You must have heard about the person who founded KCOR, the first full-time Spanish-language radio station in the United States in 1946. Yes, it was none other than the celebrity Raoul A. Cortez. As per the sources, the station WKAQ was founded earlier in 1922 in Puerto Rico. The owner of this station at that time was Angel Ramos.
Well, if you read about his life’s story a bit you will notice that he had to struggle hard to come to this position. As a young man, he even had to sell eggs on the streets to earn money on local radio stations for airtime. This place was highly significant for him as he could realize his passion by working there. There’s more to his life story that we would like to share in today’s article. So, readers, stay tuned to us if you are eager to learn about all his life’s interesting facts. Let’s take a glance!
Who Is Raoul A. Cortez?
Raoul A. Cortez was born on October 17, 1905, in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Therefore, he was 66 years old at the time of his death in the year 1971. He had nine siblings with whom he shared a very close bond. Moreover, his father owned a radio station in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico so from his childhood days he dreamt of following in his father’s footsteps. So he never hesitated to make both ends meet by selling eggs to fulfill his dream.
As per the sources, in the 1910s, the family emigrated to the United States soon after the start of the Mexican Revolution. However, Cortez eventually settled in San Antonio, Texas. Here he took on several different jobs like that of a sales representative For Pearl Brewery. The Mexican celebrity got his start in media working accidentally. However, you may not know that it was as a reporter for La Prensa, a San Antonio-based Spanish-language daily newspaper. Now, let us move into more details about his career in the media industry.
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Career Details Of Raoul A. Cortez
As we said earlier, Raoul A. Cortez began his career in the media industry by working as a reporter for the San Antonio-based Spanish-language daily newspaper La Prensa. However, before joining this company, he had to struggle hard to make both ends meet.
Many of you probably do not know that Cortez’s main aim was to earn money to buy air time, especially on a local radio station like KMAC. In this way, he wanted to produce his Spanish language variety hour. This would also help him to sell the advertising time for his shows. So, he soon concluded that a new full-time Spanish-language radio station was needed. This is because he wanted to broadcast Spanish-language programming twenty-four hours a day.
However, during World War II, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission did not permit the broadcast of these programs. So once the war was over they started giving out licenses again and Cortez was the first in line. This again proves how much passionate he was about the media industry.
More Details About Cortez’s Contribution In The Media Industry
According to our research, in the year 1955, Cortez launched KCOR-TV Channel 41, broadcast on the new Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) band. Do you know this was the first television station whose sole aim was the Hispanic audience in the continental U.S.? However, initially, due to budget issues, they aired programs only in the evening from 7: 00 to 10: 00. But later on, Cortez solved this problem by finding sponsors.
For instance, programs like Teatro KCOR and Teatro Motorola were written, directed, and performed by popular Tejano actor Lalo Astol. At the same time, the station aired movies and variety shows from Mexico or ones featuring well-known Mexican actors. Moreover, the station also offered community shows. Do you know they used to answer common questions? For instance, how to obtain a Social Security number or even assist the community members in finding a job.
At the same time, Cortez’s son-in-law’s involvement from the start in this venture was profound as well. He helped both run the station and solicit advertising. Apart from heading the radio station, Cortez served in various leadership roles. This included the League of United Latin American Citizens where he served as director for District 15. In addition, he also actively helped the wider community of citizens in South Texas.
Ending Note
So as we conclude, we can say that Raoul A. Cortez was one of those celebrities who had made an extensive impact in the media industry. It was due to his immense contributions that the people of the United States remember him even today. You can check out the above article to know some of the unknown facts about his life.
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