Anonymous - 7-1-2005 at 08:37 AM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050630-9999-1m30e...
Emmy-winning show tells border stories
By Elena Gaona
June 30, 2005
CHULA VISTA ? Though reporter Laura Casta?eda's walls are covered in Associated Press awards, investigative journalism plaques and prizes for coverage
of Latino and border communities, it's the Emmy statuette that sits on the top shelf now.
The award recognizes the work she and colleagues have done on the news magazine show "Stories de la Frontera," which airs on KPBS, Channel 15.
The show tells stories from both sides of the border. Segments have included a look at a Tijuana coffee shop that delivers steaming cups of java to
commuters waiting in their cars at the border, a Spanish-language morning radio disc jockey who connects with San Diego County residents and children
in Tijuana who must help their families sell drugs to support the household.
The show received the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy award last week in the category of Magazine Program Special for the
Pacific Southwest region.
Casta?eda said she hopes her show changes people's perceptions of the border as a scary place by offering a slice of regular people's lives.
It's already changed the way Clint Burkett looks at his community of Leucadia. Burkett edited and helped direct production for "Stories de la
Frontera."
"Now when I go to the store and see migrants waiting outside for work, I wonder what's going on with them, what's their story," Burkett said.
The goal of the show is to tell stories that mainstream media often ignore in an area that cannot afford to ignore them, Burkett said. Even in North
County, people are affected by border issues, because Tijuana is essentially part of the community, Burkett said.
"Stories from the border region are important to everybody," he said. "We need to sit up and take notice and not be like an ostrich with our head in
the sand."
Casta?eda said she's been collecting story ideas for the show for at least a decade.
The show's latest segment tells the story of "Juan Soldado," or Juan Castillo Morales, a Mexican army soldier accused of raping and killing a young
girl in 1938. He was executed by a firing squad, but today he is seen by many as an unofficial patron saint of undocumented immigrants.
Next she wants to tell the story of lucha libra, or Mexican wrestling, and San Diego's connection to the disappearance of young women near Ciudad
Juarez, just south of El Paso, Texas.
Each show costs about $25,000 to produce and raising money has been difficult, she said.
Though KPBS supports the program by airing it and helping promote it, none of the station's funds have been available. Casta?eda said she approached
more than 100 corporations to sponsor the show, but they all declined. Private donations have run out.
"If I don't get some money soon, I cannot personally continue to do this show," said Casta?eda, who refinanced her home to help pay for production.
"That's how much I believe in this."
It's about telling the whole story of the region, she said. Though investigative stories of crime and drugs will be told, she also wants to talk about
the emerging opera scene in Tijuana, the spas and the great food.
"There are so many misconceptions about the border life and Tijuana," she said. "That's been my goal, to set the record straight."
BajaNomad - 7-6-2005 at 05:24 PM
Email received today:
6 Jul 2005
My name is Laura Castaneda, Host and Producer of Stories de la Frontera...
Stories will re-run on August 22 at 10 p.m. on KPBS-TV. Please tune in and tell all your neighbors and friends and family.
Thank you for your interest!
Please visit our website at: http://www.storiesdelafrontera.org
Laura