Jorge Enrique Mendoza Reboredo

Teacher, soldier, journalist, historian and tireless propagandist of the Revolution.

Born in Camagüey. Graduate of Law and Journalism, Doctor in Pedagogy. He was responsible for the schools created at the First Front of the Rebel Army.

His pedagogical vocation led him to qualify as a Master of Public Instruction, working first as a teacher of History and Geography, and later as a professor of those same disciplines in Secondary Education.

He fought for the creation of the University in Camagüey. He made important contributions to the Methodology of Teaching History and Social Sciences both in the pre-revolutionary period and after.

He instilled a spirit of inquiry in his students and advocated that the teaching of history begin with local history. In this distinguished educator, one could always appreciate the unity of word and action, of the cognitive and the emotional, which made him a paradigm for all those who received his influence.

Following the triumph of the Revolution, he assumed countless responsibilities among which are found:

National Director of Scholarships of the Ministry of Education
Associate Professor of History of the Cuban Press of the School of Journalism of the University of La Habana
Director of the newspaper Granma
Professor of History of Cuba in the municipal school of the PCC as a teaching unit of the Institute of History of Cuba.

He died in Camagüey on February 25, 1994.

Decorations

He received numerous diplomas, stamps and distinctions awarded by different national and foreign institutions and organizations, among which stand out:

Commemorative Medal "XX Anniversary of FAR".
Commemorative Medal "30th Anniversary of FAR".
Distinction "Félix Elmuza".
Distinction "Raúl Gómez García".
Replica of the machete of Generalissimo Máximo Gómez.
Recognition "Ismaelillo" of the National UJC.
Recognition for Merit from the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara.

His word was always a genuine expression of Cubanness and his pedagogical vocation was rooted in the patriotic tradition of Cuban teaching.

With those qualities, which never abandoned him, Jorge Enrique Mendoza arrived from an early age at the field of the Revolution in his native Camagüey and committed himself decisively to it, contributing all his energy and dedication.

Together with Cándido González, Raúl García Peláez, Jesús Suárez Gayol and other representatives of the youth of Camagüey of that time, he joined the organization of the Movement 26 de Julio and from there demonstrated his capacity and vocation for political agitation and the dissemination of revolutionary ideas under the difficult conditions of clandestinity, from the days before November 30th and the Landing of the Granma, becoming an essential link in the different aspects of the struggle in Agramon territory.

From mid-1958, when he went up to the Sierra Maestra to join the Rebel Army, reaching the rank of Captain, his voice began to be known and identified by the Cuban people through transmissions of Radio Rebelde until January 1st itself, when his words preceded Fidel's historic and momentous address from Palma Soriano.

After the revolutionary triumph, his life was a constant succession of the various tasks that were successively entrusted to him and which he performed with his usual enthusiasm, wisdom and sense of duty. It was in these endeavors—as provincial chief of the Agrarian Reform—when his revolutionary loyalty and integrity beyond question shone brightly: Mendoza and the group of comrades who joined him denounced the betrayal that was being hatched at that moment and the counter-revolutionary purposes of the conspiracy ringleader who sought to deceive the people.

Mendoza's voice resonated through the radio waves as never before on that memorable occasion and the masses of Camagüey took to the streets, waited for Fidel and Camilo, and led by them put an end to the conspiracy and raised there, higher and more firmly, the flag of the Revolution.

The responsibilities he successively received continued to be important, such as second chief of the Political Direction of the FAR, director of the National Scholarship Plan, director of the newspaper Granma—for twenty years—, and president of the Institute of History of Cuba. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Party and Deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power.

Man of vast culture, teacher, soldier, journalist and tireless propagandist of the Revolution and of the Party. Devoted follower of Martí, decided and fervent Fidelista, cultivator and guardian of unity and firm and uncompromising against the enemies of the Homeland.