Radio Ixchel is a community radio station located in Sumpango Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Anselmo Xunic founded the station when he saw a need for a means of communication that represented their own community. Anselmo explains, "there were no radio stations where we could hear voices representing our own community, our own Kachikel language, much less any female voices." The name "Ixchel" comes from the Sumpango's patron saint, the Mayan goddess of the harvest. The station broadcasts from 6am to 10pm, 7 days a week. Programing is lead by a group of 16 volunteers and touches on different educational content, and a call-in session for teens. The station has the highest highest percentage of female participation of any community radio in the Guatemala Radio Project's network.
Their underwriters include the local branch of Alcoholics Anonymous, a doctor's clinic, and several local businesses. The monthly budget at Radio Ixchel is about Q2,000, or $250 dollars, which they receive partly from sponsors such as local businesses and organizations that donate in exchange for airtime. The radio also hosts annual fundraiser dances at the station, with a marathon of 12 hours of live marimba music. In August 2011 they will be celebrating eight years on the air.
Because community radio in Guatemala still has not been fully legalized, even though it is guaranteed by the country's Peace Accords and the Constitution, the station was once raided by the national police and forced off the air. Sumpango's community responded overwhelmingly with donations and support, and they were able to get back on the air with a new transmitter just months later, in a new location. Rigoberta Gonzales, who runs the program on women's rights, explains, "through the radio, I'm able to reach all of the women of the town and speak in a way that just 15 years ago would have been impossible."
