Quienes me conocen, saben que detesto el autobombo. Sin embargo, hoy, en el Día del Periodista, voy a permitirme felicitarME. No estudié Periodismo en ninguna Facultad. Me hice sola. Aprendí el oficio sobre la marcha, a los tropiezos a veces, con ensayo y error. Afortunadamente, pertenezco a una generación que (en oposición a la de «Karina Lo dejo a tu criterio»), devoraba libros. Poca tele, poca actividad extra-programática, mucha biblioteca en las casas, padres y abuelos lectores, más tiempo libre. La lectura es gran aliada de la escritura. Como estudiante de Literatura Inglesa y Norteamericana, también devoré a los grandes escritores, en una época en que comprábamos libros, no fotocopias. Un día, allá por el ’91, por esas caUsalidades, mi amigo Alejandro Castañeda, en ese momento Jefe de la página de Espectáculos del Diario El Día, me pidió que fuera al Coliseo Podestá a ver una obra de Dickens (Hard Times), que traía a la ciudad una compañía inglesa: «Not the National Theatre». Y, si me animaba, que escribiera algo. Yo ya era actriz, egresada del TID (Taller de Investigaciones Dramáticas, con Carlos Lagos a la cabeza, y había actuada en inglés en un par de obras dirigidas por Rubén Monreal)) Y me animé. Así empezó mi trabajo como crítica de teatro en ese diario, cubriendo primero espectáculos infantiles, luego todo el off-platense, para después incluir también a los espectáculos comerciales provenientes de la Calle Corrientes. Soy una espectadora ávida, de modo que combinaba lo mejor de varios mundos: ver teatro y escribir. Hoy, me animo a escribir sobre otros temas, incluso políticos, no sólo para El Día, en inglés y en castellano. Y me siento feliz de poder hacerlo, plena, muy satisfecha con este maravilloso oficio de comunicadora, orgullosa de mi misma -si se me permite – porque tengo el coraje de mis convicciones, y las defiendo públicamente con la pluma y la palabra.
___________________________________________________________________________________
In January this year, I sent an e-mail to Bob Cox, former editor of The Buenos Aires Herald, praising him for an article he published there on the journalist’s role. For those who don’t know him, here’s an extract from Wikipedia:
Robert J. Cox (b. 1933) also known as Bob Cox, is a British journalist who worked as editor of the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper, an English daily in Argentina. Cox became famous for his criticisms of the military dictatorship (1976-1983). He was detained and jailed released after a day. Threats against his family, one of which contained very detailed data on his then 13 year old son, became too much; the family left Argentina in 1979. He moved to Charleston, South Carolina, USA, where he became an editor of The Post and Courier, owned by the same publishing company that owned the Buenos Aires Herald. In 2005 the Buenos Aires legislature recognized Cox for his valor during the dictatorship era.
This is the letter I sent him:
Dear Mr.Cox: I’ve just read your «Testing time for journalists» and couldn’t agree more. I can’t help feeling that this democracy is, at times, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The President and her followers have been constantly and consistently despising and mocking the opinions and ideas of the many millions who don’t support the so-called «model». Their narrow-mindedness is appalling and dangerous. Their denial of reality, even worse. They never admit their own mistakes, which is a «sine qua non» condition to change the course of events and try to improve things. I also survived the dark years of dictatorship, having lost many close friends. But at that time, the rules of the game were quite clear. There was no freedom to speak your mind out, no choice. Nowadays, we can’t really say that there’s no freedom of speech, but we’re not taken into account if we don’t clap and smile at CFK’s teenage, erratic behaviour, and her permanent contradictions and improvisation. I’ve always admired your courage and intellectual honesty, and it’s a pleasure to have you back. Regards
Today, June 7th, as a Journalist’s Day gift, I got his reply:
Dear Irene Delighted to see your letter in today’s Herald. I apologize for not replying to your e-mail earlier. We had a disastrous hacking attack on our accounts, both hotmail and gmail, and I have only recently managed to retrieve emails which were mysteriously dumped in the «papelera» without my knowledge. I wanted to thank you for your email to me and the letters published in the Herald. You have cheered me up so many times, when I was depressed by the terrible waste of talent and resources by this awful nongovernment. I have stopped trying to hide my feelings and opinions, as did Lanata when he passed his 50 year mark. So, warmest regards. Please keep writing. Viva la Argentina Ever Bob
Thanks, Mr Cox! Couldn’t ask for more
___________________________________________________________________________________
In January this year, I sent an e-mail to Bob Cox, former editor of The Buenos Aires Herald, praising him for an article he published there on the journalist’s role. For those who don’t know him, here’s an extract from Wikipedia:
Robert J. Cox (b. 1933) also known as Bob Cox, is a British journalist who worked as editor of the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper, an English daily in Argentina. Cox became famous for his criticisms of the military dictatorship (1976-1983). He was detained and jailed released after a day. Threats against his family, one of which contained very detailed data on his then 13 year old son, became too much; the family left Argentina in 1979. He moved to Charleston, South Carolina, USA, where he became an editor of The Post and Courier, owned by the same publishing company that owned the Buenos Aires Herald. In 2005 the Buenos Aires legislature recognized Cox for his valor during the dictatorship era.
This is the letter I sent him:
Dear Mr.Cox: I’ve just read your «Testing time for journalists» and couldn’t agree more. I can’t help feeling that this democracy is, at times, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The President and her followers have been constantly and consistently despising and mocking the opinions and ideas of the many millions who don’t support the so-called «model». Their narrow-mindedness is appalling and dangerous. Their denial of reality, even worse. They never admit their own mistakes, which is a «sine qua non» condition to change the course of events and try to improve things. I also survived the dark years of dictatorship, having lost many close friends. But at that time, the rules of the game were quite clear. There was no freedom to speak your mind out, no choice. Nowadays, we can’t really say that there’s no freedom of speech, but we’re not taken into account if we don’t clap and smile at CFK’s teenage, erratic behaviour, and her permanent contradictions and improvisation. I’ve always admired your courage and intellectual honesty, and it’s a pleasure to have you back. Regards
Today, June 7th, as a Journalist’s Day gift, I got his reply:
Dear Irene Delighted to see your letter in today’s Herald. I apologize for not replying to your e-mail earlier. We had a disastrous hacking attack on our accounts, both hotmail and gmail, and I have only recently managed to retrieve emails which were mysteriously dumped in the «papelera» without my knowledge. I wanted to thank you for your email to me and the letters published in the Herald. You have cheered me up so many times, when I was depressed by the terrible waste of talent and resources by this awful nongovernment. I have stopped trying to hide my feelings and opinions, as did Lanata when he passed his 50 year mark. So, warmest regards. Please keep writing. Viva la Argentina Ever Bob
Thanks, Mr Cox! Couldn’t ask for more