Meet Tampa's Hispanic Man of the Year

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As we honor Hispanic Heritage Month, Mario Quevedo has made great contributions in all of our neighborhoods. His is a life of great accomplishments and fulfilled dreams, making him What's Right with Tampa Bay.

Mario gleams with joy when he talks about his family heritage.

"That is my grandmother,” he explained, going through photos.  "We always put family first and we always help each other and that's how we made it."

When he was 15, the Cuban immigrant came to America in 1961 to stay with his uncle in Miami. 

"All of a sudden you realize there is no going back," Mario recalled.

After graduating high school, Mario moved to Tampa. In 1962, he got a job reading the news in Spanish at a local radio station -- a career that lasted more than 35 years.

"I did love everything about it. You were really able to communicate with the community, to talk to the people, to be a part of the whole thing," he explained.

He and his dad started LaVoz Hispana, a Spanish newspaper, in 1981.

"The radio was the motor that could get people out and move them and all that. The newspaper was the seal of approval," Mario said.

Mario is Hispanic Man of the Year for 2017.

"It is a very big honor,” he said, “and then on the other hand, it is also a very big responsibility."

Mario still writes a weekly column for a local paper.

"I have had a wonderful life,” he added. “I have had a fulfilling life."