Cuban Journalist Pedro de la Hoz Passes Away

June 5, 2024

Pedro de la Hoz González (Cienfuegos, 1953 - Havana June 5, 2024) Cuban journalist and literary critic, holder of the Distinction for National Culture and founder of the supplement Huella. He was the first director of the magazine Artecubano and a member of the Union of Journalists of Cuba and the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

Considered one of the most prestigious contemporary Cuban journalists, specialized in the promotion and criticism of island music. Author of several books that bear witness to the most recent developments of the nation.

He completed elementary music studies in his native city. Upon finishing secondary school, he moved to Havana to study at the University of Havana, from which he graduated in 1976 with a degree in Journalism.

Linked for more than three decades to various print media outlets, he practiced cultural journalism and music criticism in the newspapers 5 de Septiembre (Cienfuegos), Vanguardia (Villa Clara) and Granma, where he served as head of the cultural section. He founded the cultural supplement Huella in Villa Clara and was the first director of the magazine Artecubano, of the National Council of Plastic Arts.

Author of the monograph África en la Revolución Cubana (Letras Cubanas Editorial, 2004), the book of interviews Como el primer día (Letras Cubanas Editorial, 2009) and the essay Durban, diez años después (Letras Cubanas Editorial, 2011).

He also published, with Alberto Núñez Betancourt, the testimony Misioneros del Alba (Abril Publishing House, 2010) and, co-authored with Luis Báez, the essay Evo, espuma de plata (Plaza Editorial, 2008); the testimonies Todos somos Evo (Plaza Editorial, 2009), Caravana de la Libertad (Abril Publishing House, 2009), Todos somos pueblo (Plaza Editorial, 2010), and the monograph Hotel Nacional de Cuba, revelaciones de una leyenda (Capitán San Luis Editorial, 2010). He collaborated with the most important Cuban journalistic publications and with magazines and newspapers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Colombia, Italy and Brazil.

Among other recognitions, he received the National Prize for Cultural Journalism José Antonio Fernández de Castro (1999), the National Prize for Journalism José Martí (2017) and the Written Press Prize Jorge Enrique Mendoza (2009), both awarded for his lifetime achievement. He was also granted the Distinction for National Culture (1996).

As a writer he was invited to the International Book Fairs of Santo Domingo, Caracas, La Paz and Bogotá and, as part of the Cuban Chapter of the Network in Defense of Humanity, he participated in forums held in Rome, Caracas, Salvador de Bahía and Sao Paulo.