Raoul A. Cortez, a pioneer of Spanish-language media in the United States and a broadcaster and community organizer, is honored in today’s Doodle on the occasion of his birthday. Rafael Lopez, a Mexican American guest illustrator, uses his painting to illustrate the different contributions Cortez made to advancing Latino culture and civil rights in the United States.
On this day in 1905, Cortez was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He was a small boy when his family emigrated to the country, settling in San Antonio, Texas. As an adult, he started working as a correspondent for the Spanish-language daily newspaper La Prensa in San Antonio. In the 1930s and 1940s, Cortez founded and oversaw a theatrical agency that brought to American audiences talented artists from Mexico and other Latin American nations. He then produced Spanish songs, comic acts, and sketches while purchasing airtime on KMAC Radio.
Given his passion for radio and his awareness of the growing demand for Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States for accessible material, Cortez applied for his own radio station, which eventually became the first Spanish-language radio station in the country. La Voz Mexicana (The Mexican/Mexican American Voice) was the station’s catchphrase when it first went on the air in 1946. Cortez became the first Spanish-language American TV station when he introduced television to his broadcasting enterprise after his radio program became a success.
Throughout his life, Cortez also played a significant role in the civil rights movement for American Latinos. In particular, he oversaw the legal proceeding Delgado v. Bastrop Independent School District, which put an end to the segregation of Mexican Americans in Texas public schools. Additionally, he held the position of president of the League of United Latin American Citizens for two terms. He also met with the presidents of the United States and Mexico to discuss immigration reform and contributed to the creation of the Bracero Program, which allowed Mexican farmworkers to travel back and forth to the United States on temporary employment contracts.
Numerous honors have continued to recognize Cortez’s legacy. He received the media excellence award from the National Association of Broadcasters, and in his honor, the trade magazine Radio Ink established the Medallas de Cortez Hispanic Radio Award to recognize Latino radio luminaries. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s American Enterprise exhibit featured Cortez and his media initiatives in 2015.
American innovator Raoul Cortez Sr. had a goal of creating radio and television in Spanish. He aimed to entertain, educate, and give Latinos a voice on topics that mattered to us.