Vida en el Valle pockets 3 silver, 4 bronze national awards for writing, photography, video

Vida en el Valle received three silver and four bronze awards at last week’s National Association of Hispanic Publications conference in Colorado.

The José Martí Awards are the most prestigious in the Latino print world.

“After 32 years of publication, we are always excited to see that our stories and photos continue to win national awards,” said Vida en el Valle editor Juan Esparza Loera. “Our readers are the ones who benefit from our coverage that can sometimes be hard to find elsewhere.”

The Martí Awards have been awarded based on circulation size, but in the 2021 contest, all publications were lumped together.

The silver awards:

▪ Editorial video: ‘Newsom’s ‘monumental’ education budget helps Latino families,’ by María G. Ortiz-Briones.

▪ News photos: Miss California pageant, by Juan Esparza Loera.

▪ Hispanic success story: ‘Fresno State welcomes its first immigrant president,’ by Esparza Loera.

The bronze awards:

▪ Column/English: ‘If he’s not white, then what is Buddy Mendes?,’ by Esparza Loera.

▪ Sports story: ‘Life on the run represents more than a tradition for Rarámuris,’ by Esparza Loera.

▪ Sport photo: Sanger High girls’ cross country, by Esparza Loera.

▪ Bilingual weekly

Vida en el Valle has been named the top newspaper in its category 13 times. This year, La Voz Bilingüe of Denver was named the best bilingual weekly publication; La Semana Del Sur from Tulsa, Oklahoma was second.