When this March 14 marks the Day of the Cuban press and the 130th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of the Patria newspaper is remembered. The Ciego de Ávila`s union will have already celebrated and looked back on the results of last year's work, because this Saturday a commemorative act served as a celebration and motivation for those who, from the various platforms and media, fulfill the commitment to inform, give opinions and interpret reality.
The appointment also served to recognize the work of those who reported from the most unlikely conditions during the months of confrontation with the virus.
Thus, the Orlando Castellanos Molina Provincial Prize for Journalism for his life's work went to Ricardo Benítez Fumero, who, in his last years, has worked at the provincial radio station Radio Surco, achieving a work of great scope that no subject has been foreign to him.
The Félix Elmusa Award was given to Lubia Ulloa Trujillo, a journalist from the Cuban News Agency; Luis Enrique Falcón Saavedra, correspondent for Radio Rebelde; and Frank Rodríguez Milián, from Radio Chambas. While the Raúl Gómez García Medal distinguished Maité Vega Prado, María Reyes Gámez and Amador Rodríguez, who, for more than 20 years, have carried out their work with prestige at Radio Surco.
As usual, the results of the Saúl Rodríguez Provincial Contest were announced in the different categories it convenes, in addition to the Special Prize announced for this edition.
On this occasion in the Television section Karín Gómez was recognized, with “The man with the iron feet”. The second and third places went to Henry Godínez, with the report “Salary-Price”, and Mariesly Wong, for “Our daily bread”, respectively.
In Printed Journalism, the jury decided to award first place to the report “A left-handed field for a right-handed sport”, by Sayli Sosa Barceló. The second one was to ¿Dream or nightmare? by Ortelio González Martínez, and with the third, “Animal protein slips from us”, by Amanda Tamayo, all published in Invasor.
Morón`s Hospital, a Trojan horse, a report authored by Amanda, won first prize in the category of Digital Journalism. The second was for Chronicle of a sick province, by Ailén Castilla Padrón, and the third for Death and beyond, by Katia Siberia García from Invasor too.
The set of photographs on the confrontation with COVID-19, by the photojournalist Osvaldo Gutiérrez, from the Cuban News Agency, deserved first place in Graphic Journalism; while the second place went to the photo-report “In Arnaldo Ramírez company they know how to give birth to the land”, by Pastor Batista, Bohemia correspondent.
In Radio, Yaimer Mujica, from Radio Chambas, won the highest award for the testimony “There is always a tomorrow”. Second place went to a report related to the abusive price of pork, by journalists Dianelis Marin Dewar and Odania García Heredia, and third place to the work presented by Arletys White Morales, the three from Surco.
The Special Prize went to Sayli Sosa Barceló for the dossier on the impacts of the Planning Task in Ciego de Ávila, which includes multiple aspects related to this process, constituting a good example of the treatment that the issues on the public agenda should receive.
As a culmination of the moment, the member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and its first secretary in the province of Ciego de Ávila, Carlos Luis Garrido Pérez, praised the work of the Ciego de Ávila press. Moreover, he recognized the dedication of the professionals in the sector, their hard to deal with in times of COVID-19 and invited not to give up in the effort to do journalism that increasingly takes into account the public agenda.
