Photo Credit: Bill Ingalls, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“My only advice is, follow your dream and
do whatever you like to do the most. I chose Journalism because
I wanted to be in the places where history was being made.”
–Jorge Ramos
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the scientific, economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of influential immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape the vibrant tapestry of America. Today, we focus on Mexican-American newscaster Jorge Ramos.
Jorge Gilberto Ramos Ávalos was born in 1968 in a suburb of Mexico City. He graduated from Ibero-American University before starting work for Televisa, the largest media company in Mexico. As an on-air reporter, Ramos soon took issue with Televisa’s close relationship with the Mexican government. The subsequent interference and censorship of news operations led Ramos to emigrate to the United States in 1983.
Settling in Los Angeles, Spanish language station KMEX hired Ramos as a reporter. The affiliate was a station of the Spanish International Network, which later would be rebranded as Univision.
Ramos found working in the U.S. media environment liberating juxtaposed to his Mexican stomping grounds. He has spoken publicly of the opportunities America’s freedoms of press and expression offered his career. Soon, Ramos relocated to the company’s headquarters in Miami, Florida, to begin hosting a morning show broadcast nationally. In 1986, he was promoted to Univision’s national newscaster and started hosting its flagship news program, Noticiero Univision.
Ramos’s influence grew exponentially at Univision, the United States’ most prominent provider of Spanish-language television. Ramos has covered major world events, including the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1996, Ramos earned a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Miami. In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Richmond.
Referred to as the “Walter Cronkite” of Latin America, Ramos’ career has been widely lauded for his penchant for posing tough questions to influential leaders. They include Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Colombia’s Ernesto Samper. Ramos is one of the most trusted and influential Hispanics in the U.S.
Jorge Ramos became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in 2008. He won eight Emmy Awards, including a lifetime achievement award. He’s also used his platform to further literacy among Latinx by launching America’s first Hispanic television book club in 2002.
Others we are celebrating in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month:
Franklin Chang-Díaz, astronaut/scientist from Costa Rica
Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer from the Dominican Republic
Carlos Santana, musician from Mexico
Sofia Vergara, actress from Colombia