The month of March is one of the celebrations for Cuban journalism. For many years, journalists from Cienfuegos and from all over the country have gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the newspaper Patria founded by Martí.
Before the scourge of Covid 19 we closed with a toast or lunch (something revisited this year). The meal after the meal became a special occasion to remember the lived experience.
On all these occasions, Andrés and I looked for a place to eat and toast. It was a chance to hear him talk about his history in journalism and media and his work as a writer. He was lucky enough to hear it in the first person and with his characteristic humility.
We always had something to talk about. Since the 1980s, when the newspaper 5 de Septiembre was born and everyone who writes visited the office of its first director – Enrique Román – where he occasionally joined the conversation; other times I gave him my first collaborations and received his help and advice.
For his part, Andrés referred to his arrival at Radio Ciudad del Mar as a writer for Sendero H, the morning and evening space with local and national events. This was another occasion where we had to work together for more than a decade: him as the writer and whoever is writing, as the program director.
I remember this group with a certain amount of nostalgia. Voice actors Doris Era and Sergio Farray; Samuel Sánchez Gálvez as advisor and the engraver and publisher Roberto Ulloa. Monday morning was recording and editing day. Many times Andrés attended as another member of the production team and attended the program group meetings.
In addition to Sendero H, he wrote the program Huellas. Without a shadow of a doubt he was passionately interested in history, especially recent ones.
Despite all his journalistic history since the Vanguardia newspaper years in the former province of Las Villas, Andrés asked me for ideas on radio journalism. Neither more nor less than the one who was primarily his student.
I had the privilege of interviewing him twice for the Cuban Radio Portal on the Internet. The first time was on November 17th, 2010 when I told him that I was given his book Hombradas, written in the 60’s, as a gift when I was answering a question on a radio show.
That was a long interview and that gives me satisfaction because he gave me a lot of his details. One of the first questions I asked him related to his arrival on the radio after his job at the flat press, to which he said:
“I had to get used to it … When I started this new facet in 1997, towards the end I started with Sendero H, until today where I continue to work together, and then Huellas was included, that is the commentary on one of the events of the day .”
He listed advice for those wishing to enroll in historical journalism, of which he was a teacher. In this regard, he pointed out: “I think that this is above all a task that requires a lot of research and work to manage to summarize an ephemeris of the day in six or eight lines. Above all, it is a constant search task, sometimes excruciating as there are days of the year when it is difficult to find what happened. Then adapt that to the language of the radio.”
He was so enthusiastic about radio that he wrote a dramatized series with a historical character. In a cheerful tone he admitted to me: “…on a closed anniversary of September 5th I did a series, I got involved with it, and the actors took over the staging of the chapters. When the final chapter was recorded and then broadcast on the radio, I went through an emotion that I had never felt in journalism… (…) It was journalism work where dramaturgy was applied and it’s a very interesting experience. It’s a more sensitive, emotional journalism. It’s live journalism. And with that I realize that journalism is inexhaustible.”
This interview turned out to be a conversation that gave me knowledge that I could use in my professional career.
These March days invite us to remember how much has been done and are a reason to keep those who are no longer present.
The news of his death saddened me; It was weeks that surprised everyone with the deaths of well-known people every day. That happened on Sunday, July 25, 2021. Complications from Covid 19 took his life two months after his 80th birthday. Until recently he remained active and it was common to see him at Uneac and Upec meetings.
I think that in these days of March – before or after the 14th – it is well deserved to commemorate this tireless gladiator of journalism and history. In addition, think of all that he gave through his job and the lessons he taught through his daily work.
Andrés García Suárez suggested to new professionals that they never stop learning and connect with people a lot. “When you do a job, you have to go to the workers, to the common people, that’s the secret of good journalism, so that work and life always follow the same path.”
Taking inspiration from their advice can be a way to prolong your existence and conquer the implacable.