Froilán Arencibia Mederos

Recognized reporter, broadcaster and presenter with more than 25 years of professional work in Cuban audiovisual media, especially within the Information System of Cuban Television.

Froilán is a native of Güines in the province of Mayabeque. He completed his studies through secondary school in his hometown and his pre-university education in the countryside. When he finished pre-university, he moved to the then City of Havana and enrolled in the School of Journalism at the University of Havana.

Upon completing his degree, he was sent to serve his Social Service in the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), at the newspaper Bastión, where he did his first work as an editor.

As a member of the FAR, he was sent to Ethiopia as a war correspondent. There was a radio station called Jarewar that informed Cuban internationalists. Four recent graduates worked at that radio outlet. During that time Froilán began to practice broadcasting professionally in informational and cultural programs.

Nevertheless, his first ventures in this field had begun at age 17, he recalls, in a Sunday program broadcast by the Güines radio station.

During his time in the FAR, participating in the war in Ethiopia, he came to understand the power of communication and the value of journalistic work. In his view, this was a formative period. There existed "discipline and rigor." These two words still accompany him in each of his tasks, although he equally values that in his professional and personal life the essential education from his parents also has an influence.

He considers himself a journalist by vocation; this has allowed him to communicate with people and earn their affection. In his opinion, the Cuban public is intelligent and sharp.

His tactic, which has never failed him, consists of listening. He learns every day. He prefers to work live and in special programs. Throughout his trajectory within the Information System of Cuban Television, he was a founder of the Sunday News Program, during the special period with Loly Estévez, in 1992. He remained in that space for five years.

Later, on March 8, 1999, he participated in the inaugural broadcast of the magazine Buenos Días. He joined the cultural information segment, along with Loly Estévez, Esther Barroso, Julia Mirabal, Paula Pina and Leda Creagh. From that moment on, that space became permanent in the newscasts.

He credits his training to a series of professionals among whom he highlights Eduardo Dimas, Irma Cáceres and Magali García Moré.

He notes with visible pride that he had the fortune of being at some events with Fidel and other leaders of the Revolution. He also covered the receptions for the Popes who visited our country in different years.

Since 2008 he has presented the Midday News. He believes that in informational spaces simplicity in presentation and good argumentation should prevail. "It does not require posturing or extravagance, one must take it as a priesthood"; those are his principles.

He belongs to the Caricatos Artistic Agency, representing the group of tenors who began at the Roof Garden of the Sevilla hotel, with Jimmy Sánchez.

Froilán affirms that: "there is no new or old broadcasting, it only has to be good and personal; the broadcaster is responsible for conveying the news with precision and truth."

Froilán possesses Medals of Distinguished Service from the FAR, the Award for Cultural Journalism granted by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, and he also received the distinction of Artist of Merit of Cuban Television.

In 2017 he is nominated as Artist of Merit. He received the Special Award "Enrique Almirante" in 2019, which was granted to him by the CARICATOS Agency. This honor holds great significance for him, because, since childhood, Almirante was his idol from the Adventures program.