To Counter Anti-Cuba Propaganda!
One of the very best broadcast journalists in Miami, Hatzel Vela, is now stationed in Havana and makes regular reports from Cuba for WPLG Channel 10, the ABC Network's affiliate in Miami. Like great BBC & Reuters journalists stationed in Cuba, Hatzel Vela faces no restrictions from the Cuban government regarding what he reports back to Miami on that nearby American city's best television newscasts.
Whether reporting back to Miami from Havana or elsewhere around Cuba, Hatzel Vela is free to say whatever he chooses. His latest report -- April 5th, 2018 -- on Miami's ABC Channel 10 was entitled: "Castro Loyalist Prepares to Make History in Cuba." That referenced the historic change in Cuba later this month, on April 19th, when Miguel Diaz-Canel -- a non-Castro and a non-Revolutionary -- takes over as Cuba's President. Vela's fair reporting on the important topic mentioned the fact that U. S. President Donald Trump has recently added Counter Revolutionary zealots John Bolton and Mike Pompeo as key and very militant anti-Cuban advisers and officials.
America's top Latin American correspondents -- such as Leyla Santiago of CNN -- can fly into and out of Cuba anytime they choose and report on anything in Cuba.
SO NO WONDER, frankly, that Cuba's own Superstar broadcast journalist and anchor -- Cristina Escobar -- has made headlines, both in Spanish & English and on both Cuban & U. S. soil, with headline-making quotations such as:
*****"Cuban journalists have more freedom to tell the truth about the U. S. than U. S. journalists have to tell the truth about Cuba."
*****"Cuba's fate is up to Cubans on the island, not Cubans in Miami and Washington."
This is Cristina Escobar anchoring a newscast in Cuba, which actually has excellent journalism featuring many well-educated and talented journalists. Many non-Cuban impartial observers consider her the best all-around television periodista {journalist} in the Western Hemisphere. As Cuba's Superstar news anchor, reporter, and interviewer, she is practically nonpareil. I'm a retired USA television anchor and I consider Cristina Escobar the best all-around television journalist I've ever seen. She is also one of the most dedicated.
As a matter of fact, it seems that former U. S. President Barack Obama and NBC News' long-time Chief Foreign Correspondent Andrea Mitchell agree with me regarding Cristina Escobar being the best broadcast journalist, or at least one of the very best, in the Western Hemisphere. That's why, during the Obama presidency, Cristina made history -- as shown above -- by being the only Cuban journalist to ask questions at a White House news conference. And she dominated the session by asking 4 pertinent questions plus two timely follow-ups. In Cuba, the brilliant Cristina anchors a major newscast in Spanish AND a regional newscast in English. She is so well respected in the U. S. that she has spoken at three American universities and been well received in major cities from Washington-D.C. to California. However, like Nelson Mandela she was treated rudely in Miami.
In Miami, apparently because she is not about to defect, Cristina Escobar was rudely called "a Castro spy." Note her expression spawned by the words "con espia Castrista", which means "with Castro's female spy." And note in the photo on the right the red arrow pointed at Cristina as she tried to have a quiet, friendly meal at a Miami restaurant. Such typical Miami tactics, so typical since 1959, are perhaps more America's problem than Cuba's since 1959. Cristina Escobar, Cuba's Superstar broadcast journalist, is treated rudely in Miami because there is no chance she will defect. On the other hand, Miami's broadcast journalist, Hatzel Vela stationed in Havana, is treated well. Americans should not ignore that dichotomy.
Meanwhile, back on her home turf in Cuba, Cristina Escobar remains the best all-around broadcast journalist that this old retired USA broadcast journalist has ever seen. The versatile Cristina's nonpareil skills as an anchor, reporter, writer, and interviewer -- along with her sheer dedication to honest journalism -- sets her apart in her very honorable profession.
As an anchor, interviewer, and reporter, Cristina Escobar personifies the very best in broadcast journalism. She doesn't rest on her laurels as a star studio anchor; she readily goes out on the streets and byways of Cuba to cover important events. In this photo, beyond her studio desk, Cristina is shown covering a recent impromptu news conference in which Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez was being quizzed about the island's recent municipal elections held at some 24,000 polling places. Cristina takes tremendous pride in journalism and she is not adverse to criticizing the government if she thinks criticism is warranted. Needless to say, Cristina is one of the most beloved and respected young adults on the island, and the island's fate in transitioning to a new President and in the Age of Trump rests largely on the young adult generation of Cubans IN CUBA.
Very studious, Cristina Escobar is often interviewed in English or Spanish by international networks because of her expertise in journalism AND IN the always contentious U.S.-Cuba relations. Her thesis at the University of Havana eerily predicted the exact effect that President Obama would have on Cuba.
The first time I saw the ultra-talented Cristina Escobar anchor a newscast on Cuban television, I thought she was something special and a credit to broadcast journalism. And I still do.
Happily married on her island, Cristina Escobar!
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