Pablo Mora, editor extraordinaire, dies at 74

A death in La Cucaracha family

Funeral Mass

10 am Saturday, February 8, 2025

St. Francis Xavier Church, Pueblo CO

By JUAN ESPINOSA

Pablo Mora, one of the founders of La Cucaracha newspaper, died Jan. 31 at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs. He turned 74 four days before his death.

Mora was a career journalist who served as an editor at the Pueblo Chieftain, Denver Post and La Cucaracha. Known for his inspired headline writing and quick wit, Mora was the epitome of the dedicated journalists of the Chicano Press Association who worked for peanuts to tell the story of the Chicano Movement.

At La Cucaracha, Mora’s beat was local government, including the schools, labor unions and entertainment. When heavies — like Federico Pena, Daniel Valdez, John Trudell, or Tierra (band) — came to Pueblo, he got the interview.

In addition to being a gifted and accurate reporter, Mora had a talent for telling it the way he saw it. When he believed the Pueblo City Council was playing games with federal funding, he asked cartoonist Richard Montano to draw caricatures of them sitting in highchairs. One of the most popular political cartoons ever.

Though his stories often had a whimsical twist, he never shied away from hard news. Police brutality, racism at CF&I, and unequal funding in the public schools.

When La Cucaracha stopped publishing in December 1983, Mora soon found a home at The Denver Post. A decade later, he was drawn back to Pueblo first as regional editor and later as night city editor and an occasional columnist.

If you want to know more about this ground-breaking journalist, La Cucaracha plans to feature Mora in its printed Cinco de Mayo edition. Below is the obituary prepared by his family and Angelus Chapel Funeral Home.

Pablo Mora Obituary

Pablo C. Mora, 74, passed away January 31, 2025. He was born January 27, 1951 in Washington, D.C. to parents, Jorge and Maria Eva (Martinez) Mora. They both precede him in death along with his siblings, Pete Remigio Reyes and Gustavo Emanuel Mora.

Pablo attended Washington Elementary, Corwin Middle School and graduated in 1969 from South High School. He went on to get his Journalism degree from CU Boulder. Pablo put his degree to use working for the Denver Post for 12 years and The Pueblo Chieftan for 16 years. He was one of the co-founders of the La Cucaracha newspaper and was on the Board of Directors for La Gente and Crossroads.  He was part of The Chicano Movement and was involved in Los Seis de Boulder. Pablo was one of the first supporters of Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and was an advocate for all people.

Pablo is survived by his daughter, Felicia Mora; stepchildren, Eugene Vallejos, Javier Lucero (Lisa), and Geraldo Lucero; grandchildren, Isaak, Javin, Chris, Ana, Grace, Jade, Eugene Jr., Estrella, and Esperanza; siblings, Patricia Chavez, Jorge (Gloria) Mora, and Juan (Lynn) Mora; and former spouse, Margaret Montano.