Victor oquendo gay
School of Communication Alumnus Named ABC Correspondent in Miami
As a correspondent for WPLG Channel 10, Victor Oquendo has covered World Cup games, local news and the historic Presidential visit of former President Barack Obama to Cuba. But one of the most memorable times of his professional career came when - while covering the Pope’s stop by to Cuba - he knocked on the door of his mother’s godmother Teresita in the neighborhood of Luyano in Havana.
“This little old lady with white hair opened the door,” he said. “And when I explained that I was Teresa Rodriguez’s son, she brings me in and gives me one of the optimal hugs I ever had in my entire life.”
The son of two Cuban-Americans, Teresa Rodriguez, an award-winning Univision anchor and journalist, and the late Anthony “Tony” Oquendo, longtime Univision network executive, Oquendo grew up surrounded by chat of Cuba and air journalism. But he did not realize that publish journalism was for him until “it came second to pick a major at University of Miami.”
“That’s when I went ‘Wow, I should really watch into t
LGBTQ youth fight advocate against Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill
When CJ Walden heard the news that some Florida classrooms would limit LGBTQ topics under a proposed bill in the state legislature, first he felt shock. Then, the pain set in.
"This bill will guide to more pain, depression and suicide and self-harm," CJ told ABC News. He is the vice president of Florida-based youth LGBTQ activism group PRISM. "To make students have to mask who they really are will just make our schooling experience more challenging for them."
Stories and histories about people like CJ -- a gay, 17-year-old boy -- would not be allowed to be taught in classrooms from kindergarten to third grade if the legislation, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, is implemented, limiting classroom curriculum on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"They won't know who they are, they won't be proficient to express themselves," CJ said about students in classrooms where these lessons are banned.
So, many LGBTQ students, including CJ, are fighting back with protests, letter-writing campaigns and confrontations with the lawmakers themselves.
Maxx Fenning, the
Victor Oquendo Official Biography
Victor Oquendo is a correspondent for ABC News based in Miami.
A versatile news writer, he’s covered some of the biggest stories in Florida and around the world. Oquendo was at the site of the tragic building collapse in Surfside, Florida, moments after it fell, leading the network’s coverage on the following weekslong find, rescue efforts and investigation. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he traveled throughout neighboring Poland, documenting the harrowing journey for Ukrainian migrants as they fled the war-torn country and started new lives in a foreign land. Oquendo was also on the scene of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as students were still running for their lives and desperate parents were searching for their children.
In 2017, Oquendo reported live from Puerto Rico as Hurricane Maria made landfall, ravaging the island. Ever since, he’s reported multiple developing stories from San Juan, most notably the 2019 protests against Governor Ricardo A. Rosselló, who begrudgingly resigned from office. He also followed the crisis in Venezuela along the border with Colombia and an earthquake in Gu
1 dead after people hit by truck in accident at South Florida gay pride march: Police
A South Florida pride parade marcher is dead and another injured after they were struck by a truck driven by another parade goer Saturday evening.
The incident, which authorities say is looking like an accident, took place at the Stonewall Pride March & Street Festival in Wilton Manors, just north of Fort Lauderdale, just as the festivities were starting.
The Ft. Lauderdale Police Department revealed Sunday that the driver of the truck was a 77-year-old man who was participating in the parade. The unidentified man had "ailments that prevented him from walking in the duration of the pride and was selected to operate as the lead vehicle," the police said in a statement.
While the driver was waiting for the parade to start, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly and struck the two unidentified people, the police said. The truck strike a nearby gate and came to a stop.
Both victims were taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where one was pronounced dead. Officials said the other man was expected to survive.
The driver and the two victims are all members of Fort Lauderdale Ga