Radio host Piolin reveals all in new memoir
Popular radio host Eddie Piolín Sotelo is known for empowering his Latino audience to reach great heights. Now, the broadcaster, who was so well liked…
Radio personality Piolin talks to VOXXI of his new autobiography. (Photo Courtesy: Piolin Sotelo)
Popular radio host Eddie Piolín Sotelo is known for empowering his Latino audience to reach great heights.
Now, the broadcaster, who was so well liked and admired by audiences over the decades with his pro-immigration reform stance, is telling his story which is the modern day American success story in his memoir, Speak Up!: Finding My Voice Through Hope, Strength, and Determination, which is due out (in Spanish and English) March 3 by Celebra, the Penguin Random House Imprint.
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For years people have told me I should write a book because of my life, Sotelo told VOXXI. They said to me, Your words pump me up and make me think I have to work hard for my dreams and try to focus. They tell me now about owning a landscaping company or a restaurant because of what I said.
I never thought about writing a book. Its amazing how many hours it took but in the end Im so happy working with Penguin. Its a blessing to me. I think we have a great book that the whole family will enjoy and will help them to try to work for their dreams too.
What makes Sotelo so special is his history is a quintessential Latino American story having left Ocotlán, Mexico at the age of 17 and living undocumented in the United States for years in pursuit of a better life and a career. His struggles are familiar, such as how he nearly didnt graduate from high school as an ELL student. His family also had to overcome socio-economic hurdles, as well as deal with his alcoholic brother.
Will you read Piolin’s book? (Photo Courtesy: Penguin Random House)
When I was in high school I had to work two or three part-time jobs a day, Sotelo said. Later, I was trying to be an actor and go to auditions, to get into radio. I was also playing soccer. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I think a lot of kids go through that and parents go through that. The kids feel pressure because their parents tell them, You better be somebody. And I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life. I talk about that situation. It was a moment of a lot of stress for me because I had a lot of pressure from my dad to find out what I wanted to be in life.
Today, Sotelo is viewed as one of the leading and most respected voices in Spanish language radio. He even had President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama on his show as guests.
In hearing his life history, its no wonder hes become an outspoken advocate of immigration reform. The radio host recounts how as an undocumented man so desperate for a green card he was taken for $1,000 by a scam artist claiming to immigrants gain citizenship.
Thats why I have immigration lawyers on my show to answer questions, to get the information straight on what it is theyre supposed to do to be able to find a solution for an immigration situation, Sotelo said. I dont want anyone to go through what I went through.
He added, I like to support those people who have the chance to be great citizens of the United States. They can be an asset. We came to be a part of this great country like a lot of people who came before us.
Its been a tough couple of years for this Hispanic community icon, who in July 2013 left his Los Angeles-based morning show after a former coworker accused him of physical, sexual and emotional harassment. A countersuit by Sotelo was ultimately dismissed. As for his radio career, he landed on SiriusXM radio with a high-profile morning drive time show, which was cancelled less than a year after it began.
SEE ALSO: Piolin Sotelo sues six former coworkers, alleges shakedown
Now, Sotelo is back on his feet again. “El Show De Piolín” airs weekday mornings and can be heard throughout the southwest in Los Angeles, Ventura, Monterey, Palm Springs, Sacramento, Stockton, Aspen, Denver, Las Vegas, Reno, El Paso, Lubbock, McAllen, Brownsville and Harlingen. Also, beginning March 2, El Show de Piolin will be available as a podcast.
Its a new chapter [in my career] and at the same time I feel like the first day when I started doing radio, Sotelo said. Im so excited. People have told me they miss me, and Ive told them back that I missed them too.
