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Spanish-Language DJ Turns Out the Crowds in L.A.

Eduardo "Piolin" Sotelo is greeted by fans at an April 10 rally in Los Angeles.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR
Eduardo "Piolin" Sotelo is greeted by fans at an April 10 rally in Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, one of the nation's most popular Spanish language radio personalities has played a huge role in turning out the massive crowds seen in recent immigration rights marches. Eduardo "Piolin" Sotelo says that, for him, it's a personal crusade.

Mandalit del Barco follows the DJ at a recent rally in Los Angeles -- where he's greeted as a celebrity hero -- and spends some time with him in the studio, where in rapid-fire Spanish he cajoles his audience to become more politically aware and take up the activist mantle.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

As an arts correspondent based at NPR West, Mandalit del Barco reports and produces stories about film, television, music, visual arts, dance and other topics. Over the years, she has also covered everything from street gangs to Hollywood, police and prisons, marijuana, immigration, race relations, natural disasters, Latino arts and urban street culture (including hip hop dance, music, and art). Every year, she covers the Oscars and the Grammy awards for NPR, as well as the Sundance Film Festival and other events. Her news reports, feature stories and photos, filed from Los Angeles and abroad, can be heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Alt.latino, and npr.org.