Cuban Television Celebrates 75 Years in Service of the People and the Revolution

The National Television Award for Lifetime Achievement, among other recognitions, was presented today at the José Martí Memorial, on the eve of the 75th anniversary of Cuban Television, to be celebrated tomorrow, October 24.

During the tribute, the collective received a recognition from the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, presented by Yuniasky Crespo Baquero, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and head of its Ideological Department. The award honors the work of Television in the service of the people.

In her keynote speech, Marydé Fernández López, Vice Head of the Ideological Department of the PCC Central Committee, stated that since 1950, television has been a vehicle for consolidating identity, but it was not until after the revolutionary triumph (1959) that it became an instrument "at the service of the people and the truth."

Fernández López also highlighted the work of technicians, camera operators, journalists, and artists who fulfill the duty of informing and entertaining viewers, and who have made television a living heritage of Cuban culture. She added that current challenges demand increased creativity and commitment to the defense of history and revolutionary ideas, driven by the important mission of instilling values in society.

The ceremony featured the presentation of the National Television Award for Lifetime Achievement to the late Ezequiel Demetrio García Trápaga and to Gonzalo Aldama Wilson, the latter having been linked to the medium since 1962 through various programs, serving as an auxiliary master control operator, lighting technician, and sound booth operator.

Roberto Ferguson, a veteran director and also a National Television Award winner (2013), who accepted the award for García Trápaga on behalf of the family, had only words of praise for the honoree, who covered pivotal events from the Remote Control department and was a distinguished official, even deserving of a replica of the Machete of Generalísimo Máximo Gómez.

More than 10 individuals were recognized with the "Pequeña Pantalla" (Small Screen) Award and nine others received the "Artista de Mérito" (Merit Artist) distinction, honors conferred upon those who have contributed significantly to television.

Talía González Pérez, a journalist awarded the "Pequeña Pantalla," told the Cuban News Agency that in her 28-year professional career, her battlefield has always been in front of the cameras, and she strives daily to hold onto the teachings of her predecessors. She also emphasized that in current times, journalism faces the challenge not only of informing but also of "confronting with the truth what is poorly done and what opposes moral principles."

The commemoration was attended by Vice Prime Minister Inés María Chapman Waugh; the president of the Institute of Information and Social Communication (ICS), Alfonso Noya Martínez; and the general director of Television, José Carlos Zaragoza. The ICS and Cuban Radio also presented awards during a tribute that evoked those who, for seven and a half decades, have maintained multiplied audiovisual signals accompanied by commitment, music, art, words, magic, and permanence.

On October 24, 1950, the first television transmission was broadcast nationally, making Cuba one of the pioneers of this technological event in the region. From that moment, a process began that has materialized into the developed communication structure of today.