Raoul Cortez's Underwood Typewriter

Raoul A. Cortez, journalist and broadcasting pioneer, got his start in Spanish-language media behind this typewriter. Cortez worked as a reporter for the Spanish-language newspaper, La Prensa, in San Antonio, Texas in the 1930s and 1940s. Writing news stories and opinion pieces, he advocated for the civil rights of Mexican Americans and in particular for the rights of Braceros and the desegregation of Texas schools. Cortez served twice as the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in the late 1940s.

Cortez moved from print journalism to broadcasting after World War II by opening the first Latino-owned, Spanish-language radio station in the continental United States in 1946. The radio station, and later television station, carried his name in the call letters, KCOR.

The Underwood Typewriter Company produced the Champion model from 1932-1949. The keyboard on this model included an inverted question mark and exclamation point ensuring that users, such as Cortez, could create stories in Spanish.