Manolo de Jesus Reyes Xiques JD (July 29, 1924 – January 3, 2008) was a Cuban-American

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

television news broadcaster in Miami, Florida. Reyes became a

television news News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...

pioneer in the 1960s when he began one of

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

's first Spanish-language

newscaster A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

s. His first 15-minute news show, ''News En Español'', debuted on

WTVJ WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (ch ...

on August 28, 1960 at 6:45 am, at a time when Spanish-language broadcasts were rare in the

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...

. His original broadcasts were aimed at making news accessible to the growing Spanish-speaking, Miami-based Cuban exile community.

Early life

Reyes was born in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, where he worked as a child actor, radio performer and singer. He obtained a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the

University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first ...

before moving to the United States.

Spanish-language news

Manolo Reyes, who resided in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s, realized that there were no television news shows aimed at the growing Cuban exile community, especially after the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

takeover of Cuba by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

in the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

. Despite his limited English, Reyes pitched his idea to the founder of

Mitchell Wolfson Mitchell Wolfson Sr. (1900 – January 28, 1983) was an American businessman, theatre owner, politician, and founder of Wometco Enterprises. Biography Wolfson was born in 1900 in Key West, Florida. He went to school in Key West and at Erasm ...

, and Miami television pioneer

Ralph Renick Ralph Apperson Renick (August 9, 1928 – July 11, 1991) was a pioneer American television journalist for Miami's WTVJ, channel 4 (now channel 6), Florida's first television station. He was WTVJ's first and longest running news anchor and the driv ...

. Renick and Woflson agreed to let Reyes tape a test show. The station had to have the test show critiqued by a

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

professor because no one at WTVJ (Channel 4) spoke Spanish at the time. Wolfson agreed to broadcast Reyes' Spanish-language news segments. Reyes' first 15-minute news show, ''News En Español'', debuted on August 28, 1960. ''News En Español'' aired on

weekdays The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of t ...

at 6:45 am, just before the ''Skipper Chuck Show'', and at 1 am, just before the WTVJ's sign-off for the night. Spanish-speaking viewers, especially the Cuban exile community, were delighted by Reyes's news show, despite the difficult viewing times. Conversely, non-Spanish speakers were equally outraged by the broadcast of an all-Spanish show. Reyes' newscast was so popular that it was gradually expanded. His initial assignments for the station usually involved coverage of Miami's arriving Cuban refugees. Reyes remained at WTVJ for 19 years and was promoted to the station's Latin America

news editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

. Reyes also became a regular contributor on the WTVJ's well-known English-language show ''The Ralph Renick Report''. He also began contributing nationally on

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

's ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...

''. He left television after 19 years. He obtained a second law degree from the University of Miami before becoming an executive director at Mercy Hospital in Miami. He remained at that position for nearly 20 years until his retirement in 2005. Reyes was honored for his pioneering work in television by the Miami Chapter of the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

in 1991.

Community work

Reyes founded a number of Miami community organizations including the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Jose Martí Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

, the Cuban Sertoma Club, and the Spanish Post of

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

. He also served on the board of directors several other organizations, including the

Hialeah Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...

Miami Springs Miami Springs is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estate ...

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, Easter Seals, the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

and

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...

Awards

Reyes was the recipient of several awards for his work in the media and nonprofit arenas, as well as the greater

Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

community including... *An

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

. *The

Key to the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

*The Key to the City of

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

*The Archbishop Hurley Award *Pentagon Award for Human Goals

Death

Manolo Reyes died of complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at 7:57 PM (23:57 GMT) on January 3, 2008 at the age of 83. His funeral was held at Saints Peter & Paul

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Miami. Reyes was survived by his wife Graciela, three children, Manolo Jr., Charlie and Grace, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Reyes was buried in

Woodlawn Park Cemetery Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum is one of the oldest cemeteries in Miami, Florida. Woodlawn Park Cemetery-North was established in 1913 by three pioneers in Miami’s early history – Thomas O. Wilson, William N. Urme ...

in Miami, Florida, on January 4, 2008.

References

External links

Mercy Hospital Press Release:Manolo Reyes Retires After Years of Service to Mercy Hospital and Decades of Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Manolo 1924 births 2008 deaths American television journalists Spanish-language television in the United States Spanish-language mass media in Florida Television pioneers University of Miami alumni Cuban emigrants to the United States Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Florida American male journalists University of Havana alumni