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Family Theater Productions podcasting Voz Latina dramatic radio series

Family Theater Productions is taking advantage of the modern technology of podcasting to make its oldest Spanish-language radio program, La Historia de Quién Soy, available in this new medium to the public at www.vozlatinaradio.org. (Click on "In the Spotlight.")

The first 12 episodes of the series, produced in 1996 and premiered in October 1997, were posted as of January on the Voz Latina Radio website, and then one episode has been posted each week, a practice that will continue until the 43 episodes of the series are posted.

Regular listeners can subscribe to a syndicated feed (RSS) via iTunes, my Yahoo or other "podcatching" services, to be notified every time a new episode is available. For those visitors who prefer to download episodes directly from the website, rather than subscribing to the feed, audio files in both Windows Media and MP3 format are available on the La Historia de Quién Soy Episodes page. Clicking on the Windows Media file will open Windows Media Player on a computer and start playing the program. The MP3 files can be played from the website or downloaded to an iPod via iTunes.

"That part of the website has been getting a lot of hits - approximately 4,000 downloads of these files," said Monica Castagnasso, Director of Family Theater’s Radio Department and producer of its Voz Latina Radio programs. (In 2003, Family Theater Productions launched Voz Latina: Radio for the Latino Explosion as the name of its Spanish-language radio project.)

"We decided to put La Historia de Quién Soy on the Internet because the stock was depleted, but we continued to receive requests every 2-3 months," Ms. Castagnasso said. "Obviously, there is still a demand but not enough to warrant re-stocking the program, so we determined that this new technology of podcasting was the way to meet that need."

La Historia de Quién Soy podcasts caught the attention of a reporter for Conexión, a bilingual weekly newspaper for Hispanics in the San Antonio area. The reporter included the information in an article on podcasting in the Latino community.

Radio stations across the country, including affiliates of the EWTN Global Catholic Network are still broadcasting La Historia de Quién Soy and the approximately 250 other Voz Latina Radio programs. The broadcast schedule is available at www.vozlatinaradio.org/radio-schedule.php.

"La Historia de Quién Soy stories not only entertain but also support Latino families, as its fictional characters deal with many of the issues facing them today. It is the story of every Latino family, embracing our past, our traditions, our faith and society today amid the joy and pain of living," said Father Willy Raymond, CSC, Family Theater’s National Director.

The series stars legendary Latina actor Lucy Gallardo and the late Mexican actor Eduardo Lopez Rojas (Mi Familia).

Source: Family Theatre Productions

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