Staff of the Kichwa Hatari Internet radio show celebrate the first broadcast. Photo from Facebook

A new radio program in New York is keeping the Kichwa language alive.

Kichwa Hatari debuted on Radio El Tambo Stereo and on the Internet last month. The weekly program features news, music and updates in Kichwa, a Native language spoken in Ecuador and by migrants in New York.

“Kichwa is a language, Kichwa is a place. Kichwa is a story," co-host Luis Antonio Lema said during the inaugural broadcast, The New York Times reported.

There isn't hard data on the number of Kichwa speakers in the New York. Lema said the school where his child attends has 50 families that speak the language and some parents do not speak English or Spanish.

YouTube: Kichwa Hatari

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