Kerlin Fernandez

Community Standards Committee
After growing up in Chicago, Kerlin and his brother Carlos Reyes moved to Rockford 20 years ago after seeing growth of the Hispanic community. They also saw the need to provide reliable information in their own language. That’s when they decided to start El Tiempo Newspaper, the first and only weekly Spanish newspaper in the Stateline area. 

The inspiration behind El Tiempo is to be a communication bridge with the Hispanic community and to market and share its wonderful culture and beautiful language. The newspaper prides itself on its quality journalism, commitment to the Hispanic community and unmatched ad design to its advertisers. El Tiempo also provides interactive print “augmented reality” advertising technology.

“Rockford has been and will continue to be one of the top and most beautiful cities in the Midwest,” said Kerlin. “As Rockfordians we have to believe again. Believe in ourselves. Believe in our neighbors. Believe in our city. Believe in our capacity. Learn from our mistakes, and believe in our potential to grow.”