It is printed monthly and distributed to the Hispanic population within the geographical boundaries of the Archdiocese of Washington, which includes D.C., and Montgomery, Prince George's, Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles counties in Maryland.

In its early years, El Pregonero appeared as a mimeographed newsletter, distributed primarily in the Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods around the Spanish Catholic Center's office near 16th and Monroe Streets, NW, in Washington, D.C. As the Hispanic population settled in other neighborhoods in D.C. and the nearby Maryland and Virginia suburbs, the newspaper adopted a more traditional tabloid format and circulated more copies in street boxes and at other bulk-drop locations.

In January 1986, Oscar Reyes, a native of Honduras, who previously served as editor of the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa, became the Editor-in-Chief until June 2005, when he retired after nearly 20 years with the paper.

El Pregonero circulation grew to as many as 50,000 copies weekly until the company eliminated its Virginia distribution to focus on service to the Hispanic population within the geographical boundaries of the Archdiocese of Washington, which includes D.C., and Montgomery, Prince George's, Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles counties in Maryland.

On September 22, 2011, under the leadership of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, El Pregonero launched its new redesign and adopted a biweekly schedule, alternating weeks with the Catholic Standard.

Larger than most Spanish diocesan papers, El Pregonero currently has a circulation of about 25,000 copies in the Washington metropolitan area and is published biweekly with a Thursday dateline.