Miguel Delibes, a worthy master of journalists
It has widely been written on Miguel Delibes, from reputable biographies-Ramón García- to doctoral thesis, and a huge number of articles and references. It is not easy, therefore, to come up with something new. However, taking advantage of the (deserved) tribute given to him by the RAE with -with the attendance of the King and the Queen, ), I would like to get into some considerations hoping they will be clarifying and might even be useful
Celso Almuiña
Modern History Professor
American Modern History Department. Departments of Journalism Audiovisual Communication, and Publicity University School of Arts
UNIVERSITY OF VALLADOLID
The first assertion is that Miguel Delibes has truly been a true master of journalists. We know about the brilliant professionals who have been toughening at the journalism school which is El Norte de Castilla: Martin Delcalzo, Umbral, Leguineche, Jimenez Lozano and so far so on. However, here, I relate more to his career and personal testimony.
Miguel appreciated this "task"-a term he liked, I think half a way in between craft and profession-journalism, as a pillar of any democratic system. And for the sake of this conviction, after his time as Editor of El Norte de Castilla (1958-63), which de facto he was forced him to leave his post, however, his teaching, sometimes directly and others indirectly remained present for many years in the editorial team of El Norte de Castilla (1994). Since 1970, I can testify it, at least during the intense final decade of Franco's regime and the -not always easy- exciting start of the transition to democracy.
In those years when I was engaged in carrying out my PhD - with every chance provided by the company (Altes, father and son, Delibes, etc.) to consult the funds of the "Dean of the daily Spanish press" - as Miguel - in addition to other more or less casual writings, evening after evening, almost cloistered in the teleprinter's tiny room, he was shaping the "The wars of our ancestors", to me his most important novel, due to its topic, treatment-the incarnation of the more experiential environmentalism - but maybe because I saw how its characters were taking shape and, no least due to the conversations, rather than the consults, held on the topic of the history of Spain in the modern era, whose "essence" he added up in an intermittent (uncivilized) "civil war", but continuous in between patriots / traitors, arising from the Liberal Revolution (War of Independence), two hundred years ago today(six generations) and which, unfortunately, its after effects were still very present the above mentioned mid-decade. Out of its three generations, that one of the ecologist, pacifist Pacifico Pérez, especially in the '70s, was a desperate cry to break with our uncivil history.
We talk a lot, in more or less programmed breaks about very different current topics: current (Prague Spring), history of Spain, media, role of information (versus propaganda) on the creation of a responsible critical public opinion and that is, journalism in general (very little about romance, of course). It was by then when it came to me, not only the will to conclude the started course on journalism, but someday to be able to create the Degree on journalism at the University of Valladolid. It was necessary to wait over three decades, give more of a battle, but eventually we succeeded (2003).
It was therefore fair, and of course a personal recognition and satisfaction, that, after the first class graduated in Journalism at the UVA, I invited Miguel Delibes to sponsor the first and significant promotion (2008).
Miguel was not able to travel to the University already. We must remember, for example, he could no longer attend more important and relevant events such as the presentation of the Medal of the Community by President Herrera or to celebrate the sesquicentennial (150 years) of El Norte de Castilla (2006) when the King and the Queen had to had to travel to is personal home.
Etiquetas: Spanish