Dies in La Habana from coronavirus the prestigious photographer Raúl López Sánchez

February 18, 2021

Holder of an extensive record of service in the Cuban press, photojournalist Raúl López Sánchez passed away on Saturday, February 13 in Havana at the age of 78, a victim of coronavirus.

Born in Camagüey, he worked for more than forty years at the newspaper Granma. His lens captured images from all sectors of society, although it was in sports photography, especially in disciplines such as baseball, where he achieved greater recognition.

He also stood out for his enthusiasm for sports in the Press Softball League, where he was one of its most active participants since its origins in the interdepartmental tournament of the newspaper Granma in the 1980s.

He belonged to a family of distinguished photojournalists along with his brother, Ricardo, also deceased, and his nephew and son of the latter, Ricardito.

After joining the Granma newspaper, he held various positions until entering the Photography Department. He covered different national and international events, some abroad, and received various distinctions for his work.

"Peace and eternal light for my uncle Raúl, another victim of the fatal Covid. He will already be with my father creating images and dreaming of baseball," wrote his nephew López Hevia on Facebook when announcing the unfortunate news.

Orfilio Peláez, one of his Granma colleagues for decades, wrote: "The news of his death has affected me greatly, questioned by some because of his way of never staying silent about what he considered an arbitrary act or something done wrong, Raúl López belongs to the golden generation of those journalists and photojournalists who devoted their lives to the Granma newspaper."

Journalist Sonia Sánchez, who worked at the newspaper for more than ten years, told OnCuba: "he was a colleague with whom you worked very well as a team, he was very inclined to help. He was a very good photographer and knew where the image that needed to be captured was."

"Raúl and I were united by a close professional and personal friendship. We were together for four years on a permanent basis in the microbrigade (we were only four from the editorial staff who had to leave the typewriter and the camera to guarantee housing. The others were Sergio Valiente and Arnaldo Musa)," recalls former Granma journalist Miguel Hernández.

"During the time I was sports editor, which included the era of the Havana Pan American Games, I managed to have Raúl and Ricardo as permanent fixtures in the sports section and we made a great team. The professional product of those Games in images and texts confirms this," he said.