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PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

A West
Bloomfield
woman makes
her mark in the
Hispanic
community
through her
weekend radio
show.

Sonia West talks to her audience during her regular
weekend broadcast on 560 AM.

onia West talks a mile a minute, barely breath-
ing after one thought before launching headfirst
into the next. A local radio personality, she is
known for this rapid-fire delivery on her
weekend afternoon show, "From Woman
to Woman," on 560 AM.
Ms. West says she speaks fast out of ne-
cessity. As the emerging voice of Detroit's
Hispanic community, Ms. West has a lot
to say.
"This community has got to get orga-
nized. There is so much to do," she said,
adding that her goal is to make a portion of
southwest Detroit a tourist attraction. "I
have the time, I have the energy and I have the
microphone. Now we just need the help and the
opportunity to do it."
A member of Temple Israel and a Jew by choice,
Ms. West is known in the Hispanic community as
"La Unica," the one and only. And, to a certain ex-
tent, the name fits perfectly, she says.
"I am positive that I am the only Hispanic Jew-
ish princess with a talk show in the Midwest," she
said. "And I am loving every second of it."
But for others, who know her only through her
radio program, she has earned this unique dis-
tinction because of her commitment to the rebirth
of Mexican Town, a portion of southwest Detroit.
"Sonia is very important in the community

now," said Elias Gutieriez, publisher of the Lati-

no Press. "She has opened the radio for Hispanic

Americans."
It wasn't always this way. Born in Caracas,
Venezuela, her parents, both doctors, provided
her with a nice lifestyle in comfortable sur-
roundings. Ms. West went to good schools and
eventually became a child psychologist.
On the verge of opening her own practice, Ms.
West took a break to visit her brother, then a stu-
dent at the University of Michigan. On the plane,
she met a handsome stranger who asked her if
she was Jewish.
"I was traveling from Miami to Detroit at the
time," she said. "He wasn't sitting with me but
kept changing seats to get closer. By the time we
were landing, he was sitting near me.
"He asked my name and then asked if I was Jew-
ish," she said. "I thought, 'Who is this man?"'
The man, Dr. Keith West, tracked her down
that week and asked her for a date. Sixteen years
later, they are happily married with three chil-
dren.
Perhaps because she was blessed with good for-
tune, Ms. West feels the need to give back to a
community that needs so much.
"I have everything I want. Now, I want to help
others," she said.
She decided the best opportunity to do so is to

provide not money but motivation. So she began
her radio career at a small Hispanic station —
but quickly outgrew the position.
"I wanted more, but I knew I couldn't do it
there," she said.
She later was offered a Sunday afternoon spot
at 560 AM, which she quickly accepted. Recent-
ly, Ms. West was also given the Saturday after-
noon slot as well. Saturdays are more for music,
where she mixes English and Spanish while play-
ing the Hispanic top 10 hit songs; Sundays are
dedicated to family or community issues.
"Saturdays and Sundays are important days
in the Hispanic community," Mr. Gutierrez said.
"Families get together, make food and listen to
the radio. There she is, talking on the radio about
issues important to the community."
Ms. West hopes her following will instigate a
rebirth of the businesses and neighborhoods of
the Hispanic community.
"We have a long way to go," she said. "It will be
slow, but we can do it."

Sonia West's radio program, "From Woman To
Woman," can be heard on 560 AM from 12-3
p.m. Saturdays and 3-6 p.m. Sundays.