[3] As part of hidalguia, none of the family members grew into a public figure until in the mid-18th century one of its branches moved to the Andalusian Marchena;[4] they settled as arrendatarios in estates of Duque de Osuna.

Rafael's great-grandfather, José Antonio Díez de la Cortina Gutiérrez,[5] was born in the Cantabrian Potes[6] and upon his arrival in Marchena he built a house, which was later to become a family hub.

[7] Rafael's grandfather, Juan Díez de la Cortina Layna Pernia (born 1782), as the oldest surviving son, became the family heir.

[8] In the 1840s, he formed part of the emerging "agrarian bourgeosie",[9] a group of local hidalgo families which grew into major proprietors as duque de Osuna was selling out his estates.

His older brother, José, in the early 20th century became a Carlist political leader in Andalusia and member of the national party executive.

A distant relative was José Gómez Acebo y Cortina, a conservative politician who held various ministerial jobs during final years of the Restoration.

The Carlist title of Conde de Olaeta, conferred upon Rafael in 1876, was claimed by Mariano Ternero Caro in 2002,[29] but has not been recognized by the Madrid court so far.

[36] Upon his return to Marchena in October 1873 Cortina Cerrato formed a family-based group, consisting of the father, Rafael and his two brothers, his cousin, few family associates including a chaplain and a lawyer, some servants and a handful of volunteers.

[38] In two weeks they covered some 350 kilometers across the provinces of Córdoba, Jaén, Ciudad Real and Cáceres, finally joining the 300-men column[39] of general Vicente Sabariegos.

[40] Surrounded by family members, starting November Cortina commenced combat during failed skirmishes at Retamosa; upon death of Sabariegos, command was assumed by general Villar y Perez.

During late 1873 and early 1874 the group fought guerilla war across New Castile, Extremadura and La Mancha, engaged at Villar del Pedroso, Navahermosa, Montiel, Santa Cruz de los Cañamos, Talavera la Vieja (November), Torre del Campo (December), Puertollano,[41] Los Yébenes, Talarrubias (January), Alcoba, Garbayela, Artiñano, Agudo, (February), Moral de Calatrava and Luciana (March).

[44] The two brothers who survived, José (who was wounded),[45] and Rafael (who had his horse shot)[46] made it to Portugal[47] and from Lisbon sailed to Bordeaux, in late spring of 1874 via Pau crossing to Carlist-controlled area in the North.

[63] Neither press of the era nor present-day historians explain exact nature of his activities prior to the late 1890s;[64] one author notes that no tangible results of his political mission in the US are known.

Busy in the Hispanic New York community[66] and contributing to a daily Las Novedades,[67] he tried to confront the anti-Spanish frenzy of American press and complained about lack of assistance on part of Madrid, the charges which thanks to Vázquez de Mella reached the Cortes and the government in 1896.

[70] Some quoted Cortina as stating that 100,000 volunteers were awaiting an order to rise and that by January 1, 1898, Don Carlos would assume the throne, though also that the claimant would do nothing which might impair international standing of his country.

[71] In May 1898, amid a virulent anti-Spanish press campaign, a number of papers quoted interviews with Cortina and discussed Carlist claims as proof that the Madrid government might fall any minute.

In 1901, a Spanish military attaché in Washington reported to Madrid that Cortina helped him identify a cargo of 5,000 rifles, sent from New York to Lisbon and intended for a Carlist depot in Badajoz.

[87] The breakthrough work which helped him launch own business was the 1889 publication titled The Cortina Method to Learn Spanish in Twenty Lessons.

[105] His method of teaching was awarded corporate prizes;[106] the school – since 1899 named Cortina Academy of Languages[107] - made arrangements with prestigious New York colleges[108] and had to rent bigger and bigger premises at prestigious downtown locations;[109] other teaching institutions advertised themselves as adhering to his methodology;[110] the publishing house he set up kept re-printing textbooks and manuals in endless editions while audio materials were published jointly with Columbia Records.