La Opinión publisher and press freedom advocate across Latin America, Ignacio E. Lozano Jr., dies at 96

Ignacio E. Lozano Jr., the former publisher of Spanish language newspaper La Opinión, patron of theater arts and former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, died on Wednesday, December 27th at 96 years old. Lozano passed away peacefully surrounded by family at his daughter Monica Lozano’s home.

In a tribute to him, she wrote: “What is the definition of a great man? If it is to live life to its fullest, to maximize our time on earth pursuing justice for those who suffer the greatest injustice, to promote freedom of the press and the right to information that is unbiased and independent, freedom from oppression, freedom to migrate, freedom from tyranny, then that man is Ignacio Lozano."

"If it is to show others that life can be joyous and loving and there are few treasures as rich as family, then that is Ignacio E. Lozano, Jr." she continued.

Lozano was born in San Antonio, Texas and was the son of Mexican immigrants, Ignacio E. Lozano Sr. and Alicia Elizondo Lozano. His parents first founded La Prensa in San Antonio, which became the very first Spanish-language newspaper in the United States. In 1926 the family decided to start La Opinión in Los Angeles.

With La Opinión, Lozano helped focus attention on issues that mattered to the Latino community across the Southwest and nationwide, as well as expand the publication's reach. Lozano became an associate publisher under his father. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Lozano began working at La Opinión, while his father focused on La Prensa. He then took over La Opinión after his father’s passing in 1953, followed by a third generation of Lozanos: Alicia, José, Francisco and Monica.

With the growth of California's Latino population, the newspaper's circulation jumped from 22,000 in 1977 to 70,000 in 1986, the Los Angeles Times reported in 1987. With Lozano being in charge, the newspaper went from covering Mexican news to reporting on other parts of Latin America, and also expanded its reporting on Los Angeles and Latinos, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“He left me with a legacy and with an enterprise worth devoting my life to,” Lozano said of his father in the article by the Times.

Lozano’s daughter, who was previously an American newspaper editor, the publisher and CEO of La Opinión and CEO of its parent company, ImpreMedia, said that her father once sued the federal agency that was then known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service for interfering with the constitutional right of La Opinion's photographer to report the news.

Monica Lozano also spoke about her father leading a delegation to Argentina in order to secure the release of Jacobo Timmerman during the Dirty War.

“He presided over the Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa's objection to the Mexican government's control of media. He stood with the UFW and MALDEF, always proud of his Mexican roots. He was a trailblazer, a first, a true leader,” Monica Lozano said.

Lozano also held directorships at Bank of America, The Walt Disney Company, Pacific Life and Sempra Energy. He was also a member of the Council of American Ambassadors. Lozano was not only a great businessman but he was also a great role model for many Latinos. “While he lived out his values through an extraordinary professional life, it was his personal quality that made his life so joyful and adventurous,” Monica Lozano wrote in her tribute.

She called him a "quintessential storyteller" who adored her mother, Marta, who died in 2018. The couple had four children: Leticia, José, Monica and Francisco. He also is survived by nine grandchildren, including Alicia Victoria Lozano, a California-based reporter for NBC News.

Gabriel Lerner former Editor-in-Chief of La Opinión told CALÓ NEWS that Monica Lozano hired him in 1999 and that they worked together for several years. “From 2014 and until 2021 I was the Editor-in-chief and then I retired. In 2016 we commemorated the newspaper’s 90th anniversary and many members of the Lozano family including Mr. Ignacio Lozano participated as he was honored,” Lerner said.

He also said that the audience, which was comprised of hundreds of people, thanked him for his pioneering work at the helm of La Opinión. Among the things Lerner remembers best are the love and unity shared by the Lozanos as they gathered around the patriarch and their father.

“During the 20 years I worked for the newspaper we struggled under the difficult pressures that the whole news industry continues to suffer today, but we achieved something that many other outlets, both in English and in other languages didn’t: we survived. La Opinión is still a daily newspaper and has a powerful and popular website. We survived so we could continue to serve and to inform and to empower the Latino community,” Lerner said.

Monica Lozano also told CALÓ NEWS that her father was a quintessential storyteller, and a family-loving man. She shared how her father was the inventor Nachotini’s and Nacho-burgers, and how he loved a challenge and Semana Santa in Estanzuela.

“There was never anything or anybody that he loved as much as his beloved wife and our mother, Marta. Marta y Nacho. Two souls, one life together. What does one say at a time like this? God bless our Dad. May we all wish for a life like Nacho Lozano's,” Monica Lozano said.