In 1947, an Irish immigrant Catholic priest, Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, convinced the Mutual Broadcasting Company to give him a half-hour weekly radio program to encourage family prayer as a way to strengthen and support families being torn apart by World War II and modernization. These morality-type plays featured the greatest stars of film, stage, TV and radio, including Loretta Young, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, and Ricardo Montalbán. Family Theater went on to produce more than 550 award-winning programs for this series that ran for 22 years on Mutual.
In 1995, Family Theater Productions started a grassroots effort that would return it to radio, this time Spanish-language radio. As a response to the growing Latino population, Family Theater Productions wanted to develop a project that would address their concerns and issues. A group of consultants in different fields including production, community organizations, journalism, religious groups and activists were brought together to discuss, evaluate and prioritize these issues.
The result of this effort was the award-winning radionovela "La Historia de Quién Soy" (The Story of Who I Am), produced and directed by Cecilia González. Written by Bernardo Solano, Alberto Castillo and Olivia Chumacero, this radionovela tells the story of the fictitious Cervantes family. Forty-three episodes were recorded in record time, with the participation of a stellar cast: Lucy Gallardo, Eduardo López Rojas, Marabina Jaimes, Beatriz Mandy, Hugo Isaac and Melba Tirado.
"Conversando," the second component of the program, was a talk-show format. Hosted by then KMEX TV/Univision journalist Jesús Javier, members from different communities and organizations joined the show to talk about the different issues brought up during that particular drama segment. Live call-ins from all over the U.S. made this part of the program very compelling and positively affected the lives of listeners. It went on to earn a prestigious Gabriel Award in 1998, under the category of News & Informational Programming.
Having recognized an unexplored market, a second radionovela was created, "Historias Para Mejorar el Mundo" (Stories for a Better World). Its format consists of self-contained episodes without the talk-show component. Produced and directed by Melba Novoa, they more closely follow the format of Family Theater Productions' vintage radio dramas and present an array of issues and situations concerning Latino and universal themes. The genre changes from show to show, which vary from dramas and comedies to children's fables. The series was so successful that another season was produced and another series, "Sabor a Vida" (A Taste of Life), is in production.
Two "Historias Para Mejorar el Mundo" programs have earned national recognition: A Gabriel Award as Best Program in the Entertainment Category from Unda-USA (now the Catholic Academy for Communications Arts Professionals). The whole series won the prestigious Golden Eagle Award in 2002 in the category of Major Achievement in Entertainment, presented by Ricardo Montalbán's Nosotros Foundation.
As part of its ongoing mission to fulfill the needs and provide alternatives to programming in Spanish, Family Theater Productions started producing documentaries addressing important Latino holidays, such as La Pasión y Resurrección de Cristo and El Mejor/La Virgen de Guadalupe. Voz Latina's third documentary, examining the Day of the Dead celebrations around the world, is in production.
To better identify the role of the Spanish language radio project, it was named Voz Latina in November 2002.
One of Voz Latina's latest projects includes "Superémonos en Familia" (Succeeding as Family), 160 public service announcements that are being nationally and internationally distributed. Recorded by famous television and film stars from Mexico and the U.S., it brings messages about the environment, quality family time, education, vices, virtues and many other themes to the audience, voiced by their more admired stars.
The new "Sabor a Vida" series consists of 20 highly-entertaining 24-minute episodes exploring Latino life through drama, farce, and comedy, with a special focus on young Latino families. It features a vast array of Latino stars including Ricardo Montalbán.
Voz Latina programs are heard in Europe, Latin America, the U.S., Cuba and Vatican City through numerous AM, FM and short-wave radio stations. Following our founder's footsteps, we bring a message of unity and peace to families all over the world.
