Winston-Salem, NC, March 27, 2009 - Qué Pasa Charlotte Newspaper was recently recognized as the most outstanding Spanish language weekly newspaper in the U.S. and received the coveted 2008 José Martí Gold Award from the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) at their 24th annual convention in McAllen, Texas.  The award was one of three received by Que Pasa in its category of newspaper editions with up to 30,000 circulation.  This is the first time any Spanish language newspaper in North Carolina has received this prestigious award of best Spanish language newspaper in the U.S.

“This is a strong indicator that the Hispanic media in North Carolina has matured and is providing a relevant and credible communications medium for North Carolina’s Hispanic consumers that is at par with those in states such as California, Texas and Florida where the Hispanic media have been present for many years,” said José A. Isasí, CEO of Latino Communications LLC, the company that publishes Qué Pasa Newspaper in three weekly editions across the state including Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro-Winston Salem.

“This prestigious award recognizes Qué Pasa’s focused and on-going efforts to deliver better newspapers each and every week,” said Isasí.  “Even in these difficult times, we have decided to invest resources to better serve our readers.”

Qué Pasa also won the José Martí Gold Award for Best Series of Articles with 25 consecutive weekly stories featuring the U.S. government’s controversial 287(g) deportation program in the Raleigh area. This series of stories highlighted cases of alleged racial profiling and arbitrary searches for undocumented immigrant workers in Wake County.   

“These stories, written with strong journalistic standards and reflecting significant investigative reporting, are representative of the news that Que Pasa offers every week to readers across North Carolina.  This is the hallmark of an outstanding weekly newspaper that will attract a strong reader base,” said Alejandro Manrique, Executive Editor and News Director for Que Pasa.  

The third José Martí Gold Award for Outstanding Editorial Column was presented to Qué Pasa’s Managing Editor, Orlando Gamboa, for his column “Historias del Muro” (The Stories of the Wall).  This column focused on Gamboa’s insights of Mexican border communities and people who might paint their stories of pain and sorrow on the massive concrete divider known as ‘the wall’.

“This award is a tribute to Hispanics who suffer the consequences of unjust and inhumane conditions that have been impacted by a wall that has seen death, beatings and disruption of communities that have historically shared a common history and legacy,” said Gamboa.  

About NAHP
Founded in 1982, the NAHP is the only National Association of Hispanic Publications with members representing over 150 Spanish language newspapers and magazines in 39 states.    Its member publications reach over 50% of U.S. Hispanic households and publish over 15 billion pages of information annually.  In the Charlotte North Carolina area, there are three Spanish language newspapers that are NAHP members including  La Noticia, Mi Gente and Que Pasa Charlotte.
 
About the Jose Marti Award
Established a number of years ago “to honor excellence in Hispanic print media,” the Jose Marti Award is the most important and significant awards for the Hispanic media in the U.S. The awards are judged and selected annually by the NAHP and presented at their national convention during the spring of the following year. For 2008 awards, more than 300 entries were received and evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges representing the best, brightest and most experienced Hispanic newspaper people in the U.S. and Latin America  In each award category, three levels of awards are granted including gold, silver and bronze awards with the gold award representing the highest level of recognition.

The Jose Marti Awards are named after the Cuban journalist, national hero and important figure in Latin American literature, Jose Marti. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. Through his writings and political activity, he became a symbol for Cuba's bid for independence against Spain in the 19th century, and is commonly referred to as the "apostle of Cuban independence".

About Que Pasa Media Network
Que Pasa is the state’s largest Spanish language media network. Que Pasa Media Network publishes three weekly editions of Que Pasa Spanish language newspaper for the Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro-Winston-Salem markets. Que Pasa also has 4 Spanish language radio stations. With corporate offices in Winston-Salem and regional news and sales offices in Charlotte; Raleigh; and Winston-Salem, Que Pasa has a staff of over 50 Hispanic communications professionals from more than 10 different Spanish speaking countries.  

Additional information is available at www.QuePasaMedia.com.  Mssrs. Isasi and Manrique are available for interviews, upon request.