Although it happened in September, well into the year, the most important event in the media was undoubtedly the First International Festival of Radio and Television Cuba 2013, which gathered filmmakers, executives, technicians, producers and academics from 27 countries and a delegation of more than 200 delegates from all the Cuban provinces.
For the first time both media came together to bring out into the open the challenges and future prospects of public radio and television stations in the continent and its popular reach.
The event was also the framework for the signing of agreements between countries, exchange of experiences, professional cooperation and marketing of audiovisual products and services.
In those days also took place, the World Twitter Event for the liberation of the Five Heroes, where the Cuban Radio and its most prominent Twitter users, joined the universal campaign to defend the cause of the four Cubans unjustly imprisoned in the United States.
Another memorable moment occurred in August 17, when grocery store seller-turned-radio creator Ignacio Canel Bravo was given the National Award of Radio, and despite his age, he still works at the International station Radio Havana Cuba because, as he said once: “I can not give up meeting every day with their roots, their history . “
Another relevant event this year was the gala on the Speaker’s Day at the city of Ciego de Ávila, the Capital of Cuban Broadcasting and the well-deserved tribute to the professionals in Camaguey, the Historic City of Broadcasting. In both places lectures, debates, celebrations that enhanced the work of the professionals of the word were held.
Other event that is worth recalling in the Interactive Event and Forum of Seaboard Radio Stations, where users interacting on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter agreed that the biggest challenge was to bring to listeners a radio quality proposal that reflects the beauty and charms of the marine environment and its preservation.
The coastal stations are of great interest to the Cuban Radio. They represent a large percentage of the total 96 stations spread across the country , so the relevance of events like these in the current scenario of communications.
For the Cuban radio system meant a great encouragement the visit the First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, Miguel Diaz- Canel Bermudez to Radio Reloj, which proves the importance of the press work for the high authorities of the country.
Although something is always left out when recalling the most important moments of the year for oneself or for somebody else, I have tried to summarize those in which innumerable radio broadcasters in the country participated , and that undoubtedly marked the years that is reaching its end.
So, as I said earlier, it is worth to mention other events, which may not be as happy as those mentioned before, but are worth mentioning for their emotional charge.
I speak of those men and women who will not see anymore, except in the countless photographs or audio files that become immortal for all who have the privilege of keeping them. They left an indelible mark in the radio memory which endures beyond situations and circumstances.
I am talking of Pedro Pérez Roque, who worked for many years with the Portal of the Cuban Radio and whose plan was always to do a radio for the future; Irene Rodriguez, one of the most charismatic writers who passed away the dawn of September 3 in Havana, a city to which she reserved her last moments of life in the warmth, respect and affection of her family and colleagues.
We also remember Carlos Estrada Castro, the master of masters of engineering in the Cuban radio and television and Angela Soto, founder of the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC) , among other personalities who left an indelible mark on the enduring history of Cuban broadcasting.
Every story is full of nuances. It is these colors that sometimes are not as black or as white or as blue, or not even as pink, which predict the value of life. There is, quietly, the Cuban Radio in their efforts to make life happier for the listeners. That happens every time new challenges arise for the newt year.
The year 2014 awaits us with other unforgettable moments , some predictable and some not so, but will be worth remembering in the offerings we make to honor those who are gone, who gave many glories to the Cuban Radio and strengthen the steps that make today Cuban Radio not languish on the road.
Translated by: Daysi Olano
Revised by ESTI
