XEETCH – The Voice of the Three Rivers
Radio XEETCH, 700am in Etchojoa, Sonora, is a member of the System of Indigenous Cultural Broadcasters (SRCI). It is supported by the CDI, the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples.
The SRCI is a network of community radio stations that serve sectors of the nation’s indigenous peoples, with a mission to promote the multicultural nature of Mexico through the promotion of the country’s 31 indigenous languages.
XEETCH was established on February 19, 1996. It broadcasts in the languages of Spanish, Guarijo, Yaqui and Mayo to the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua, and is the only indigenous community radio station in the SRCI network in the state of Sonora.
The principal goal of radio XEETCH is to “promote, rescue and revitalize the strengthening, preservation and dissemination of cultural expressions that give identity to indigenous peoples.”
The station has a Consultative Council composed of six members from each ethnic group, chosen according to the customs and customs of each community, with the aim of forging inter-community ties between the indigenous groups – the Mayo (or yoreme, the people) of Sonora and Sinaloa, the Yaqui (or yoreme), and the Guarijío (or warihó in Chihuahua and macurawe in Sonora).
The main function of the Council is to review, propose and adapt programming content according to consultations that are constantly carried out in the indigenous communities, and which deal with the needs and problems of each one of them.
The Council also works to strengthen ties with other regional indigenous groups, namely the Pima, the Tarahumara and between the migrants of the coast of Hermosillo and of the valleys of Sinaloa.
To accomplish those goals, the Voice of Three Rivers broadcasts community-based news and information, has call-in talk shows, airs information about public programs related to health, education, assistance, human rights and other topics. It also plays traditional indigenous music.
Radio station XEETCH has a group of indigenous correspondents who volunteer to conduct interviews and collect sound recordings in their communities. The volunteers also translate radio content into their language, host bilingual programs and receive feedback from their audience. The sound materials acquired by the correspondents give variety and richness to the station’s programming and help to preserve historical and cultural aspects of their indigenous heritage.
This radio broadcasting station is an important local and regional cultural resource, especially in promoting the languages, music and traditions of the three indigenous groups in the region of the “three rivers” – the River Mayo, The River Yaqui and the River Fuerte.
Read more and listen to the live broadcast of XEETCH.
