Reynaldo "Rey" Fortaleza (born December 26, 1957) is a former
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
boxer who represented the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in the 1976
Montreal Olympics
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
. In 1990, he immigrated to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
where he became a community leader and media entrepreneur.
Early life
Born on December 26, 1957, in the Philippines, Reynaldo was part of a boxing family and became one of three brothers to represent his birth country in Olympic
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
. In all, there were ten children - eight brothers and two sisters. His brothers included fellow Olympians Rene and
Ric and boxer Roger. "They were the phenomenal 'boxing brothers' of the country, using boxing as their ticket to a good education and consequently, a better life." He "at age 16 captured the flyweight title in the National Youth Amateur Boxing bouts in Bacolod City," in the Philippines. He then went on to win "six golds, one silver and two bronzes in 11 international boxing competitions."
Olympics
As an 18-year-old bantamweight on the 1976
Filipino Olympic team, he reached the quarterfinals of the
Montreal Olympics
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
. He was 119 lbs (54 kg), and 5'5" (164 cm).
Family
Reynaldo married Araceli "Cely" Angeles, who also serves as the business manager of the family's enterprises. They have three children. They reside in
Surrey, British Columbia,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Canada
Fortaleza moved to Canada in 1990 where he first worked at a silk-screening job for minimum wage and then trained and worked as a hospital janitor and maintenance person. He owned and ran a boxing gym briefly before entering newspaper publishing. He is publisher of the Philippine Asian News Today and Living Today magazine through the Reyfort Media Group. He also holds a franchise in the Philippines-based
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...
TV Patrol World, a news program which is available through a local Vancouver cable channel. Through his newspaper or media group he has fostered and supported five years of the
Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
-area singing contest, the PNT Singing Idol competition.
Recognition
On 18 February 2010 Fortaleza was honoured by Vancouver mayor
Gregor Robertson for his 1976 Olympic and current Canadian contributions. He was previously honoured by the Multicultural Sports Development Society for his role in "outstanding sports achievements and contributions to Philippine Sports." He has been recognized for his role in bringing Filipino entertainment and sports figures to entertain Vancouver Filipino audiences and was named by an international Filipino association,
Binibining Pilipinas
Binibining Pilipinas (abbreviated as Bb. Pilipinas; ) is a national beauty pageant in the Philippines that selects Filipina representatives to compete in one of the Big Four international beauty pageants: Miss International and selects two ot ...
of the World, as one of the "ten most outstanding Filipino Canadians."
[Margaret Jetelina]
"Fighting Spirit"
''Canadian Immigrant'', March 2007, p. 10
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortaleza, Rey
1957 births
Filipino emigrants to Canada
Filipino expatriates in Canada
Naturalized citizens of Canada
Living people
Sportspeople from Vancouver
Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia
Canadian sportspeople of Filipino descent
Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers for the Philippines
Bantamweight boxers
Boxing trainers
Filipino male boxers
Boxers at the 1978 Asian Games
Asian Games competitors for the Philippines
SEA Games medalists in boxing
SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines
Competitors at the 1977 SEA Games