Today’s Doodle celebrates the birthday of the Mexican-American broadcaster and community activist Raoul A. Cortez, pioneer of Spanish-language media in the United States. What is a scribble? Well, it refers to the logo change that Google makes on a daily basis to honor, commemorate or celebrate an event or character from history. This piece can be viewed on the website.

The artwork, illustrated by Mexican-American guest artist Rafael López, represents the Cortez played various roles in promoting Latino culture and civil rights in the United States.

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Cortez was born on October 17, 1905 in Veracruz, Mexico. His family immigrated to the United States when he was young and settled in San Antonio, Texas. In adulthood, he entered the media landscape as a reporter for La Prensa, a Spanish-language newspaper based in San Antonio. In the 1930s and 1940s, Cortez owned and ran a theater agency that introduced talented performers from Mexico and other Latin American countries to American audiences. He then bought airtime on KMAC Radio, producing songs, comedy acts and skits in Spanish.

Given his love for radio and seeing the growing need for it accessible content for Spanish-speaking audiences in the US.Cortez applied for his own radio station, which was achieved the first Spanish-language radio station in the United States. The station went on the air in 1946 with the slogan La Voz Mexicana (The Mexican/Mexican American Voice). With the success of his radio show, Cortez added television to his broadcasts and became on the first U.S. Spanish-language television station owned by Latinos.

Cortez was also deeply involved in the defending the civil rights of American Latinos throughout their lives, most notably overseeing the lawsuit Delgado v. Bastrop Independent School District, which ended the segregation of Latinos in Texas public schools. He also served two terms as president of the League of United Latin American Citizens and met with the presidents of the United States and Mexico to discuss immigration reform and help develop the Bracero Program, which provides Mexican agricultural workers migrate back and forth to the United States in a short period of time. (JO)