went to the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to find out how to get a license for a radio station. I got this huge package from them. It was at least 600 pages — and I didn’t speak enough English to get through it. But, I kept the papers.”

Eventually, his English improved and, with the help of a local Lutheran minister, he filled out the application. Mr. Astudillo also asked for letters of support from the archbishop of Toronto, Toronto city councillors and local MPPs and MPs.

“I prayed a lot,” says Mr. Astudillo. “I said, ‘Lord, this is not my project. This is your project for your people. I am just the medium.’ But I had hope that this would work, because this is a beautiful counrty with a tradition of multicultural radio and television. We just had to have patience.”

From a field of 20 applicants, Voces Latinas was among four licences awarded in 2002.

After completing the 600-page application, Mr. Astudillo still had a number of hurdles to cross, not the least of which was getting the city’s approval to set up the studio.

In the course of finding funding for the equipment, including holding a fundraising concert at the church, Mr. Astudillo also found a radio producer and sound technician who was willing to lend his expertise to the fledging station.

Church members worked tirelessly to not only help with fundraising, but also on a more practical level. One morning after services were over, a team gathered in the church’s backyard to remove an old tree stump to make way for the transmission tower.

“This is not only about the parish of San Lorenzo. We are looking for all denominations to find a voice and to let people know they have places to go and they will be welcomed,” says Mr. Astudillo. “When people first come here, even though this is a very multicultural city, they don’t always hear what they need. It is sad to say, but sometimes people take advantage of them. We want this station to be full of hope for the community.”

A team of 30 volunteers will be working to provide programming, including religious programs from various faith communities.

“People are hungry for words of hope, love and compassion,” says Mr. Astudillo. “If we open the doors of the church, they will come. They are hungry to cry on our shoulders, and to voice their frustration. The radio station is a tool to help us express those words of love and compassion.”