Coalition of Immokalee Workers


Saturday, December 9, marked the three-year anniversary of the CIW community-based radio station, Radio Conciencia… or, as it is known by its beloved street name, “La Tuya.” Two long-time DJ’s, Domingo Jacinto (left, who hosts a weekly show on La Tuya in a Guatemalan indigenous language spoken by many in Immokalee, Kanjobal) and Vicente Lopez (of Oaxaca, who served as the official MC for the day and also hosts a weekly show of music and news), warmed up the crowd as people gathered outside the CIW office for the anniversary party.

And hundreds gathered, as a largely blue crowd sporting Radio Conciencia t-shirts quickly filled the parking lot and snaked around the corners into the street…

The afternoon’s events unfolded, starting with an ingenious clown-theater, taking a look at the differing fortunes of those…
… at the top of the food industry, or McDonald’s in this case, served a delicious steak by an obsequious waiter, seated in a comfortable chair at a table draped with a luxurious cloth…

… and those at the bottom of the industry, or workers from Immokalee in this case, seated on the ground, served with disdain, eating a bowl of Cup-a-Soup with a plastic spoon on a table of used newspaper…

The theater was a huge hit, and the clowns stuck around after to help hand out some early Christmas gifts to the most courageous of the boys and girls who came to celebrate the anniversary with their parents.

As the sun set on Immokalee and the long and festive afternoon turned into night, there was one last order of business to attend to…

… the awarding to Domingo Jacinto of a certificate recognizing his extraordinary commitment to Radio Conciencia and to the broader struggle for the full respect of human rights in Florida’s fields. Domingo has been with the CIW since the first general strike of 1995, was one of six members who undertook a 30-day hunger strike in 1997 to demand dialogue with area tomato growers, and has remained a leader, at every turn, of the CIW and the movement to this day.

The evening ended with a delicious cake provided by the employees of Fiesta supermarket in Immokalee, who listen to La Tuya seven days a week at work and donated the cake in thanks for the unique community-based programming that Radio Conciencia provides.


The Radio Committee gathered following the day’s events to share the cake and to celebrate three years of hard work in service to the community…
¡Arriba La Tuya!