Tomas Regalado was born in Havana, Cuba, on May 24, 1947. He was the first son of Carmen, a house wife, and Tomas, an outstanding attorney and journalist that became the President of the National Association of Reporters and Journalists of Cuba. Tomas Sr. was also a political Prisoner in the island for 22 years due to his struggle for the freedom and democracy of Cuba.
At the age of 14, Tomas Regalado and his younger brother, Marcos, traveled to the U.S. under the Catholic Church program known as “Peter Pan”. Marcos and Carmen sent the boys to America with the hope of having them live in freedom.
The father’s vocation for journalism was quickly reborn in Tomas. At 17, Tomas obtained an internship at the Miami radio station “WFAB” and, shortly after, he became the youngest reporter of the station. His professional training was real quick. In 1970, Tomas Regalado had become an international news reporter. His first assignments were in Africa, at the time immersed in wars sprung from the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Tomas reported the Angolan war, the bloody revolts in Soweto, South Africa, and the violent civil war in Mozambique.
In the 1980’s Tomas reported the guerrilla warfare in El Salvador and Nicaragua, where many reporters were also casualties.
His professional jump to the top came in 1983 when he became the first Cuban American journalist to integrate the White House Press Corp. Mr. Regalado traveled with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton for several years, in addition to the daily coverage of the White House news.
Tomas Regalado has been a multi task journalist. Besides writing article on newspapers, he was TV anchor for Channels 23 and 20 of Miami, and news director for the “Spanish Broadcasting System.”
His social concerns pushed him to jump into the political arena. In September, 1996 he was elected Commissioner of the City of Miami. For his brilliant performance was reelected in 1999, 2003 and 2007, the latest one without opposition. In November 2009, Tomas Regalado was elected Mayor of the City of Miami.
Tomas has three sons: Tomas Jr., Raquel and Jose, and four grandchildren. After thirty seven years of marriage his wife passaway in 2008. He is currently married to Mrs. Ana Cristina Regalado.
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Mayor Tomas Pedro Regalodo
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