Julio Cortez is a Pulitzer Prize winning staff photographer for The Associated Press. He is currently the Chief Photographer for the AP’s Texas/Oklahoma region. A graduate of Cal State University, Northridge, and a native of Mexico City, Julio earned a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 with a photograph that anchored a ten-photographer team providing images from the riots across the United States following the death of George Floyd. He has contributed with national and international coverage of news and sporting events.
On the news side, he was part of a nine-photographer team who covered the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He led the coverage of Superstorm Sandy, being among the first newspersons to get into the ravaged barrier islands in New Jersey and delivering images of houses smashed onto the Mantoloking bridge and a partially submerged rollercoaster that plunged into the ocean when its pier was destroyed in Seaside Heights. Other notable news contributions include being the only still photographer to capture images of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of the International Monetary Fund, heading to jail when he was arrested on sex charges in New York. Cortez also helped with national coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre and the post Marathon Bombing manhunt. The latter produced more than 70 front pages with images of a Boston Police officer swarmed by people celebrating the capture of the bombing suspect. Recently, he became an FAA licensed drone operator and his aerial coverage has ranged from feature photos to coverage on the U.S./Mexico border, allowing readers a chance to get a more comprehensive view of what is going in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Recently, a photograph of NFL football star Travis Kelce kissing his girlfriend, music sensation Taylor Swift, following the AFC Championship football game in Baltimore, went viral as followers of the famous couple were given an intimate look at their relationship.
On the sports side, Cortez has contributed to coverage of four Olympic Games while covering marquee sports such as gymnastics and ice hockey. He has covered four Super Bowls. And was assigned to follow Team Spain during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Team USA during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Cortez versatility is displayed with his coverage of NFL games, when he’s asked to shoot or edit games. Amongst Cortez’ more memorable NFL football images is the Odell Beckham one-handed catch, which has generated its reprinting on billboards, ad campaigns and TV sports shows. Cortez is well versed in setting up remotes. He was responsible of 20 remotes during American Pharoah’s horse race victory at the Belmont Stakes, the first triple crown victory in almost four decades.
Cortez began his career as a reporting stringer for the LA Times and LA Daily News out of high school. He covered mostly high school and college sports for the Daily News while working his way through college. Also, during college, Julio participated in photography internships ranging from Spanish publications in Dallas and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a mid-size paper in West Texas and The Associated Press in Chicago.
