Journalist and Film Critic Rolando Pérez Betancourt Dies in Havana

February 18, 2023

Rolando Pérez Betancourt, National Journalism Prize José Martí recipient and renowned film critic in Cuba, died on February 18 in Havana, according to reports today from the newspaper Granma.

Pérez Betancourt earned the respect and affection of the Cuban people, reaching their homes every Friday through the television program La séptima puerta. Before that there were other TV spaces, such as Tanda del Domingo and Cine Vivo.

His critical and journalistic work constitutes a legacy that, along with that of other greats in the profession, will accompany the work of new generations of reporters.

The writer and film critic also began his professional career at age 15 as an apprentice compositor at the newspaper Noticias de Hoy, and in 1963 moved to the newsroom as a designer and sports columnist.

A graduate in Journalism from the University of La Habana, and a French graduate from the Institutes of Foreign Trade and Foreign Relations, Pérez Betancourt was founder in 1965 of the newspaper Granma, where he held the positions of editor-in-chief, information director, and cultural page editor.

Among other sections he wrote for Minuto y medio, Luz roja, La historia detrás de la foto, Sucedió hace 20 años, and Crónica de un espectador, the latter dedicated to cinema, which has been running since 1973.

He also hosted television film programs, and from 2003 onward hosted the weekly program La séptima puerta on Canal Cubavisión.

Among his published written works are the novels Mujer que regresa (1986 and 1990), and La última mascarada de la cumbancha (1999).

Pérez Betancourt was founder, in 1963, of the Union of Journalists of Cuba, and member of the National Council of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, where he presided over the Association of Radio, Film and Television Critics in the eighties.

For his work he received the Distinction for National Culture (1994), the National Cultural Journalism Prize José Antonio Fernández de Castro at its first award ceremony in 1999; the National Journalism Prize José Martí (2007); and the José Manuel Valdés Rodríguez Seal from the University of La Habana (2011), among other honors.