El Faro

Belen Gomez Jordana Ariz, Co-Host, El Faro

Belen is one of North Carolina’s most formidable journalists. Her Emmy award-winning career at Univision and Telemundo in North Carolina always centered the Latino communities’ needs and advocated for their interests. She has brought her deep reservoir of talent and relationships in helping to craft an effort that will partner with existing community organizations and media outlets on our show, El Faro, that will be a guiding light for North Carolina’s Latino community. 

Iliana Santillán, Co-Host, El Faro

Iliana is a Mexico City–born immigrant, former public school teacher, and co-host of El Faro, where she helps shape narratives that reflect the lived experiences, resilience, and leadership of Latino and immigrant communities in North Carolina. Her storytelling bridges personal experience with political context, offering insight into the intersections of immigration, democracy, and human rights in the South.

She is also the founder and executive director of Brava NC, a statewide organization building civic power, narrative infrastructure, and community protection for immigrant and working-class communities. With over a decade of experience in organizing and advocacy, Iliana has worked extensively at the North Carolina General Assembly and alongside community leaders across the state to advance equity and expand access to civic participation.

Through El Faro and her broader work, she is committed to telling stories that inform, connect, and move communities to action.

Jorge “Tito” Ramos, Associate Producer, El Faro

Tito is longtime community activist and visual artist based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. He’s Beacon Media’s Spanish Language Community Media Liaison & the Associate Producer for El Faro. Jorge’s helped lead the fight for immigrant’s rights in NC for over 13 years now. Originally from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua México, he uses his multicultural experience as a queer DACAmented immigrant living in the Southeastern United States to inform his work. His interest in human behavior, anthropology, design, and pop culture are driving forces behind the lens through which he sees the world and therefore how he helps present the stories of our states local leaders to a broader audience.