Austin, TX - María Hinojosa, host of Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, has won the 1999 Ruben Salazar Award from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Hinojosa, a CNN correspondent, will be presented the award on July 28 at the NCLR Annual Conference in Houston, Texas.

Named in honor of the journalist killed by a policeman's tear gas projectile in 1970 while covering a Chicano march in East Los Angeles, the Ruben Salazar Award is given each year to an individual who has dedicated his or her life to promoting a positive portrayal of Latino historical, political, economic, and cultural contributors to U.S. society. This award is the second consecutive Ruben Salazar Award for Latino USA. The 1998 recipient was Latino USA executive producer María Martin.

Based in New York City, Hinojosa has hosted Latino USA since its debut in 1993. Before joining CNN, Hinojosa spent six years at
National Public Radio® (NPR) as a New York-based general assignment correspondent. She also hosted Visiones, a public affairs talk show on WNBC-TV in New York. Hinojosa has also served as a producer and researcher for CBS Radio.

Hinojosa has garnered numerous awards and honors. In 1995, Hispanic Business Magazine named her one of the "100 Most Influential Latinos" in the United States. Also, in 1995, Hinojosa received the Robert F. Kennedy award for "Manhood Behind Bars," a story for NPR which documented how jail has become a rite of passage for men of all races. In 1993, she received both the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Radio Award and the New York Society of Professional Journalists Deadline Award for her NPR report "Kids and Guns." In 1991, Hinojosa won an Associated Press Award for her coverage of Nelson Mandela for WNYC Radio, among other awards.

Past Ruben Salazar Award recipients have included Ricardo Montalban, Paul Rodriguez, NPR's Ray Suarez, and Juan Gonzalez.

Celebrating six years of award-winning programs, Latino USA is distributed by NPR and can be heard on 175 stations nationwide. The program aims to educate audiences about issues, foster cross-cultural understanding, enhance relationships among Latino communities, and highlight the richness of Latino cultural and artistic expressions.

Latino USA is a production partnership of the
Center for Mexican American Studies and KUT-FM radio at the
University of Texas at Austin. For more information about Latino USA, call (512) 475-6767 or call your local NPR radio station.