Kichwa Hatari is the first Kichwa-language radio station in the United States, broadcasting in a variation of the Quechua language spoken by indigenous Ecuadorean Kichwas.

History

Kichwa Hatari was founded in 2014 in New York, to broadcast from New York City in

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia ('' Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. Classification Kichwa belongs to the Nor ...

. The Kichwa language is a regional variation of the Quechua language, and has been listed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as an endangered language. Hosts Charlie Uruchima, Segundo Angamarca, and Fabian Muenala use radio as a platform to connect the Ecuadorean diaspora with indigenous language, culture, and local news. A language segment of the show helps children of Kichwa-speaking immigrants learn their parents language. The hosts report that they have seen increased pride in indigenous culture as a result of their work to raise awareness through radio. The station broadcasts online as well as on Radio El Tambo Stereo.

Community activism

Kichwa Hatari hopes to combat language isolation by Kichwa-speakers in the United States. In addition to radio broadcasting, Kichwa Hatari works within the Kichwa

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

to help

undocumented immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

, by translating legal information from Spanish into the Kichwa language and helping to share it in the community. In 2017 Kichwa Hatari received the Quechua Award for Lifetime Achievement by '' The Quechua Alliance''

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://kichwahatari.org/ Quechuan languages Native American language revitalization Radio stations established in 2014 2014 establishments in New York (state)