The Azcárraga surname is equivalent to Rockefeller in Mexico. The Azcárraga family is the symbolic dynasty of the Mexican wealthy. Their business empire, Televisa, is the main television network in Mexico and the largest producer and broadcaster of Spanish media around the world.

Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta, Sr.. Married Laura whom she had three children with: Emilio, Laura, Carmela. He worked as a representative for RCA Records and began radio station XEW in Mexico City in 1930. He built Churubusco Studios in the 1940s and created the first TV station in Mexico, Channel 2, in 1951. Emilio became the first president of Telesistemas Mexicanos in 1955. His entertainment conglomerate was comprised of 92 different business units by 1969. He established Televisa, a production company for his TV stations; Televisa, S.A., in 1973. He Died 1973.

Emilio Azcárraga Milmo. The son of Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta, Sr. was born in August 1930. Educated at Culver Military Academy, he graduated in 1948. He was married four times, most recently to Paula Cussi and then his former mistress, a past representative to Mexico in the Miss Universe pageant, Adriana Abascal . He worked in various positions in television such as owner of Univision, a twelve-station Spanish language network in the U.S. and in the 1960s and 1970s as a controlling shareholder of Televisa, S.A. He was the owner of "El Nacional", a sports daily newspaper in 1990-91. He also owned of major Mexican television stations and was the chairman of the US-based Spanish language TV network "Galavision". He was also involved in publishing, video rental, and real estate ventures. He died in 1999.

Emilio Azcárraga Jean. The son of Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, he became the CEO of Grupo Televisa after the death of his father, at the age of 29. He is currently one of the richest businesspeople in Latin America with a fortune estimated in one billion dollars in 2002 according to Forbes. He is also a member of Telefonos de Mexico , Univision and Banamex

The elder Azcárraga created the first Mexican radio station in 1930, and soon took on a leading role in the development of Latin American broadcasting. He convened meetings of fledgling Latin American broadcasting entrepreneurs where it was decided that the region would follow the U.S. commercial model and not the non-commercial, government supported, public service British model. Azcárraga, already the sole Mexican agent for Victor/RCA Records and a successful theater owner, promoted Mexican artists (who were under exclusive contract to him) through his growing chain of radio stations, which included several along the U.S. Mexican border. In 1950, he created Mexico's first television station and a decade later, the first U.S. Spanish language television stations. The Televisa radio and television networks have, since their inception, been characterized by their close association with the Mexican ruling party, known by its Spanish initials, PRI. Televisa produces conservative, nationalistic entertainment programming and fawning, uncritical news coverage of the Mexican government. Partly as a result of this comfortable relationship, broadcasting in Mexico is virtually unregulated.

This situation has continued through the stewardship of the second Emilio Azcárraga, known in Mexico as "El Tigre" (the tiger), as much for the white streak in his hair as for his reputedly ferocious manner. Azcárraga has expanded Televisa's monopolistic hold on Mexican broadcasting by buying media properties in other Latin American countries and selling Televisa programming throughout the world. For example, a Televisa telenovela (soap opera) was a huge hit in Moscow in the early l990s. In 1993 Azcárraga acquired controlling interest of PanAmSat, a hemispheric communications satellite, further consolidating Televisa's position as the world's largest producer of Spanish language television programming. In one of the few setbacks suffered by the Televisa owner, in 1986 Azcárraga was forced to sell Televisa's U.S. subsidiary when it was found to be in violation of U.S. laws restricting foreign ownership. Just six years later, Azcárraga bought 25% of the U.S. network, while continuing to provide the majority of its programming. In Mexico, Azcárraga has diversified his holdings to include the largest stadium in the hemisphere, sports teams, publishing and recording companies, and sundry Mexico City real estate. Azcárraga maintained offices and homes in New York and Los Angeles, as well as Mexico City, and was featured on the cover of Fortune's 1994 issue on the world's richest men.

External links

• http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/azcarragaem/azcarragaem.htm
• http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9114608