START THE PRESSES.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

Where's Rodrigo?

Seven years ago, the answer was: Right here on the pages of 20Below. Then a student at Lane Community College, Rodrigo Hidalgo was a staff columnist who wrote about trying to score a Carlos Santana concert ticket and celebrating Mexico's version of Halloween.

But Hidalgo, then 19, wasn't afraid to tackle weightier issues, such as his decision to sell plasma to make ends meet, or the in-your-face discrimination he sometimes encountered because of his skin color and accent.

"I'm an immigrant; I'm an outsider," he wrote in one column. "The melting pot is a myth."

But Hidalgo didn't give up, and he didn't go away. Inspired by his 20Below stint and other work experience, he enrolled at the University of Oregon and graduated last year with a degree in journalism.

Today he's the founder, publisher, editor, ad salesman and distribution chief for El Norte, a monthly Spanish-language newspaper distributed to about 50 Latino businesses and agencies in Eugene, Springfield, Junction City, Harrsiburg, Albany and Corvallis.

Hidalgo produces the paper at home and has it printed in Albany. The tabloid offers a mix of local, national and international news - even comics and a horoscope column - and a growing number of ads. Initially limited to four pages and 1,000 copies, the free paper has doubled its size and quadrupled in the number of copies printed.

In this month's issue, Hidalgo writes about a new Latino soccer league in town, the Mercado Latino open-air market and the decision to name a new elementary school in Eugene for union activist Cesar Chavez. There's also a front-page story on the recent terrorist attacks in Spain.

In past issues he's tackled such difficult topics as the unsolved 2001 murder of Azucena Terrazas in a Eugene cash wiring store and the trial of Juan Lara, a former Eugene police officer who pleaded guilty to charges of official misconduct and public indecency.

``I don't particularly like crime stories, but as a newspaper we have to cover all things, not just the rosy things,'' he says.

El Norte means "The North" in Spanish - the phrase that Mexicans typically use when talking about heading to the United States. ``It's like when we say `south of the border' here, we mean Mexico,'' says Hidalgo, who grew up in Chalco, about a half-hour drive east of Mexico City.

Hidalgo came to the United States when he was 18 to live with an older brother in California. It didn't take long to decide that grueling farm work wasn't what he wanted to do forever, and he moved to Eugene after hearing about the UO's High School Equivalency Program for migrant youths. A yearbook class was his first introduction to interviewing people, taking pictures and learning computer software design.

He started his newspaper in fall 2001 - back when he was still a university student - and learned soon enough that going to school while producing a weekly was more than a little daunting. So he switched to monthly publication.

His current regimen is work on the paper by day, deliver pizzas for a local pizzeria by night.

It's a demanding schedule, but Hidalgo, 26, isn't too worried about burnout.

"I love it," he says. "So far I have not gotten tired."

On the contrary, he has bigger entrepreneurial dreams, hoping to add pages and features, introduce a business directory, rent an office and hire employees.

He currently lists two reporters and two distribution helpers - all volunteers - in the paper's staff box.

Hidalgo says he likes the feeling of contributing to his community - ``not just for my readers, but also my advertisers. There are so many businesses that cater to Latinos and don't know how to reach them.''

Lourdes Sanchez, a Eugene attorney, has been a regular advertiser in El Norte - after being won over by Hidalgo's enthusiasm.

``I was not sure if it would be effective for me, but he just had so much energy, I said, `OK, I'll give it a try and see if it works,' and it did,'' Sanchez says. "He's a hard worker, very professional. He's a go-getter."

Maribel Cerna, co-owner of TV Choice, a retail satellite TV store in Eugene, says she decided to contact Hidalgo after seeing his newspaper at a restaurant.

``But before I could, he came into the store,'' she says. ``I said, `Hey, I've been planning to contact you!' '

Though his newspaper is in Spanish, Hidalgo contends he's helping his readers get used to the larger, English-speaking culture - by telling them, for example, how to enroll in English language classes at LCC.

``If the newspaper was in English, few people will read it,'' he says. ``But in Spanish, I can let Latinos know what's going on in the community. I see the newspaper as a vehicle of integration.''

Since his days as a 20Below columnist, Hidalgo says he's modified his views about the American melting pot - which he now sees as a spicier and less homogenous soup.

``I say to many Latinos, let's try English and try local food, but also share our own customs,'' he says.

``I think now we don't all need to be the same to be part of the melting pot.''

EL NORTE

Free Spanish-language newspaper

published monthly

Outlets: About 50 locations, including Carniceria Lupita, 632 Blair Blvd., and LCC Downtown Center, 1059 Willamette St.

More information: Call 729-9457, visit www.el-norte.netonline, e-mail [e-mail], or write to P.O. Box 3058, Eugene, OR 97403

CAPTION(S):

Rodrigo Hidalgo (left) talks to Taqueria Lupita manager Alejandro Hernandez as he delivers El Norte, a Spanish-language newspaper that Hidalgo publishes and edits. Rodrigo Hidalgo delivers papers featuring a story about the plan to name a Eugene elementary school after Latino labor activist Cesar Chavez.