- Broadcaster Jorge Melanio Carbonell López was recently awarded the distinction of Artist of Merit of Cuban Radio. Congratulations, maestro.
He says he inherited his voice from his father, Gustavo, a merchant and farmer; that as a child, he would peer through the windows of what was then Radio Circuito; that the medium called to him, even though only one of his relatives (Gilberto Rosal López) had ventured into the world of broadcasting.
Jorge Carbonell López welcomes me at the door of his house. “What a beautiful home!” I say to break the ice. “Too big for me,” he replies. He invites me to sit down, and my gaze wanders to the terrace (“La negra”). “Sit down, professor. I think it's absurd that they took so long to award you the distinction of Artist of Merit of Cuban Radio. You deserved it a long time ago,” I say, congratulating him.
"I'm very happy. I've been greatly surprised by people's comments on social media. I didn't know they loved me so much. In the end, that's the real prize. Going out on the street and receiving praise, even some criticism," he says.
The maestro begins to string together stories in the comfort of his home, and as I listen to him, I realize that not even his sonorous and imposing voice can overshadow the emotion that traveling back in time causes him. "Radio is my life. Radio Circuito was two blocks from my house. I was 10 years old when I started walking its corridors. Behind its huge windows, I watched announcers like Cofresí and Neido Arcenio at work, but I didn't dare go in. One day they invited me in, and in a way, I never left..."
“We have presented a program of cheerful and beautiful music,” a phrase that would launch his career at only 15 years of age. “That was the first thing I said. And from there I continued...”
Carbonell began to discover the world of consoles and microphones as an amateur. He was an audio operator, worked in the music library, dabbled in acting... "I even worked in education. I became a math teacher and then moved on to the territorial management of the sector, in a department of dissemination. There, I worked on educational and historical programs, where I took advantage of my potential as a broadcaster. In 1975, I officially started working in radio," he says.
He confesses that he always knew that radio was his path, that he was professionally evaluated in 1976, and that deep down he always held onto his dream of being an actor. However, close to the dial, he has also taken his first steps in the performing arts, narrating programs such as Caminos and El cuento on the provincial radio station.
He has also left his mark on other entities such as Habana Radio. Today, he fondly remembers those three years when he had to work hard in the early hours of the morning; he acknowledges that it was a time of learning.
He especially remembers the program Cuentos, música y poemas (Stories, Music, and Poems), which he hosted alongside broadcaster Marujita García. He is also a member of the National Broadcasters' Evaluation Tribunal, serving as president of that guild for several years for the eastern provinces. He has won awards from the Cuban Academy of Sciences for research related to the history of broadcasting in Las Tunas.
At 72 years of age, he says that his professional routines have not changed much. He likes to arrive early, do desk work, and consult what he is going to communicate... And that's how it should be. Therefore, it is not surprising that he has received recognition in his career, although he would have liked to belong to the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC) and the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), as he has also embraced journalism and culture in general. However, he feels useful and has the affection of the people, which rewards him. That is why he proudly declares, “I retired, but retirement has never crossed my mind. As long as I have a voice and sight, I will be at the service of radio.”
