Bard News

Hudson Valley Pilot: “Local Spanish Language Publication La Voz Celebrates 20 Years As Community Expands”

Illustrated cover for <em>La Voz </em>magazine, featuring a drawing of a woman done in a wood block style with a sign that says, "El derecho a mirar arriba / The right to look up."

Cover of La Voz, Volume XXI, Number 2.

What started as a Bard College Trustee Leader Scholar program is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. La Voz, founded by Mariel Fiori ’05 and Emily Schmall ’05 in 2004, was conceived to address a lack of quality Spanish-language publications in the Hudson Valley—a need it is still meeting in 2024. “When all these newspapers were coming out with statistics and information about vaccines, all really crucial information, it was only in English,” said Elizabeth Liotta ’24, one of six editorial assistants for La Voz, to Hudson Valley Pilot. “La Voz was translating everything, and every day we’d share what we translated with those who needed it.” While La Voz has evolved and expanded over the years, the central mission remains the same, says Managing Editor Mariel Fiori ’05. “Our goal has always been to share what’s available with these populations, to encourage them to have hope, and to ultimately uplift them,” said Fiori.