Jesús Gutiérrez
(71 pages)
Listen to the interview
Biography:
Mexican American journalist Jesús Gutiérrez was born in Torreón, Coahuila in Mexico in 1927 and studied for the priesthood as a Carmelite in Rome, Italy. He studied radio broadcasting in Mexico City and worked as a radio announcer in northern Mexico. He immigrated to the United States in 1947 to take a job as radio announcer 'Mario del Valle' for KCOR in San Antonio and worked as a city reporter for San Antonio's Spanish language newspapers. He married his first wife ca. 1946 in Eagle Pass, Texas; after his first wife's death, he married Sara Suarez in 1966. He owned and operated 3 restaurants in San Antonio, but left them to his family before he moved to Dallas in 1965. In 1966, he founded 'El Sol de Tejas,' the first Spanish language newspaper in North Texas which he sold ca. 1986. He served on the board of Parkland Hospital, ran his own news agency, and appeared with Rene Castilla and John Criswell on WFAA-TV's 'Que Pasa.' At the time of the interview, he was working as a news editor for the Spanish language TeleNoticias.
Interview Summary:
Jesús Gutiérrez begins with his early life and family background in Mexico and clarifies his decision to pursue radio broadcasting and journalism over that of a Carmelite priest. He reveals he studied in Mexico City under famed broadcaster Bachiller Galvez (Bachiller Álvaro Gálvez y Fuentes) and provides details of his immigration to the United States as a former radio announcer in northern Mexico who was tapped for a job by radio station KCOR in San Antonio, Texas. He talks about his dual career in broadcasting/journalism and as manager for El Rancho restaurants in San Antonio and how he came to own and operate his own restaurants there. He elaborates on his reasons for shedding his 'Mario del Valle' personna to concentrate on journalism and describes a particular incident of race discrimination he experienced while passing through New Braunfels. He speaks of his friendship with Marcos Rodríguez in Dallas and explains his decision to leave his restaurants to his family in order to seek new opportunities in Dallas. He refers to his work in Dallas's El Fenix restaurant, run by Rodríguez' cousin Alfredo Martínez, and afterwards at the El Chico restaurant before starting his Spanish language newspaper, 'El Sol de Tejas.' He chronicles the 20 years he devoted to his newspaper, from his earliest advertisers and clients to the finances of his newspaper, including the move of his operations to Oak Cliff in 1974. He comments on his star reporter, Guadalupe "Gil" Duarte, and Duarte's 's hardhitting articles on police brutality against Mexican Americans, including the killing of Santos Rodríguez and the protest demonstrations that ensued. He reveals details of Duarte's alleged beating and murder after an exposé on African Americans pimping Mexican American and Anglo prostitutes in East Dallas. He discusses expanding 'El Sol' into the Austin and San Antonio markets, noting the assistance of Rubén Sandoval for his success in San Antonio. He describes the dirty tactics used by former employees who started competitive newspapers to push their circulation, and he boasts about putting them out of business before he finally sold 'El Sol.' He shares the startup of his own news agency with Marcos Nelson Suárez, the latter in Corpus Christi, and points to Reuters news service (Reuters Ltd.) as his best source for Spanish-language news. He relates his role and that of his wife, Sara Suárez Gutiérrez, in helping other Spanish language newspapers in other Texas markets and laments the 'yellow journalism' of TeleNoticias [sic, Telenoticias, now affiliated with Telemundo Group, Inc.] where he worked as editor at the time of the interview. He hints at his membership on several Dallas area boards, including that of Parkland Hospital to which he was appointed by Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade. Gutiérrez provides particulars of the sale of 'El Sol' to Burt [sic, Burk] Murchison due to the interest of the Mexican Department of Tourism and comments on Dallas city councilmembers Anita N. Martínez, Ricardo Medrano, and Jim Burger. He recalls working with Cesar Chávez during a grape boycott, mentions his television stint on WFAA-TV's 'Que Pasa,' and tells of his other businesses ventures.
Locations of residence or activity:
Dallas
Interview Date:
12/23/1996