Manolo García: Junco wasn’t planning on it.
This November 23rd, Manolo García would have turned 107 years old (he was born in 1918 in Matanzas) and he died in this same city, of which he was proud, on December 10th, 2010.
Manuel de Jesús García García (Manolo), considered the «Dean of the Press in Matanzas,» was versatile and dedicated throughout his more than 70 years of journalistic work, recognized with the José Martí National Journalism Prize and the honorary title of Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba, among his most prestigious awards.
Although radio was his preferred medium, his articles in the print media as a correspondent for El Imparcial during the 1950s and later, after the glorious triumph of January 1959, for Diario Nacional and Revolución, are worthy of praise, especially his masterful coverage of the Conference of Foreign Ministers in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1962, not to mention his participation as a war correspondent during the Bay of Pigs invasion, alongside cameraman Guillermo Miró, in April 1961.
Manolo García had the difficult task of writing a daily editorial for Radio 26, which always ended with the phrase «Mission Accomplished,» in addition to his daily reports for the National Radio News and other programs on the Matanzas station.
His vast knowledge allowed him to address any topic with professionalism, be it political, cultural, technical, or sporting.
In the world of sports, it cannot be forgotten that he was the first announcer of Deportivo Matanzas games, during the team’s victories in 1943 and 1945.
Like José Martí, I can assure you, no subject was beyond his reach. He always defended just causes, as happened on April 10th, 1994, when, outraged by the absence of the great Matanzas baseball player Lázaro Junco from the All-Star team, he wrote an editorial titled: «Junco Wasn’t in the Plan.»
This November 23rd, Manolo García would have turned 107 years old (he was born in 1918 in Matanzas) and passed away in this same city, of which he was so proud, on December 10th, 2010. As a tribute to his fruitful life in this noble profession, I leave you with the aforementioned piece dedicated to the baseball player Lázaro Junco:
It is not necessary to be a sports journalist to express how pleased we were to receive the news that Lázaro Junco had become the Home Run King of Cuban baseball, a position he surpassed from none other than Antonio Muñoz, the Giant of Escambray.
You don’t have to be a sports commentator, but just a simple fan, to resent the fact that Junco doesn’t appear in the All-Star team of this annual classic, because even an illiterate observer —as is my case— notices that a certain form of chauvinism operates when integrating these types of teams, including those of the Cuban teams.
A few years ago, when Lázaro Junco became the home run leader and was NOT selected for the national team, an arbitrary explanation arose: that the magnificent Matanzas native wasn’t following the plan. No one accepted that, because
only for those who want to evade reality—which is like daily life, the result of a dialectical process—is a plan a straitjacket or something that cannot be altered in the development of a system or an event.
Serious, respectful to the public, affable with his teammates, friendly with the athletes of all the competing teams in the National Series, sparing with words but attentive to journalists’ questions, Lázaro Junco is, in addition to being a consistent hitter and a meticulous athlete in the truest sense of the word, an exemplary citizen.
In Matanzas, throughout the island, and beyond Cuba, he has honored the uniform he wears with conduct befitting a product of the Cuban Revolution.
Now that he’s the first home run hitter in the history of our national pastime, what arguments will be put forward to keep him off our national team?
We Matanzas fans won’t accept any, and please, don’t tell us again that Junco wasn’t in the plan. Thanks, Manolo. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Written by Francisco Soriano.
