Leonardo Reichel

Leonardo Reichel (born July 18, 1956 in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico) is a successful Mexican journalist who currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

Biography

Early life

Reichel was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora on 18 July 1956. His father was Pablo Reichel Bauman, a revolutionary activist murdered under the government of Luis Echeverría Álvarez in March 1974 by the Mexican military as a result of being accused of instructing the communist party Liga Comunista. Reichel's mother was Elva Urroz Lazheztter, who died in April 1969 when he was 12 years old.

Writing career

Mexico (1974–1992)

After his father's [...] in 1974, Reichel became a victim of political persecution, which resulted in his arrest and torture on various occasions. That same year, he began writing letters, poems, stories and narrations. His first works were published during 1974 in cultural sections of the Diario del Yaqui, Tribuna del Yaqui, and Extra de la Tarde newspapers from Ciudad Obreón, Sonora. Between 1977 and 1979, he became part of Taller de Escritores de Café y Arte Nogales, a workshop of writers, and published some of his work in the “Acción”, “El Noroeste” and “El Centinela” newspapers. In 1980, the Alta Primaría Pro Arte y Cultura, and a writer named Oscar Monroy Rivera, published his book Un niño en el Valle del Yaqui (A child in the Yaqui Valley in Spanish). Between 1980 and 1982, he worked for the El Observador daily newspaper as the editor in charge of publishing his column called Cosas que deben ser dicho (things that need to be said). This publication gained a lot of controversy since it was in opposition to the Sonoran government, as it championed the causes of farm workers and peasants. In 1982, he married Mirna Márquez Urías. Together they had three children: Elva Sofía, Eliuth Leonardo, and Dietrich Lazheztter.

In 1983, El Observador changed its name to Respuesta, after a demand from governor Samuel Ocaña García made it impossible to continue publishing under that name. Reichel formed part of a group directed by Mario Rivas Hernández, which included Pedro Beltrán Lizarraga and Atanasio Aragón Gámez, and occupied the sub direction of Respuesta. Soon afterwards, the publication was shut down by the Federal Direction of Security by destroying their machinery and burning their archives, equipment and furniture. From 1983 until early-1985, Reichel worked as a reporter for the newspaper La Voz del Norte in Nogales, Sonora, under the direction of journalists José Luis Hernández Salas and Héctor Raúl Dávila Pazos. Following the sale of the newspaper to the Mexican Agency Information (AMI) to a group of investors in partnership with the government of Sonora, Reichel resigned and returned to Ciudad Obregon. Upon his arrival, he became head Drafting of the Revista Nacional Café Caliente in 1985, alongside Pedro and Beltran Lizarraga, until it was closed down by the Ministry of the Interior.

In 1986, he worked as a reporter for El Debate de Los Mochis in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, under the direction of Lorenzo Valdez. During the opening ofof the Universidad de Occidente in Los Mochis, he angered Antonio Toledo Corro, the Sinaloan governor, after questioning his close relation to a [...] lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo about a series of crimes against detractors of his administration. His questioning including the [...] of journalist Odilón López Urías. Toledo Corro fell to the extreme of slapping Reichel in front of other members of the press. Reichel left Sinaloa after receiving death threats. He traveled to Mexico Cityand worked as a reporter, first for the Agencia Noticiosa Lemus, and later for the capital's newspaper La Prensa. In 1987, he returned to Sonora, and with Pedro Beltrán, started a daily newspaper called El Debate de Cajeme, which ceased operation because of the failure to gather funds.

Between 1987 and 1991, he returned to La Voz del Norte of Nogales, Sonora, where he first occupied the position of a sports section editor. He later became chief of information, chief editor, and eventually editorial coordinator. His column "Tintero" becomes the periodical voice from which whole bands of [...] lords that worked the region along with their political friends, federal judges, corrupt police and more were lashed and denounced. He also investigated and denounced corrupt actions from the government and defended numerous popular causes. During that time, La Voz del Norte expanded around Mexico. In 1991, the state governor Rodolfo Félix Valdez, who heard the criticisms of Leonardo Reichel's, forced the brothers and Jesus Arnoldo Ahumada to fire the reporter; he also imposed numerous barriers to housing developments that made Ahumada in Hermosillo, Sonora. By then, Reichel had become the most recognized reporter in northern Sonora. The building of La Voz del Norte was attacked with machine-guns, and there arewere often threats or attempts of kidnapping Reichel's son. Simultaneously, he was dismissed from the La Voz del Norte, and lost two jobs: the correspondent of the Agency for the NOTIMEX Mexicana de Sonora and the correspondent of the state capital city newspaper La Prensa. The three resignations occurred while the state candidate Manlio Fabio Beltrones was declared the elected governor of Sonora.

Reichel started working in different newspaper publishing agencies throughout Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja California. He ended his career in Mexico when one of his sons' (Eliuth Reichel) life was jeopardized after a kidnapping. He left Mexico to live in Arizona whit his family, he emigrated to the United States in 1992.

United States (1992–present)

In Phoenix, Reichel was appointed as the general director of Hispanic media, and led that post until 1995. During this time, the newspaper became the most important publication in Spanish from Arizona and one of the largest in the United States, as it gained a lot of attention. Also in 1995, he launched a new, more cultural project, El Observador de Arizona, which allowed speech writers, teachers, philosophers and students of Arizona State to publish their work. The project is currently run by Doctor of Philosophy Manuel Saldivar Murrieta, and continues via the Internet. Also in Arizona, Reichel worked for several magazines and newspapers: De Cristal Magazine, Onda X and El Debate de Arizona. In addition, he assumed the direction of graphic design for Teleguía en Español for eight years. For several years, he became a columnist for "El Monitor Hispano", and wrote articles for Calle Ocho in Florida,Century 21'' in Massachusetts, among many other publications.,In 2008, he decided to leave the United States back to Mexico with his family.

References

es:Leonardo Reichel