Our February 2024 Producer of the Month is responsible for a bilingual radio and video show at Monona Community Media.
Shelene Zárate started “Conectados” in August 2023 with her husband Paul Escalante. Zárate told us the show is fully run by volunteers with the intention of bringing diversity to the City of Monona through interviews that share local information, traditions, and perspectives from other cultures and Latin music. Zárate says she was inspired to start the show to share her language and Mexican culture with the community while learning about the perspectives of the diverse cultures in Monona.
Zárate is pleased to report she has received great response from the community, especially students at Monona Grove High School. They have a couple of student volunteers helping with the show and the MGHS Spanish class students were members of the studio audience at some recordings.
Zárate says when creating your own shows, “it’s important to embrace what’s different and create or support spaces that offer connections between different languages, cultures, music and traditions.”
Shelene would like to share “Conectados” to other communities around the area. “I would love to share more about Conectados and what we are doing to create cultural connections in the area. Nothing makes me more proud than to see my children getting excited when hearing their favorite Spanish songs on their local radio station. Representation is so important!”
“Conectados” airs at noon and 3 PM the third Friday of each month on WVMO-LP in Monona. Monona Community Media Director Will Nimmow said the show can also be found on the their YouTube channel and the on the MononaGo app. If your station is interested in airing “Conectados,” it is also available on the Wisconsin Community Media file sharing site Media Share.
