It was in September 1970 when he became enchanted by journalism in the studios of Radio Cadena Agramonte. He assures that he has been happy under that magic that has rules his life for more than 50 years.
Adolfo Silva Silva, reporter for the Cuban News Agency (ACN), chronicler, professor, follower of Guillén’s work, researcher, lover of the mysteries of his Camagüey, honors our chronicle today.
Silva
He spent the longest time working at the Cuban News Agency, formerly known by the acronym AIN. There he served in defense of the immediacy of the news for 42 years, until he retired, but not put an end to his passion; well, he continues teaching classes to the new generations.
Adolfo is the host of a club dedicated to literature at the Nicolás Guillén Foundation. He also spends part of his time writing texts related to historical and heritage events, which in his opinion should not be forgotten.
From there I suppose that his admiration for the work of the National Poet arises, whom he sees as a sensitive journalist – who wrote with simplicity and naturalness for any audience, but who never forgot his people and his origins.
The teacher
Several generations of journalists have gone through his classrooms. Thanks to Professor Silva I learned the value of synthesis for certain news. I still remember in all the details his class on the informative lead and an example that he brought to us with the news that announced the death of Abraham Lincoln, in 1865 after being shot. That class for which I am so grateful accompanies my work to this day.
But he has much more to teach his students, since he defends passion for work as a golden rule of journalism. “If you don’t put your heart into each report and creatively look for the human and sensitive part of each story, you do the job, but you don’t reach the people, to whom we are always in debt,” he says.
Without passions nothing is worth. Therefore, with all the enthusiasm that inhabits him, he wants to leave a message to the youngest members of the union. It is not a class on journalistic techniques – he says – but rather a lesson for life: “A journalist must never forget his town or its people. A journalist who does not love his people is a failure.”
Therefore, before saying goodbye, I ask him what the city of Camagüey means to him; and immediately, he responds: “I can’t imagine living anywhere else, it is everything to me and no one can take it away from my heart.”
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
