New PBS Documentary 'VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024' Examines Key Issues Ahead of the Presidential Election

LOS ANGELES (July 15, 2024) – PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS station, and Latino Public Broadcasting announced today a new documentary called VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024, a multiplatform initiative and set of six digital shorts examining the priorities of a politically diverse Latino electorate in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. The core component of the project is a one-hour documentary focusing on the key issues that will drive Latino voter turnout in some of the most hotly contested battleground states, including Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Directed/produced by Bernardo Ruiz and produced by Andres Cediel along with Marcia Robiou, the film also delves into the efforts both political parties are making to reach the Latino electorate in California, the state with the largest Hispanic/Latino population in the country. In addition to the one-hour documentary film, six digital shorts will focus on the experiences of young, first-time Latino voters. VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024 premieres Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org, the PBS app and YouTube.

Organizer Audrey Peral and son Francisco in 2020. Photo by Roberto (Bear) Guerra

“Our goal is that through VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024 our viewers will gain a deeper understanding of the impact of the changing demographics of America and the issues and concerns of Latino voters,” explained PBS SoCal Chief Content Officer Tamara Gould. “With the documentary’s immersive approach and the short films, we delve into the issues Latino voters in key battleground states care about the most and hear from the next generation who is voting for the first time.  

“VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024 gives voice to Latino voters across the nation – young, old, Democrats, Republicans and undecideds – and provides an up-to-the-minute look at the issues and concerns of this politically diverse and often misunderstood community,” said Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Latino Public Broadcasting Executive Director and VOCES Executive Producer. “With Latino voters poised to be the largest minority voting bloc in the upcoming presidential election, this film offers an inside look at how both parties are courting the community that could cast the deciding votes this November.”

"I am very pleased to be partnering with PBS, PBS SoCal, Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS and a talented team of journalists and filmmakers for this project,” shared director and producer Bernardo Ruiz. “As we saw with our 2020 film on the Latino vote, there is a large and growing audience for this topic."

Key interviews featured in the documentary include the following (in alphabetical order): 

• Tamoa Calzadilla, U.S. editor of Factchequeado.com
• Daniel Garza, President of the LIBRE Initiative
• Maria Teresa Kumar, Co-Founder and President, Voto Latino
• Mike Madrid, Co-founder of The Lincoln Project
• Clarissa Martinez De Castro, Vice President of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS
• Chuck Rocha, President of Solidarity Strategies LLC
• Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, Pastor of New Season
• Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero, Pastor of The Gathering Place

VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024 is funded by PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation. VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024 is a Quiet Pictures co-production with Latino Public Broadcasting and ITVS in association with PBS SoCal.

VOCES: LATINO VOTE 2024 will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

Join the conversation on social media by following @pbssocal, @voces and tagging @pbs.

About VOCES 
Produced by Latino Public Broadcasting, the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES features the best of Latino arts, culture and history and shines a light on current issues that impact Latino Americans. Devoted to exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience, VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience — on TV, online and on the PBS app. Luis Ortiz is series producer; Sandie Viquez Pedlow is executive producer. Funding for VOCES is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS. Follow us on Facebook and X.

About Latino Public Broadcasting
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is the leader in the development, production, acquisition and distribution of film and digital cultural media that is representative of Latino people or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public media entities. Providing a voice for the diverse Latino community throughout the United States, Latino Public Broadcasting is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. LPB also produces the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES, exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience. VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience — on TV, online and on the PBS app.

 Between 2009 and 2023, LPB programs won over 135 awards, including three prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards as well as Emmys, Imagen Awards and the Sundance Film Festival Award for Best Director, Documentary. LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries. Sandie Viquez Pedlow is executive director of LPB; Edward James Olmos is co-founder and chairman.

About PBS SoCal 
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal manages 7 channels — including 2 primary broadcast channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus as well as 5 digital subchannels. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal is reaches nearly 19M viewers in the region with programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal programming is available to viewers over-the-air, on all key streaming platforms via the free PBS App and PBS KIDS App. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free. 

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