Editorial

By Zulma Prieto

Thank God for all these years! That’s how I will begin my last printed editorial. Then, I would like to thank all the readers El Puente had in all these 27 + years. But we had readers because we had people that supported us in so many ways. Throughout these years we had people who wrote articles, sent pictures, and made comments that made us think about new possibilities.
The businesses and non-profits who placed ads, made possible for the newspaper to be printed. If the businesses did not support these efforts, it would have been impossible to accomplish the task.
El Puente has had people who collaborated from far away and people who argued with us here and made us improve the content.
Do you know what it is like to distribute a newspaper in harsh winters, store by store, and businesses, churches, banks, hospitals, libraries, etc? It took a bunch of dedicated individuals who believed in the product they were distributing. Can you imagine how many sleepless nights it took for the newspaper never to miss a deadline in almost 28 years, twice a month, including near Christmas and New Year? It was the work of the core people, led by Yizzar Prieto who had the responsibility of putting the paper together, checking the photos, making sure the ads were clear, verifying the content, etc. I can remember times when the people working at these tasks were traveling and staying in a city in South America, or Mexico, or Colombia. The readers were not aware of the sacrifice and dedication of the staff behind each issue of El Puente.
That is why, in this closing issue of a printed El Puente, a BIG THANK YOU to each one of you is a must, and also something to brag about.
There were times during all these years when we felt overwhelmed by debts and doubts, and we felt the presence of God sustaining us and keeping us calm.
God, staff and friends were always there helping us. What else can anyone ask for?
We are jumping into a digital future with the same enthusiasm, and with great company.
If we seek to serve better, we hope for others to join us in this common task for a better present and future. We are aware that like in the past there will be plenty of people who will not agree with our point of view in topics such as justice, immigration, health and many other issues that are crucial at this time. We hope to go into those discussions as truth seekers, and not partisan ones.
We will be ready to respectfully agree and disagree, but we reserve the right to work for those who have not been heard, or for whom justice has not been served.
El Puente celebrates each family’s accomplishments and is ready to praise and support those who work for the wellbeing of the people. It will also be ready to denounce violence and stand with those who suffer violence of any kind, especially systemic violence.
We look forward to new relationships and to strengthening the old ones.
In faith, we move forward, thanking God every step of the way, alongside with many others who are also seeking truth and justice.

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www.webelpuente.com