‘My inspiration.’ Clara Reyes, founder of bilingual KC paper Dos Mundos, dies at 86

Clara Reyes was many things: wife, mother, boss, trailblazer, mentor and advocate.

But one role stood out among the rest, according to her son and daughter, Ed Reyes and Diana Reyes-Raymer.

“She was my inspiration,” Ed Reyes said.

Clara Reyes inspired not only her family but many Hispanic and English-speaking readers across the Kansas City area as founder and owner of the Kansas City area newspaper Dos Mundos, which means “two worlds” in Spanish. The paper published stories in both English and Spanish as part of its mission to bridge communities and provide information to those who needed it.

Reyes died Feb. 17 at 86. She had been diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer. It was not her first diagnosis: She was previously diagnosed in 1999 before going into remission.

It was the challenges in life Reyes faced — as a woman, a Hispanic person and as someone who wanted to make sure her community had a voice — that inspired her kids to pursue their goals of uniting people.

The newspaper is now in the hands of her son and daughter, who are part-owners of Reyes Media Group, along with two investors. Reyes-Ramer is the general and sales manager, while Ed Reyes is the vice president.

“Coming from another country and learning to navigate here in a different country and being a voice not just for women, but for our community,” Reyer-Ramer said of her mother, who came to the United States from Mexico in the 1960s. “That is what really stuck with me and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to carry that mission and vision as we move forward.”

“A lot of what she did was pushing the envelope, not just because she was Hispanic, but because she was a woman,” Ed Reyes said. “You can imagine in the late 80s-early 90s, it just made it that much more challenging.”

Clara Reyes starts Dos Mundos

Reyes grew up in the city of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, and earned a degree in dentistry from the University of Guadalajara in 1964. She would visit Kansas City in the same year, hoping to continue her career in dentistry.

Around this time she met Manuel Reyes at a wedding reception in Sugar Creek, who courted her by going to Guadalajara frequently to meet with her. The two would marry and move back to Kansas City.

Unfortunately, Reyes was told that her credits from college would not carry over and that she would have to retake classes to get her certification to practice dentistry in the United States. After deciding not to go back to school because of the costs, she worked in real estate and as a bilingual consultant for businesses.

She met many Hispanic professionals in Kansas City and realized there was an information gap between the rest of Kansas City and the city’s Hispanic community.

She started a newsletter typed out from their home, mainly celebrating achievements, highlighting events happening in Kansas City’s Hispanic community and printing useful information in English and Spanish, such as how to open a bank account.

The demand for more helpful information grew as the newsletter gained popularity. With $5,000 combined from savings and money borrowed from relatives, Dos Mundos would officially begin in 1981, according to a 2001 Kansas City Star profile of Reyes and her husband.

They would later start radio stations in 2006, including 1250 KYYS-AM, 1340 KDTD-AM and KYZZ 1480-AM, all providing classic and modern Latin music hits.

Reyer-Ramer said she plans to keep Dos Mundos going like it was back in 1999 when she first started helping her mom run the newspaper. They have not missed a date on publishing the newspaper since her mom first started.

Her legacy

Reyes served as president of the Coalition of Hispanic Women against Cancer, was a co-founder of the Southwest Boulevard Business Association, and was a board member for organizations such as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, the National Federation of Hispanic Owned Publications and the Salvation Army.

She received the Ohtli Award from the Mexican consulate in Kansas City and was named 2005’s Latino Publisher of the Year by the National Association of Hispanic Publications.

Her children say it will be tough to fill their mom’s shoes now that the newspaper is under their control, but that she has prepared them to carry on the legacy.

After all, they first got involved with Dos Mundos when they were teenagers throwing newspapers to homes from the back of their dad’s pickup truck.

“Her legacy is bringing communities together and giving a voice, being an entrepreneur and a strong leader,” Reyes-Raymer said.

“She truly was an inspiration to others to pursue whatever it is they want to do and not be limited by their internal reservations or their thinking that because I’m Hispanic, I’m limited,” Ed Reyes said. “I remember she would say things like ‘you’re bilingual, you can do things in two languages that should give you a huge advantage in anything you want to do.”

A visitation for Reyes will be held starting at 10 a.m. Feb. 27 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 11300 W. 103rd St., Overland Park, followed by a mass of Christian burial at 11 a.m.