"Piolín" becomes a U.S. citizen
"Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo, the popular Spanish-language disc-jockey who helped catapult half a million people to the streets over immigration reform, took his oath Thursday as a new citizen of the United States in a record-setting naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles.
Sotelo, who spent his teen years in Santa Ana after crossing the border from Mexico, was sworn in with about 6,000 other immigrants at the Los Angeles Convention Center – many who hugged him, asked for his autograph and snapped his photo with their cell phones after the ceremony.
The 37-year old radio host has become a figure for hundreds of thousands of Latino immigrants after he helped organize a massive march in defense of immigrants’ rights two years ago. Since then, he has been encouraging immigrants to become citizens on his nationally syndicated radio show, contributing to the unprecedented surge in naturalizations this year."
AMY TAXIN in the Orange County Register.