Early life and Introduction to Radio
Ruben Cora Ramos was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico on July 3, 1926.
He captivated his first audiences at the really early age of 17 and his first job was as Master of Ceremony in las Fiestas Patronales of Guayama and Las Fiestas Patronales of Arroyo.
Ruben Cora Ramos’ real first job as a radio announcer in a radio station was at the WPAB Radio Station in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1945.
Journey to New York City
In 1946, Cora Ramos decided to take a journey and try his luck in New York City. There, he spent two years experimenting and getting more experience at local small radio broadcasting stations and various small jobs at different night clubs.
Life in New York was not easy and the only real jobs that he could get were as a Master of Ceremony in Night Clubs where he would introduce not so famous local Latin American Bands.
Through his contacts, Cora Ramos learned that a new radio station was about to open back in his hometown, Guayama and he decided to return to Puerto Rico and apply for a job. The name of the Radio Station was WXRF AM. There he acquired invaluable experience and after three years he applied to a main stream radio station, WIAC, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Paulita Serbia Hernandez, wife of Ruben Cora Ramos
Family and Personal Life
Around 1948, Cora Ramos married his high school sweetheart, a young pretty lady also from Guayama, Puerto Rico. Her name was Paulita Serbia Hernandez.
The couple had three children: Ruben Jr, Gerry and Nydia Cora Serbia. His children were his pride and honor. Mr. Cora Ramos was a hard worker and his vocation allowed him to offer them a solid home in San Juan. He also sent all three children to the Escuela Libre de Musica and later to the University of Puerto Rico where they received a quality college education. Mr. Cora Ramos had eight grandchildren: Ruben III, Nicole, Gerrito, Karon, Gerritt, Kalli, Alba and Paula. He also had 10 great grandchildren.
Ruben Cora Ramos' three children: Ruben Jr, Gerry and Nydia Cora Serbia
An aspect of Ruben Cora Ramos life that many are not aware of was his deep passion for baseball and sports. In his youth, Raymond his nickname was an exceptional fast ball pitcher and played semi pro Baseball for the Guayama Double A team. He was truly a Major League Talent and one of his frustrations in life was that he was not allowed to play in a Major League team due to his Black complexion. He would often mention that he was before Jackie Robinson’s time whom a couple of years later was the first Black player allowed to play the big leagues.
Around 1951, Cora Ramos worked at WRIO Radio in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. A year later, he began a new tenure at WBNL Radio Station narrating Soap Operas (Novelas) which turned out to be a big hit. His style and his melodic and penetrating smooth voice were very much liked and his vocation started to gain popularity and notoriety. At this time, he also worked at the famous Quinones Vidal Radio Program. Here, his job as a commentator would be to introduce to audiences promising new talents that would come to sing and play for a prize.
It is important to mention that Cora Ramos never received formal training as a commentator. Cora Ramos was born with a special talent and had the tenacity to succeed in communications and broadcasting. He would spend much time training and practicing his voice and developing his own unique style. Through self-studying and hard work, he acquired a sophisticated vocabulary. He would also listen to other prominent radio communicators at the time and study them to use some of their techniques.
In sometime about 1957, Cora Ramos received an offer to go to WAPA Radio in San Juan. This is where he received his first big break. Here he wore many hats, including: an animator for shows, a newscaster and he even had his own program reciting verses and poems which was a prove of his creative versatility. At WAPA, he acquired his first experience on TV working on a children’s program called “El Chinito Chancle” where he impersonated a Chinese character called “El Chinito Chon Chon”. Around 1959 he also served as the narrator for the famous TV program called “Conociendo a Puerto Rico.” On this program, he would visit a different city every week and would talk about what made that particular city interesting, including local traditions and cultural aspects of the community. He produced, directed and was the star of the program that created a huge audience both in the Island and New York City.
After several years with WAPA, Ramos left to work for the Department of Commerce of Puerto Rico. Here, he established a radio program to where he would announce job opportunities for the unemployed citizens of the island. Offering job opportunities over the radio was something unique and helped many find employment. He also established a radio program called “Viajeros A Bordo” where he would interview travelers going to the United States looking for better opportunities and also for those that were returning to Puerto Rico with many experiences to tell. This program was instrumental in providing Puerto Ricans with information on whether it was a good idea or not to travel to the mainland USA looking for opportunities and new horizons. Thanks to “Viajeros A Bordo” many Puerto Ricans left the island and established themselves in big cities such as New York City, Boston Massachusetts and Chicago. Many of these individuals cemented their roots and found jobs and had families abroad. Many others left but returned to the island after gaining wealth and creating a solid future for their families.
A Passion For Music
Ruben Cora Ramos had a huge appreciation and taste for music. He studied music and played several instruments and even sang and composed songs. It was important to him that all his children would learn and study music and initiated their enrollment in “La Escuela Libre de Musica” in San Juan. This was around 1959. He instilled the importance of music to his children as part of a complete education.
Philanthropic Mission For Children
Another aspect of Cora Ramos’ life that should not be overlooked were his philanthropic attributes and his mission to helping needy and blind children from The Loaiza Cordero Institute for blind children in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Beginning around 1960, every Sunday he would visit the Loaiza Cordero Institute and read stories to the Blind Children of the Institute. He did this with a special loving touch and dedication that brought happiness to the children that could not read. He created a ritual every Sunday and never missed a week to be with the children. Every year for more than 30 years he was the Master of Ceremony for the Blind Children’s Graduation without ever receiving compensation for his contribution.
Education
Around 1961, he registered himself to the University of Puerto Rico where he received a Master’s Degree in Psychology. It took him 5 years to accomplish his goal, concurrently studying and working on his radio programs in different radio stations.
Early Television Trailblazer
At one point around 1962, he found himself working as a newscaster on TV for a TV station named Rikavision that would later become Univision. Here, he became the first black Puerto Rican citizen to be a moderator of a live TV Program. He was very proud of this accomplishment and always encouraged younger talents to follow his footsteps by becoming their mentor. He had a period where he worked for Channel 6 which was a public governmental TV station where he did commentating and anchoring public programming.
In 1969, Cora Ramos went to work for WKAQ as a newscaster for RADIO RELOJ where he was involved with the morning news for almost 25 years. His slogan was “La Noticia de la Hora con Ruben Cora Ramos.”
After retiring, Cora Ramos returned to Guayama around the year 1995. He created a small radio program at the local radio station called “Compra y Venta” as it was hard for him to completely stay away from the Microphone.
Besides having a special talent and a privilege blessed voice and strong communication skills, Cora Ramos also had extensive special marketing skills, and he created advertising campaigns for many commercial brands in Puerto Rico. He would write the content for the campaign and then would also use his voice to record the commercial. One of his famous slogans was “Malabe Muda Como Es” and “Que Suave y Aromaticos son los Cigarillos Salem.”
Watching him succeed through years of hard work developing and establishing himself as one of the top Radio and TV commentators of his era was truly an honor for his family to experience. His impeccable professional trajectory and dedication was something to admire. May future generations of communication professionals learn from his commitment to a profession he loved and was passionate about it. Using his trajectory and experience as a motivator factor to be successful in their own careers. Amen!