Inspired By Famous Mexican Publication, Newspaper for Immigrant Workers to Launch in Pasadena on Labor Day

A new community newspaper created by and for immigrant and working-class communities will launch Monday, Sept. 1, at the Pasadena Community Job Center, organizers announced.

“Inspired by the tradition of El Machete in Mexico during the 1920s, La Talacha carries forward that revolutionary spirit — not to promote violence, but to channel popular energy, sharp critique, and collective commitment,” the newspaper’s organizers said in a statement.

La Talacha, named after a Mexican term for manual labor and digging tools, will debut at 11 a.m. on Labor Day as a platform for immigrant workers facing persecution and economic hardship. The launch event will be held at 500 N. Lake Ave., home to the Pasadena Community Job Center, which connects local residents and small businesses with skilled day laborers and advocates for fair wages and safe working conditions.

Organizers say the new paper will serve as a tool for organizing, critique, and collective empowerment—not violence—amid ongoing challenges for immigrant laborers.

“La Talacha is like the people’s home,” the statement reads. “It opens furrows in the hard soil of silence, breaks the concrete of racism and injustice, and draws paths of consciousness and organization.”

The newspaper’s name reflects its dual meaning in Mexican Spanish: “la talacha” refers both to arduous manual work and to the mattock—a tool used to break ground. Organizers say the publication will similarly break ground in public discourse, amplifying voices often excluded from mainstream media.

The launch is supported by the Pasadena-headquartered National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), which is affiliated with the Pasadena Job Center and works nationally to improve labor conditions for day workers.

Community leaders, day laborers, and allies from local worker centers are expected to attend the event. Organizers describe La Talacha as “a voice desde abajo”—from below—intended to serve as both a medium of denunciation and a source of hope.