Fernando Guardado Carballo

Fernando Guardado Carballo (Unión de Reyes, Matanzas, July 23, 1947 – Havana, September 29, 2026) was a Cuban radio and television announcer and host. He is best remembered for presenting Palmas y Cañas, Cuban Television's long-running program of música campesina (Cuban country music), for 39 years, from 1975 to 2014, after succeeding Ramón Veloz.

He trained in History and Geography at the Enrique José Varona Higher Pedagogical Institute and taught at the Escuela Superior de Perfeccionamiento Atlético (ESPA), where his students included future Olympic champion Alberto Juantorena. He entered radio as a writer at a station in Artemisa and first went on air by chance, filling in for an announcer who fell ill mid-broadcast. He went on to work at CMBF Radio Musical Nacional, Radio Progreso, Cadena Habana and Radio Cordón de La Habana, earned his professional announcer's certification through a formal course, and was evaluated by the veteran broadcaster Manolo Ortega.

On television he started on Escriba y Lea and hosted or appeared on programs including ¿Qué dice aquí?, Casos y cosas de casa, Ballet Visión and Revista de la Mañana, working alongside figures such as Germán Pinelli, José Antonio Cepero Brito, Dinorah del Real and Consuelo Vidal. In 1983 he produced and directed Spanish-language broadcasts in Angola. He served on Cuba's evaluation board for announcers and was a master of ceremonies at carnivals and public events in Havana and other provinces.

He was named an Artista de Mérito (Artist of Merit) of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT) and received, among other honors, the Antero Regalado Medal from the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), the Majadahonda Internationalist Medal from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), recognition for more than 40 years as an announcer, and the commemorative seal for Cuban Television's 65th anniversary. After retiring from television in 2014 he continued working as an announcer at events at Havana's Palacio de las Convenciones. He died at his home in Havana at age 79; no cause of death was made public.