From the communities of Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage to Thousand Palms and Thermal, El Informador Del Valle has long been making an impact. But a recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation through the Desert Community News Fund is providing the Spanish-language newspaper more opportunities to expand.

“We’re going to strengthen our local and regional media ecosystem in the community,” said Héctor Félix Jr. of the funding. “We want to provide even more news and information to all the rural areas in the Riverside County, especially on the east side where the county ends or begins.

Félix’s father, Héctor Félix, Sr., founded the publication in 1988. Over time, it morphed into a significant go-to known for its investigative journalism. In its heyday, Héctor Félix, Sr. was recognized for his critical reporting chops, particularly on various drug cartels.

“I’ve been collaborating and helping out the family-owned business since I was a little boy,” Félix said. “Some of my most vivid memories were being in our own print shop. We had our employees actually print our weekly newspaper. 

“We used to have to use a typewriter to type up all the articles,” he added.

Don’t forget photos. At the time, long before today’s modern tech advances, photos were developed in a darkroom.

“We had to cut and paste pretty much everything back then,” Félix added. “The big old newspapers then were pretty much templates, and we had the big desk with the light underneath so we could look at all the newspaper graphics. So, this newspaper formed a lot of my memories as a kid. This is what makes me happy—providing newspapers to the community.”

The publication’s reach is still vast with news reporting stretching well into Coachella and Mecca. To that end, it remains one of those rarities in these modern times—a locally owned newspaper with strong ties to its community and a deep  devotion to sharing news and information to its readers.

Without corporate pressures, which typically come with a bottom-line price tag, Félix is ever optimistic about the road ahead heading into 2025 and beyond. One look at the publication’s website is proof of that as there’s a significant portal to list community events and even entertainment news and notices.

Chances are that residents as east as Salton Sea have picked up the newspaper, too, as it is among the long list of distribution points.

Overall, El Informador Del Valle continues to build on the strong foundation of its creator and Félix, its first-generation leader now, hopes to steer it successfully to new heights.

“I want people to know that we’re still actively providing local news, information, topics, and sports,” Félix said. “And that it’s a free publication you can find in all the Hispanic or Latino stores. We’re very much looking to the future now.”

Learn more at elinformadordelvalle.com.

This article originally appeared in the Desert Sun, January 2024.

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