Jose Luis Estrada Betancourt

Cuban journalist from the newspaper Juventud Rebelde and head of the Culture Section of this newspaper. He received the Juan Gualberto Gómez Award in 2021 for his work. Researcher of dance.

He began his academic studies as a Nuclear Physicist in Bulgaria. The fall of the socialist bloc prevented him from finishing his degree there. He enrolled at the University of Havana and completed his degree in Pure Physics. He began in the years 91-92 with the profession of his life: teaching.

A great friend, a History professor, spoke to him about the Diploma in Journalism at the José Martí International Institute of Journalism: an emerging and intensive course for university graduates who, if they passed the aptitude exams, would be trained in one year. He passed through each of the elimination rounds until his name appeared in one of the first two groups that undertook this experience, which would later have two or three more editions. From the beginning this profession captivated him.

He began his work at the National Information Agency (AIN), now the Cuban News Agency (ACN), then came Radio Reloj and finally Juventud Rebelde where he worked for 19 years, where he became head of its Culture Section.

He specialized and wrote on a wide range of cultural topics, but he was a meticulous researcher of dance; especially of ballet. His curiosity and interest in this art form led him to follow the steps of the National Ballet of Cuba, a company about which he published two books: De la semilla al fruto. La compañía and El mundo baila en La Habana.