Two things had a heavy influence on Arellano when he was growing up in his native Mexico. One was his father, a lawyer.  "Unfortunately, to be a lawyer in Mexico is to work in a system that doesn't work like we would like it to work," Arellano said during an interview at Midwest Family Broadcasting where La Movida is housed.  "He spent a lot of time      working in the neighborhoods providing legal assistance to poor people. My mother always complained about the fact that the reason we weren't rich was because my father never charged anyone. I also had the desire to have an impact on people's lives. The law is not the answer, but it certainly helps."
      The other influence was music, particularly the music he grew up with in Mexico.  "I used to be a performer," Arellano confided. "I write music. I play guitar. I recorded four records professionally. Music has always been my life. From speaking in public to singing and dancing in front of the public, I became very comfortable with the microphone. I recorded the records when I was a teen-ager in Mexico. I formed a band."
      When Arellano attended school at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the 1970s, he got involved in radio because of his love of getting involved in community, national, and international issues, a passion he carries forward to this day.
      When Arellano began to take up the practice of law, he felt he had to make a decision because of the stereotypes that were out there concerning Mexicans and music.  "I was concerned people knew Victor Arellano the singer as opposed to Victor Arellano the lawyer," Arellano said.  "I made the mistake -- I call it a mistake -- of putting my music aside because I wanted to be known as a competent lawyer, someone qualified to do the job and not someone singing in bars. I was afraid it would invoke stereotypes. In fact, I was a victim of stereotypes. People would invite me not to speak about the law, but rather to sing. I had so much to do and to offer and I was concerned the only invites I was getting was about singing."
      The growth of Spanish language radio reflects the history of the Latino community here in Madison.  "The Latino community was basically a migrant community," Arellano observed.  "We started  as migrant workers and then we moved into urban America because many of the Mexicans who arrived in the late 1980s and 1990s came from cities as      opposed to the countryside. Originally, Wisconsin, when it comes down to the Latino population, it was basically migrant workers. Wisconsin used to get 5,000-10,000 migrant workers every summer. That's when I became concerned about the conditions and treatment of particularly Mexican workers. We used to get Jamaican workers to work in the Beaver Dam canning companies. They just didn't last. We used to have Filipino workers as well. But the Mexican migrant worker came summer after summer and they still do. So, originally, the Latino community was composed of migrant workers. Now, of course, we get doctors and lawyers and others with degrees."
      In the late 1970s, the Rogerio family, particularly Juan and Irene, started the radio program  "Los Madrugadores" on      WORT, a listener-sponsored radio station. At that time, the market for a commercially-based Spanish language radio station wasn't there. Yet, the need was there for the few Latino families living in Madison to feel connected to their culture. "The Rogerios have been a foundation here in Madison in many respects, one of which happens to be radio," Arellano exclaimed.  "They were pioneers in Madison, Wisconsin with respect to Hispanic radio." Arellano joined Los Madrugadores as a co-host in the 1990s.
      As the Latino community grew in size during the 1990s and exploded in size during the last six years, a commercially-viable target audience formed for a commercial Spanish language radio station. Luis and Lupita Montoto founded La Movida, which originally had a limited frequency and limited program hours, and has now flourished into a 24/7 radio station since it became housed at Midwest Family Broadcasting and obtained its own frequency, 1480 AM.
      Arellano joined La Movida in 2005.  "I was hungry for radio and almost out of radio for about a year," Arellano said. "I had some offers from Milwaukee and public television. But I was looking for the perfect home. I wanted to have      a program where we could counterbalance what some of the talk shows were saying, shows like "Sly in the Morning" trashing Latinos or "O'Reilly" trashing immigrants. Some of the conservative radio was constantly looking at the Latino community as an undesirable community. I would get extremely upset. As much as I would call those radio programs, I      felt we needed a voice, we needed a balance. I think I have found a nice home at LaMovida."
      Arellano seems right at home as he conducts his one hour radio show. His guest this particular morning is Mario Barcena, branch manager of Mortgage 2000, one of the sponsors of the Mexican Independence festival held at the Alliant Energy Center, a festival also sponsored by La Movida. Arellano's show goes by rather quickly as he intersperses music, chats with callers to the show and commercials with his conversation with Barcena.
      Music, Arellano stresses, is the key to being successful in Spanish language radio. "One of the reasons I play music in my program is because you can't keep the community tuned in to your program if you don't play a little music," Arellano confided.  "Music is very important. It's nice to send a good piece of music out to the community, whether the music is about broken love or a story about a legend. We make a song out of anything. Music has been a part of our lives.      Wherever I go, music is a part of my program." Yet, it is the issues that are also at the heart of Arellano's program. Arellano is a tireless advocate for the Latino community. And elections and immigration are on his mind. Arellano feels that Latinos played a very important role in James Doyle's election as Wisconsin's governor back in 2002 and foresees nothing, but a greater role for Latinos in the future.
       "We have a wealth of power coming," Arellano exclaimed.  "It's too bad I can't live forever because I've got to tell you that every Latino household has four children. Those four children are U.S. citizens. In a matter of time, they will become adults. If you multiply a total of 47 million legal Latino citizens with four members in the household, this anti-Mexican feeling is going to disappear. However, the rest of the country should not see Latinos as a negative force. We want to belong. We contribute to the community."
       Arellano  can't understand why Latinos. And particularly Mexicans don't have a favorable image in the United States. He can't understand why they are looked upon so unfavorably. "If you go to any restaurant today, whether it is French or upper class, it always comes with Mexican flavor because those cooks are putting in the jalapenos in the salsa and the melted cheese," Arellano said.  "We are contributing to the food industry. We are contributing to the hotel industry. We are contributing to the factories and to academia. Why should people look at the Latino community in such a negative fashion? We've been in Vietnam. We are willing to go find bin Laden just for the green card. Let's be grateful. If we are giving our lives for this country,  don't treat us the way you've been treating us. We're not going anywhere. We're not going to tolerate it."
      And Arellano believes there is a simple solution to the immigration problem that is currently at the forefront of American politics. "Why can't we become legal?" Arellano asked.  "Why can't they give us a penalty? Send us to jail for three months. Do what you do to every other group. But make us legal. We are here. And if we don't have a felony, if we have a job, if we pay our taxes, if we work hard, why do we have to wait 13-15 years to visit our families simply because we cannot cross the  border? That's unfair. That's inhumane. That's not democratic."
      While Arellano has a kinder, softer side that is expressed through his music, Victor Arellano wouldn't be Victor      Arellano if he wasn't that bruising lawyer immersed in Wisconsin politics and issues. It's the radio that allows him to passionately pursue both.
Attorney Victor Arellano takes to the airwaves
Connecting to the people
by Jonathan Gramling
Victor Arellano hosts "En Vivo con Victor Arellano" every Saturday on La Movida
     When one hears the name of Victor Arellano, images of a tenacious lawyer and political confidant and player come to mind. But there is a softer side to Victor Arellano, a partner at the Lawton & Cates law firm that Madison hasn't seen for years. Arellano currently hosts "En Vivo con Victor Arellano" on Saturday mornings on La Movida, Madison's Latino, Spanish-speaking radio station.
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