Telebandera, nearly two decades on the air

A few meters from the municipal terminal and as a fortress of a city that stands out for its scoops, Telebandera reaches, vitally, its eighteenth anniversary.

It was no coincidence that Cárdenas was chosen by our eternal Commander Fidel Castro to found a municipal telecentre there in 2005. For several years the Flag City of Cuba became the epicenter of the Battle of Ideas, which began with the demand for the release of little Elián González.

A two-hour magazine special marked the first airing on August 27. As of September of that same year, every Saturday and Sunday the community television station offered a regular 6-hour program, which included local and foreign proposals.

The Acontecer newscast and the Señal magazine were among the first spaces covered by the telecentre, which found the way to reinvent themselves and get closer to the preference of the Cardenense, remaining in time for these almost two decades of deliveries and challenges.

“In three times”, “Suena mi música”, “La muela del Cangrejo”, “Cámara en Mano” and “Coordenada Cultural”, are some treasures that were part of the television schedule of the only Matanzas municipal telecentre. To them are added other famous spaces such as “De mi ciudad”, a long-awaited date with history, or “Combinación Cardenense”, which updated the sporting events of the territory.

His proposals have varied a lot since then. Their broadcast days are not the same either. But the essence of the institution remains valid, overcoming economic limitations and staff fluctuations.

There are still faces from that August, who refuse to leave the center where they have felt useful, fulfilled and where they continue to give their best, such as lighting technician Abel Mederos and renowned journalist Alexei McIntosh León.

In the bloody times of the Pandemic, Telebandera multiplied its viewership and became a benchmark for news and current affairs.

Neither red zones nor alarming numbers of infections stopped the group, which in 2020 extended its broadcasts to the air, to be more effective and constant in crisis communication.

Since 2005 there have been many challenges, which do not cease, but neither has the determination of those who care about keeping this work of Fidel and the Revolution active.

Almost two decades later, «satisfying the informational, educational-training and recreational needs of the Cardenense, with original and quality proposals, aimed at different audiences» continues to be the social objective of the telecentre that, like Quixote, is not afraid of windmills, and in the face of adversity, it grows. (ALH)

Ana Cristina Rodríguez Pérez/Girón

Translated by Casterman Medina de Leon