[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 23 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING IGNACIO E. LOZANO, JR.

  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the life of 
Ignacio E. ``Nacho'' Lozano, Jr., a name synonymous with the rise of 
Hispanic media in the United States and the legendary, longtime 
publisher of the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion. He passed away 
in December at the age of 96.
  Nacho Lozano was born in San Antonio to parents Alicia Elizondo 
Lozano and Ignacio E. Lozano, Sr.--the founder of the San Antonio-based 
daily newspaper La Prensa and, later, the publisher of La Opinion, then 
a little-known daily newspaper for the growing Latino population of Los 
Angeles.
  Lozano long knew where he was headed in life; he set out to study 
journalism at the University of Notre Dame, began working at La Opinion 
after college, and in 1953, after the death of his father, became its 
publisher.
  When Lozano took the helm of La Opinion, it had a circulation of 
12,000. By the time Lozano stepped down over 30 years later, it had 
boomed to 70,000 subscribers, as scores of Spanish speakers in the Los 
Angeles region had come to claim it as their daily paper. But it didn't 
just grow in size; Lozano had fundamentally shifted the direction of 
Spanish-language media. What was once an outlet focused on stories from 
Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries grew to dominate a local 
beat not often covered by major English-language outlets.
  Under Lozano's leadership, La Opinion became a paper that reflected 
the emerging Latino audience in Southern California. As he told the Los 
Angeles Times in 1976, ``It is no longer a Mexican newspaper published 
in Los Angeles . . . but an American newspaper which happens to be 
published in Spanish.''
  In 1981, after a La Opinion photographer was assaulted by Immigration 
and Naturalization Service agents while reporting on anti-deportation 
protests, Lozano successfully sued the Federal Government to the tune 
of $300,000, defending not only his reporter but the principle of a 
free and independent Hispanic media.
  While editorial control and ownership of La Opinion changed hands 
over time, Lozano represented more to his community and our Nation than 
just a leading newspaper publisher.
  He served as a consultant to the State Department under President 
Johnson, on the Council of Spanish-Speaking Americans under President 
Nixon, and eventually as Ambassador to El Salvador under President 
Ford.
  But back home he held a different title: loving husband to Marta 
Navarro Lozano for 67 years and caring father to Leticia, Jose, Monica, 
and Francisco.
  Ignacio Lozano, Jr., was a transformative pioneer for Hispanic media, 
a legend in the Los Angeles community, and a generous benefactor for 
his cherished causes--from performing arts to student scholarships.
  Angela and I send our best to his four children, his nine 
grandchildren, and to all those in California and across the Nation who 
have ever turned to the Lozano family and their daily paper to stay 
informed.

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