Around 20 years ago in the city of Waukegan, a newspaper business was founded by a couple. Little did the residents, and possibly the entire county know that the business would grow to help the Hispanic community, other local businesses, and local officials by simply reporting what’s happening in the area. What originally started as a soccer- focused newspaper, PuroFutbol grew in popularity in Waukegan, serving the majority Hispanic population with public notices, family advice, health tips, and more. The newspaper group has also been involved in several public events as of late, such as a parade for the many independences of various Latin American countries and a youth soccer league occurring twice a year. Through a strong work ethic, as well as experience and knowledge in journalism, the family-owned newspaper proved successful. 

Oscar Zepeda started PuroFutbol to unite the Hispanic community through soccer, as it’s the most liked sport in the community. Later on, he started helping local officials and businesses in the area by inviting them to advertise in his newspaper for publicity. According to him, he helps others because “it’s very important and satisfying to support those in need.” His experience throughout the years has allowed him to develop his vocation to serve and inform the public. Because of this, the main objective of PuroFutbol Newspaper for him is to inform and establish public relations with the community, organizations, and different government levels.

Born in Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico, Oscar earned a Bachelor’s in Communications from the Valle del Bravo University in Tampico, Tamaulipas while working for El Mañana, a daily paper from Nuevo Laredo in the same state. When he moved to Waukegan, he later started PuroFutbol with his wife to much success. Because the paper is based on soccer, it revolves around the Mexican Soccer League and occasionally, the World Cup whenever it appears. There are times where major games are held at Soldier Field, which Oscar takes advantage of by visiting those games as a press member.

His wife, Maria Tamez, works alongside him in the newspaper as a graphic designer, organizing how each publication will look in each release and deciding with Oscar what to put in each page. In her job of designing the newspaper itself, she expresses her enjoyment of design. She also adds that because each publication is made with love, they are made differently, which makes PuroFutbol unique from other newspaper groups. Similarly, since its establishment in 2004, it has slowly gained traction over the years, leading to closures of other newspaper businesses. She describes the feeling as nothing less than indescribable. Maria also assists in events that PuroFutbol organizes with other organizations, such as La Liga, a youth soccer league that started a couple of years ago, or the recent Hispanic parade from about a month ago. According to Maria, her experiences there were exciting as she got to get close to others and see how others enjoyed them. Because her husband also helps a lot in these events, she recalls how his works and efforts have been recognized across the county throughout the years. She states how “that tells us that we’re on the right track.”

Because he has helped out in local elections, Oscar helped current board member Beth Pope and other candidates get the turnout they needed for people to get out and vote. Pope praises Oscar’s efforts in raising awareness for her campaign and the elections in general. He documents and promotes certain aspects of the campaign and the election in his newspaper, notifies the public on voting dates with his connections and social media presence, and spoke to people about voting.

Pope especially appreciates Oscar’s connection with the Hispanic community. Her statement about public officials can be applied to Oscar’s efforts in helping the community through PuroFutbol. “Anyone who runs for public office, steps up and puts themselves out there is helping the community because they’re showing interest and concern for the greater good of the community…anyone that steps up to run for office, especially one that isn’t paid, is doing a service to the community.”
Oscar hopes for his paper to leave a legacy as an important media outlet for all Hispanics in northern Illinois and his family.