![\"Game](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/game-changers-cortez-400x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to walk far to find Emilio Cortez\u2019s artistic fingerprint in San Jos\u00e9. His block lettering and coffee-inspired murals are visible at Nirvana Soul Coffee\u2019s location on S. First Street, and replicated on t-shirts and in their other stores.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Emilio Cortez\u2019s mural \u201cSan Jos\u00e9 Game Changers\u201d is on display at San Jos\u00e9 City Hall through July 31. Photo: Julia Halprin Jackson.<\/p>\n
His digital mural depicting local athletes, \u201cSan Jos\u00e9 Game Changers,\u201d is on view in San Jos\u00e9 City Hall through July 31. A collage featuring Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim Plunkett, Olympic gold medalist and World Cup soccer champion Brandi Chastain, professional basketball player Aaron Gordon, standout softball pitcher Keilani Ricketts and San Jos\u00e9 State\u2019s own \u201cKrazy\u201d George Henderson, Cortez\u2019s mural captures the energy, enthusiasm and skill of Bay Area greats.<\/p>\n
In January, Cortez presented a large-scale Lombardi trophy he painted in honor of Super Bowl LX, thanks to a commission from the San Jos\u00e9 Sports Authority and the National Football League. The four-foot figure stands proudly in the Locker Room, a visitor center and sports merchandise store located at 93 E. San Carlos Street \u2014 just two blocks from the campus where Cortez honed his artistic voice.<\/p>\n
Both the mural and the trophy feature bold colors, bright graphics and a unique command of tone, texture and style \u2014 all part of Cortez\u2019s signature look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He credits his parents for encouraging his interest in art as a child growing up in San Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always took us to art museums, and exposed us to a lot of different art forms when we were traveling,\u201d says Cortez, \u201914 Pictorial Art. \u201cThey always allowed us to get as creative as we wanted. They let me paint on our house walls when I wanted to. If I wanted to go to the art store to try out new materials, they were always open to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little did they know what Cortez had in store. Originally an animation and illustration major, he switched to pictorial art because he found greater freedom to experiment with form, material and style. In tandem with his visual art, Cortez discovered a passion for deejaying, thanks in part to his close friends who were radio deejays. He began deejaying local events and found a knack for selecting, mixing and curating music.<\/p>\n
Despite his demonstrated artistic skill, or perhaps because of it, Cortez has found his professional niche as a community engagement specialist. Whether he was volunteering with the Boys & Girls Club of Silicon Valley, working as a senior coordinator in the 49ers EDU program at Levi\u2019s Stadium, Cortez sought out opportunities to serve diverse communities. He also served as the co-chair of 49ers L.E.A.D. (Latinx Empowerment, Advancement and Development), where he supported initiatives focused on representation, growth and community. Most recently, he worked as a community engagement specialist at The Tech Interactive, where he led outreach strategies and produced inclusive programs and events designed to expand access to STEAM learning across the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
\u201cSports have a huge impact outside the games themselves, which are on TV every weekend,\u201d he says. \u201cSo much goes on behind the scenes, especially in terms of the impact you can make on communities. That\u2019s why I try to connect with my artwork, whenever I get the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cortez\u2019s artwork first took center field in 2022, when he designed a flag for Latino Heritage Month that caught fans\u2019 attention. The response was overwhelmingly positive, inspiring Cortez to approach the chief marketing officer at the 49ers with ideas for related merchandise, including images of sugar skulls for D\u00eda de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and cutout designs reminiscent of papel picado, a Mexican artisanal craft.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went directly to our chief marketing officer and said, \u2018the fans are asking for this,\u2019 and that\u2019s all it took,\u201d he says. \u201cEven people that didn\u2019t identify as Latino were so happy to have a unique piece of art created by someone local. I think it\u2019s important to have something at that high level and in the NFL that represents not only your organization, but shows that you actually listen to your fans and can represent them in different ways. I\u2019m glad to be part of that history.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Emilio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/emilio-408-400x400.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Emilio Cortez\u2019s work was recently on display as part of the 408 Day in San Jos\u00e9. Image courtesy of Emilio Cortez.<\/p>\n
Within months, Cortez was hand painting custom footballs, which were given away as awards to local youth who were recognized for their community service. In 2023, he was recognized with a Latinos in Sports award <\/a>from Hispanic Executive Magazine, and a year later, he was included in Negocio Now\u2019s Latinos 40 Under 40 Silicon Valley<\/a> in recognition of his creative and cultural impact. Meanwhile, his signature footballs have become hot commodities across the Bay Area; he has created unique pieces for SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson, and was commissioned to create a series of soccer balls, footballs and basketballs to reflect the Super Bowl, NCAA Division I Men\u2019s Basketball Tournament and the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for Cortez\u2019s next steps, he hopes to bring the overlapping Venn diagrams of his artwork and community engagement closer together.<\/p>\n \u201cCommunity engagement work is something I find really enjoyable, especially being bilingual,\u201d he says. \u201cSharing resources with the Latino community has been important for me, because I know that a lot of people aren\u2019t aware of the resources that are available to help and support them. If I can be that bridge to help, that\u2019s the kind of work I\u2019d love to do, whether that\u2019s for a company or in sports. We\u2019ll see what the future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You don\u2019t have to walk far to find Emilio Cortez\u2019s artistic fingerprint in San Jos\u00e9. His block lettering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[117348,752,88,117350,90,89,117349,11730,75662],"class_list":{"0":"post-269466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-emilio-cortez","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-san-jose","11":"tag-san-jose-2026","12":"tag-san-jose-headlines","13":"tag-san-jose-news","14":"tag-sj26","15":"tag-super-bowl","16":"tag-superbowl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}