At the request of the man who was until his death the deputy general director of the international radio station Radio Havana Cuba, a group of relatives and colleagues laid wreaths at the grave of this leading figure of Cuban and Latin American journalism.

Martínez Pírez, who was also a diplomat, lawmaker and professor at the University of Havana, worked for the Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina between 1968 and 1973, wherehe served, among other functions, as director of Information and head of the Department of Special Services.

About him, after his death and posthumous tribute in Havana, the president of the Union of Cuban Journalists, Ricardo Ronquillo, said, “He was part of those great Cuban journalists, ethically and intellectually, placed on the altar of the profession.”

Ronquillo summed up that we Cubans “are not an unhappy people; we are a chosen people because we have men like him among us.”

His colleague from Prensa Latina, Alberto Tosca, stressed that he had a great memory, but he cultivated it. “He didn’t hold anything back; in Ecuador he introduced me to relationships that he had made and with that he helped my work a lot,” he noted.

Martínez Pírez is an illustrious son of Santa Clara and received several awards throughout his life: the National Prize for Television Journalism in 1989; the National Prize for Radio Journalism in 1991; the José Martí Prize for Life’s Work in 2005; and the National Prize for Radio in 2006.

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