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Pete Rodriguez
Rose Parade simulcast
Ted Freguzo, Eddie Rodriguez, and Pete Rodriguez providing the first Spanish language television and radio simulcast of the 1952 Rose Parade.

Pete Rodriguez (1919-1996) was born in Sonora, Mexico. Due to his father’s involvement in the 1910 Mexican Revolution, Pete and his family came to Los Angeles in 1923 as political refugees. During his childhood, the family moved around and lived in the Sonoratown neighborhood near Downtown Los Angeles,  Boyle Heights, Catalina Island, and Orange County. He began working in radio in 1949 where he and his brother, Eddie, hosted a show called Buenos Días for KPMO and KFVD radio stations. They later produced television shows and movies, such as Fandango Reinhold  on CBS and the Academy-Award- nominated short film, The Cadillac. In the 1960s Pete joined a group called Justicia, which advocated for justice for Chicanos in the film industry.  He later worked as the Community Affairs director for ABC.

Pete's Oral History Interview