A Well-deserved Honor for a Cuban “Red Rose”

By Rubén G. Abelenda on February 27, 2021

Photo: Ismael Francisco

It was José Martí who said that “Honor for those who deserve honor”, but the Apostle could never have imagined that the highest distinction awarded to journalists in Cuba would bear his name, after the triumph of the Revolution on the Caribbean island on January 1, 1959.

This year, this prestigious prize of recognition was awarded to our colleague Rosa Miriam Elizalde, whom I had the good fortune to meet back in 2003 in Madrid, and with whom it was a privilege to share work in various capitals, including Havana of course, in the years that followed.

I will never forget when in December of that year, on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, she interviewed the famous Portuguese writer, novelist, poet, journalist and playwright, Jose Saramago, and with her pen Elizalde put an end to one of the many media campaigns against Cuba that have been repeated to denigrate the Revolution.

Nor can I forget that the “Cuban Red Rose”, as a dear friend from Madrid, a member of the same social communications profession, christened her, worked tirelessly, did not sleep, ate little, and wrote non-stop, rocking in front of her computer, as she continues to do to this day.

She was also the one who inspired another journalist of Spanish origin to dedicate part of his time to writing articles in favor of Cuba and the Great Homeland.

Admired for her professionalism, her modesty and her kindness, the “Cuban Red Rose” was one of the pioneers, if not the first, to encourage and make many people understand the need to use social networks in defense of the Caribbean nation and the just causes of Our America and the world.

In that battle she gave her all and in fact became one of the most knowledgeable about the Internet and social networks in our country, a kind of think tank from which we should all drink her knowledge in order to face the worst of the unconventional wars waged against our country, but for which the island is already very well prepared.

Of Elizalde, we must not fail to mention her loyalty and affection for Fidel, her familiarity, her constant concern for her daughter and her nearest and dearest, and her culinary specialty, a pumpkin cream that I also had the opportunity to try on several occasions when we visited her.

From African lands, I was compelled to write these lines to congratulate the Cuban “Red Rose” for having been awarded the José Martí 2021 National Journalism Prize for Life’s Work. Undoubtedly it is worth saying the phrase of the Apostle: “Honor for those who deserve honor”.

Rubén G. Abelenda is a journalist and Cuban Ambassador to Gambia.

Source: Red in Defense of Humanity