Jose Antonio Zapata Cabral

José Antonio Zapata Cabral (born 1969) is a Mexican journalist and filmmaker in the Mexican city of Aguascalientes. He is the former CEO of the news web site Cu4tro.com, Metroaguascalientes.com and Oigo.com.mx. It was CEO at the journalistic news site [elreportero.com.mx] and Information Director and Community Manager of the Aguascalientes State Government. In the winter of 1999 he became the first digital journalist in Aguascalientes, starting with Cu4tro.com, the first news portal ever made for this city.

During the existence of Cu4tro.com, he discovered that the Foundation Act of Aguascalientes city was stolen from the Historical Archive. After initially downplaying the information provided by Zapata, the government, following an investigation, was forced to acknowledge that the Foundation Act of Aguascalientes city was indeed lost. The document has never been recovered.

Later, based in the same web site, Zapata launched the first free commuter daily newspaper in Aguascalientes. He coordinated the press bureau for the political campaign for Arturo Robles Aguilar to get elected as Federal Deputy at the Congress. Zapata was also the first 'zone newspapers' editor in Aguascalientes city, creating the first zonal information network in the city, including the major districts (colonias) in the city. After that, he launched Aguascalientes' first free weekly commuter and public service newspaper, with employment ads and urban bus routes.

During this new endeavour, Zapata discovered a political cell of neo-Nazis who looked for the supremacy of classes over the most impoverished sectors of the city. Once again, in spite of this discovery, the government of Aguascalientes again disregarded the investigation, but international organizations backed up the journalist and documented the case in other countries.

Zapata hosted a daily Internet radio program with news, editorial comments, and an amusing intro/outro that typically features the music of a favorite band or artist. He is also known as a connoisseur of 1980s pop and rock and also an investigator of the story of journalism in Aguascalientes.

Besides, Zapata started the first Internet TV service focused on Aguascalientes. Also he deployed the first podcast service, with streaming audio and video feeds related to Aguascalientes.

In November 2005, he joined the [ourmedia.org] web site as the moderator for the Spanish worldwide initiative to bring to Hispanic people knowledge to conduct citizen journalism using audio and video.

In September 2006, Zapata was elected as General Secretary of the Reporters Association of Aguascalientes (Asociación de Reporteros de Aguascalientes).

In September 2007, he hosted a commercial radio program at ACIR named Ya no hay respeto, which tries to open discussion about popular myths and hard topics, but after a strong criticize to the Governor Luis Armando Reynoso Femat, the entire station was threatened with a suspension of the public founds if they keep the program. In December 2007, the program finally was suspended.

In January 2008, Zapata started the first internet radio station which broadcast 24/365 news, interviews and radio programs. In September 2008 he was invited by Radio Educación to teach internet radio skills to the professionals of the industry at the 7th International Biennial of Radio, and ratified for the same class in the 8th and 9th Biennial in 2010 and 2012, which is realized on October in Mexico City.

From November 2008 to April 2009, Zapata was founder and Chief Editor of La Jornada Aguascalientes newspaper. From January to July 2010, he worked as web strategy director for the candidate for governor of Aguascalientes, Carlos Lozano de la Torre, and created a digital and social media campaign that was considered the sixth best placed in Mexico, according to the magazine 'Digital Policy'.

He was Information Director and Community Manager of the Aguascalientes State Government from 2010 to 2016, and is making inroads in filmmaking writing, producing and directing the short films 'Nahuales', 'Vamos a Jugar' and 'There's no Better Place', and currently producing the feature film 'A Pesar de Todo'. Currently is CEO of the SeisMonitos Studio.

Partial list of works

• Aquí y ahora - TV program - 1992
• Oldies Time - Radio program - 1992
• El Cuaderno - Magazine - 1993
• México Nuevo - Magazine - 1994
• Cu4tro.com - News portal for Aguascalientes city - 1999
• Cu4tro.com para llevar - Free commuter newspaper - 2002
• El correo de las Haciendas - Zone newspaper - 2003
• El correo de Ojocaliente - Zone newspaper - 2003
• El correo de Casablanca - Zone newspaper - 2004
• El correo de Morelos - Zone newspaper - 2004
• El correo de Pabellón - Zone newspaper - 2004
• Metro Aguascalientes - Newspaper and web site- 2005
• Metro Zacatecas - Newspaper and web site - 2005
• Ya no hay respeto - Radio program - 2007
• METROAguascalientes radio - internet radio station - 2008
• Oigo.com.mx - internet radio station - 2008
• La Jornada Aguascalientes - Newspaper and web site - 2008
• elreportero.com.mx - Journalism news website - 2009
• Nahuales - Shortfilm - 2014
• Vamos a Jugar - Shortfilm - 2015
• No hay Mejor Lugar - Shortfilm - 2015
• Antojo Nocturno - Shortfilm - 2016
• A Pesar de Todo- Feature Film- 2016 (in production)