Feminista Frequencies: Community Building Through Radio in the Yakama Valley

In the 1970s, Chicana and Chicano activists faced challenges organizing migrants farmworkers and other Spanish-speaking laborers due to the long distances between their mostly rural and isolated communities. In 1979, Radio KDNA came to the airwaves of Washington State's Yakima Valley—a radio station by, for, and about migrant workers. Broadcasting in Spanish, organizers used the platform to connect disparate communities and to build solidarity among far-flung workers. In Feminista Frequencies, author Monica De La Torre speaks with Chicana and Chicano producers, on-air announcers, station managers, technical directors, and listeners who made Radio KDNA a reality. Weaving oral histories together, De La Torre tells the story of how radio enabled a huge swath of workers and activists in the Northwest to come together, and how women played a central role in facilitating this crucial community resource.