Granma-Rebelde extols Fidel's imprint on Cuban journalism

HAVANA, Cuba, October 19 (ACN) The 1st Granma-Rebelde International Festival became a space for celebration and reflection in honor of both the 60th anniversary of these two Cuban media outlets and the commemoration of the centennial of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.

Juvenal Balán Neyra, a photojournalist with the daily Granma, highlighted the extent and magnitude of the Festival, attended by multiple media publications and several generations of communications professionals, and pointed out that the event captures the living history of the Revolution, woven by unsung heroes and reflected in the pages of the Cuban press, a legacy that lives on through the participation of left-wing media outlets from around the world.

At the panel "Fidel in the Press: The leader who wrote his history," Mr. Balán highlighted the invaluable impact made by the Commander in Chief and especially his strategic vision through the inclusion of the press in the formation of the Cuban process.

“He did not see the press as a passive onlooker, but as a strategic tool and an active ally, so he assigned to those who practice the profession a role of high political responsibility”, he stressed. “Beyond his writings, the Commander was a press man in the field, always at the forefront of breaking news, sharing and living through crucial moments of the development of communications in the country”.

As an anecdote honoring his newspaper, Mr. Balán revealed that Fidel made the Granma newsroom his command post, which he visited every evening to make crucial decisions related to communication in Cuba.

The journalist reasserted the absolute relevance of Fidel's legacy, based on lessons that guide the work of the Cuban press, and described it as a necessity of the present, not an exercise in nostalgia, as it is a practical and permanent compass for today's revolutionary journalism.