History of NCEC & Radio KDNA

Radio KDNA – The Voice of the Farmworker

by Oscar Rosales Castañeda

By the late 1970s, the national Chicana/o Movement was losing its footing. The rise of political conservatism during the1980s under the “Reagan Revolution” not only made protesting difficult, it also rolled back of many gains of the 60s and early 70s. Yet the advent of the political right in the late 1970s also prompted responses from still active elements of el Movimiento. The farm worker movement in Washington State revived in the late 1970s and 1980s, with the creation of Radio Cadena or Radio KDNA.

Read full article here: Radio KDNA – The Voice of the Farmworker 1975 – 1985

The early Radio KDNA Headquarters in Granger, Washington. Photos taken three weeks before the building was razed in April 2008.
The establishment of Radio KDNA made front page news in the Yakima Herald Republic, 17 December 1979.
KDNA news director Mario Alvarez at the new radio station building, 17 December 1979.
KDNA disc jockey Celia Prieto-Butterfield airs some Christmas music on her morning radio program. Yakima Herald Republic, 17 December 1984.
“La Voz Del Campesino/The Voice of the Farm Worker,” by Mario Campos, old Radio KDNA Headquarters, Granger, WA.
“Si Se Puede,” Old Radio KDNA Headquarters, Granger, WA.
UFW flag Detail, “La Voz Del Campesino/The Voice of the Farm Worker,” by Mario Campos, old Radio KDNA Headquarters, Granger, WA.
Cesar Chavez Detail, “La Voz Del Campesino/The Voice of the Farm Worker,” by Mario Campos, old Radio KDNA Headquarters, Granger, WA.
“La Voz Del Campesino/The Voice of the Farm Worker,” by Mario Campos, old Radio KDNA Headquarters, Granger, WA. This and other mural images courtesy of Oscar Rosales Castañeda.
Northwest Rural Opportunities (NRO) Mural on door, Old Radio KDNA Headquarters, Granger, WA.
Five years after their establishment, Radio KDNA was featured in the local newspaper, Yakima Herald Republic, 17 December 1984.
While immigration agents complained about the news station, others praised it for its public service announcements targeting the Hispanic community, Yakima Herald Republic, 17 December 1984.