Jorge Elias Vargas was born in Ibague, Colombia on July 20, 1935. He studied broadcasting and married, Rosario Gonzalez, on his 21st birthday. Together, with their young children, Oscar, and Sunny, they emigrated to the United States in 1964. They lived in Chicago, where their daughter, Yvonne, was born. Jorge started in factory jobs in the suburbs of Chicago due to language barriers but he soon persevered in the field of Spanish Journalism and Broadcasting. Jorge was a pioneer on Spanish language TV and radio in Chicago. He was Reportero 105 on Chicago's Radio Ambiento and Chief Editor of "La Raza", the leading Spanish newspaper in Chicago. Through these roles, he interviewed many great politicians and celebrities of that time. He proudly became a U.S. citizen but retained dual citizenship with pride in his Colombian heritage. Jorge became the founding President of La Casa de la Cultura Colombiana.This was a club he started with other fellow Colombians that immigrated to Chicago. The Club's objective was to teach and share the Colombian culture with their American children and with the world that had only heard negative publicity of Colombia until then. He later retired, and divided his time between South Florida and Bogota, Colombia. Jorge is survived by his wife, Rosario, son, Oscar, daughters, Sunny, and Yvonne; his grandchildren, Christine, Stephanie, Sean Michael, Jocelyn, and Caitlyn; great-grandchildren, Zoe and Lennox; sister Ceci, son-in-law Bill, grand son-in-law, Jason, and a large extended loving brood of nieces and nephews.
A visitation for Jorge will be held Sunday, June 12, 2022 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Caballero Rivero Westchester, 8200 BIRD RD, MIAMI, FL 33155.
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