Fernando Guardado, the broadcaster and host who for nearly four decades was the most recognizable face of the rural program “Palmas y Cañas”, passed away in the early hours of Tuesday at his residence in Havana, at the age of 79. According to Cuban state television, the family has decided that his remains will be cremated in a private ceremony.
Born on July 23, 1947, in Unión de Reyes, Matanzas, Guardado did not enter the media due to an early vocation but rather because of an unexpected turn of fate. His initial training was pedagogical: he studied History and Geography at the Enrique José Varona Higher Pedagogical Institute, and after graduating, he worked at the Higher School of Athletic Improvement, associated with INDER. From that period, he proudly recalled having among his students young people who would later achieve great sports results, including the Olympic and world champion Alberto Juantorena.
His entry into broadcasting was as fortuitous as it was definitive. While working as a writer at a station in Artemisa, a host fell ill during a live transmission, and the director ordered him: "Guardado, take over the hosting." That incidental moment, as noted by state television, "ultimately revealed a calling that would shape the rest of his life."
From then on, he built an extensive career in Cuban radio: he worked at CMBF Radio Musical Nacional, Radio Progreso, Cadena Habana, and Radio Cordón de La Habana. He was accredited as a professional announcer alongside figures like Teresita Segarra and Acralis Valdés, and he passed the assessment of Master Manolo Ortega, one of the great references in broadcasting in Cuba, although he admitted to feeling deep nervousness before that test.
However, his most enduring legacy is linked to «Palmas y Cañas», the longest-running television program in Cuba, founded on October 19, 1962, and dedicated to rural music, Cuban punto, décimas, and countryside traditions. Guardado joined the program in 1975 and hosted it for 39 years, until 2014, becoming the face that several generations of Cubans associate with that "guateque of Cuban television" where figures like Ramón Veloz, Celina González, and Justo Vega also shone.
After retiring from the screen in 2014, he continued to be active as a broadcaster at the Palace of Conventions in Havana. Throughout his career, he accumulated various honors, including the Artist of Merit distinction from the ICRT, the Antero Regalado Medal from the ANAP, the Majadahonda Internationalist Medal, and the Seal for 65 years of Cuban Television.
The Cuban Television Directorate expressed its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues, describing the death as the loss of "one of its most recognizable voices." Guardado's passing adds to a series of recent losses in the Cuban media world: the announcer Guillermo Rivero de La Rosa died of a heart attack on September 14, and the actor Ronny Mayo Días unexpectedly passed away on September 23.
"Palmas y Cañas," the program that Guardado turned into a part of the emotional memory of Cubans, has been on air for more than six decades and remains the longest-running television show in the history of Cuban television.
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