Type Semimonthly newspaper Political alignment Left Founded 1968 | Associate editor Jose Madril Format Tabloid Name El del | |
Managing editors Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez | ||
El Grito del Norte ("The Northern Call") was a bilingual (English and Spanish) newspaper based in Española, New Mexico. Co-founded by activist Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez and attorney Beverly Axelrod in 1968, the paper was originally the publication of the Reies Tijerina's Alianza Federal de Mercedes, an organization dedicated to recovering the lands of dispossessed Hispanos. It expanded to provide coverage of the Chicano Movement in urban areas, workers' struggles, and Latino political prisoners, as well as other Leftist causes.
El Grito was unique in several ways. It had a pro-socialist political agenda that was hostile to the power structure in New Mexico. This hostility prompted some repression. Antonio Cordova, a staff photographer, faced police harassment after photographing police teargassing protesters at a demonstration. He was later assassinated by the police.
It was staffed by a mostly volunteer collective of editors, columnists, writers, artists, photographers, and production workers. Of these, women, including Jane Lougee, Tessa Martinez, Adelita Medina, Kathy Montague, Sandra Solis, Rini Templeton, Valentina Valdes, and Enriqueta Vásquez, were predominant. This gave the paper a decidedly feminist bent.
Its social agenda countered prevailing negative images of Mexican-Americans by publishing cultural materials such as short stories, poetry, songs, and recipes.
One major goal of the newspaper was training young Chicanas to run a newspaper. Two women trained at El Grito went on to found their own newspaper, Tierra y Libertad, in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
El Grito del Norte ceased publication in 1973 when managing editor Martínez and others moved to Albuquerque to found the Chicano Communications Center.