Don José Ignacio "Pepín" Rivero y Alonso was a Cuban journalist and the 14th director of '' Diario de la Marina'', which was the oldest and most popular

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. He is considered to be "one of the most subtle writers of his time and one of the best writers of

Spanish-American Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose Spaniards, ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European Americans, European American group in t ...

journalism in the 20th century". The journalist Gerardo Gallegos wrote upon his death that Rivero was "the most hated and, at the same time, the most beloved Cuban of his time." He took over management of ''Diario de la Marina'' from his father, the 1st Count of Rivero, Nicolás Rivero y Muñiz. He also inherited from his father the unofficial title of ''Decano de la Presna (Decan of the Press).'' His directorship of ''Diario de la Marina'' ran from 1919 until his death in 1944. His older brother, Nicolás Rivero y Alonso, became the 2nd Count of Rivero, and was the first Cuban Ambassador to the Holy See in 1935.'''' Rivero was the first Cuban to earn the

Maria Moors Cabot Prize The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are the oldest international awards in the field of journalism. They are presented each fall by the Trustees of Columbia University to journalists in the Western hemisphere who are viewed as having made a significant c ...

in 1941. Rivero was a member of the

Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País Sociedad is a municipality in the Morazán department of El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on t ...

, the Club de Abogados, the Unión Club, the Havana Yacht Club and the Havana Country Club.'''' The

Cuban government Cuba is communist and has had a socialist political system since 1961 based on the "one state, one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a single-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republic with semi-presidential powers. The pre ...

largely erased the memory of Pepín Rivero when his son -

José Ignacio Rivero José Ignacio Rivero y Hernández ("Pepinillo" Rivero) was a Cuban exile and journalist. He is the grandson of Don Nicolás Rivero y Muñiz, Nicolas Rivero, who in 1895 became the director of ''El Diario de la Marina, Diario de la Marina,'' then t ...

- went into exile in the United States in 1960: they removed the plaque that marked the house where Pepín Rivero was born, they tore down his statues and monuments, and they ensured that buildings which were named after him were renamed.''''

Early life

Pepín Rivero was born on February 3, 1895, in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Colegio de Belén, and then was accepted into the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

to study Civil law. Rivero graduated from the University of Havana in 1916 with a law degree.''''

Diario de la Marina

In 1914, while studying, Rivero first gained employment at his father's newspaper, '' Diario de la Marina'', as an assistant director.'''' In 1917, Rivero was promoted to vice director of ''Diario de la Marina''.'''' In 1919, Rivero's father, Nicolás Rivero y Muñiz, died, and at 22 years of age Rivero inherited his father's position and became the director of the oldest and most popular newspaper in Cuba.'''' The contemporary scholar Gerardo Castellanos G. writes that Rivero became feared, admired, respected, and gathered a list of enemies while running this newspaper:

"Pepin Rivero is the unmistakable heir of his journalist father in the technique of the simple, synthetic, deep, fluid, caustic, biting and satirical handling of the idea with the pen.... That is why now, in this rejuvenated and evolutionary era, his words continue to be the core of the Journal; the most sought after, the most read, the most feared... Because how singular and paradoxical it is that the same people (and there are many) who hate him, also read and comment on his works daily. Thus it is that Pepín Rivero, the man they call the terrible
Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
, is not as reactionary and vicious as his army of implacable enemies suppose, but rather a cultured, skeptical, enjoyer of life, experienced connoisseur of men. He directs the powerful journalistic-commercial company called Diario de la Marina, and turns out to be the one Cuban journalist with the most substance and the greatest influence due to the depth of his pen, although, at the same time, he is the most frequently threatened."

In the 1920s, Rivero authorized the creation of the "''Suplemento Literario Dominical,"'' the literary review supplement to ''Diario de La Marina.'' In 1926, he appointed

José Antonio Fernández de Castro José Antonio Fernández de Castro (January 18, 1887 in Havana – July 30, 1951 in Havana) was a Cuban journalist and writer active in the first part of the 20th century. He was a member of the Minorista Group, the Veterans and Patriots Move ...

, a member of the Minorista Group, to become the director of the literary review.'' The literary review became a powerhouse of Cuban activism, revolutionary thought, and nationalism, despite Rivero's conservatism.'''' The literary review also included a section called "''Ideales de una Raza" (Ideals of a Race),'' which was a pro-African and pro-

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

section, dedicated to discussion of racial identity in Cuba.'''' According to Ángel Augier, this was the first time that any newspaper in Cuba recognized the problems of black people in Cuba, "without euphemisms and with frankness. Blacks could appear on a platform to protest their ostracism, to demand effective recognition of their civil and social rights."''''Academia de Ciencias de Cuba. Instituto de Lingüística, Diccionario de la literatura cubana. Tomo II, Letras Cubanas, La Habana 1984, pp. 991-992. José Fernández brought to the newspaper the works of the following internationally esteemed writers, among many others:'''' * José Lezama Lima *

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French ...

* Raúl Roa *

Enrique de la Osa Enrique de la Osa (Delahoza) y Perdomo was a Cubans, Cuban Communist revolutionary activist, journalist, editor, and News magazine, newsmagazine publisher. He is one of the primary figures in the history of journalism in Cuba. In 1928, he created ...

* Rafael Suárez Solis * Gastón Baquero * Ramiro Guerra Sánchez *

Rubén Martínez Villena Rubén Agnelio Martínez Villena (December 20, 1899 – January 16, 1934) was a Cuban people, Cuban writer, lawyer, and Cuban Revolution, revolutionary leader. He was the ringleader of the Protest of the Thirteen, the first protest of the Cuban in ...

* Alfonso Hernandez Cata * Juan Antiga *

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

* José Carlos Mariategui *

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (, ; 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century. One of his narratives was "lyrical evocations ...

Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

'''' This appointment by Rivero of the prominent Minorista writer, and Rivero's acknowledgement of the Minoristas in Cuban culture, marks Rivero as a man who could give liberals their space to write and create in his newspaper despite the fact that he was a strict Catholic conservative.'''' His father had been loyal to the crown of Spain's colonial possession of Cuba, even though he was a

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

, and Rivero continued to mark ''Diaro de la Marina'' as the voice of Spain in Cuba, and the voice of Cuba in Spain. In 1926, the Spanish journalist Antonio Gonzalez Linares at the newsmagazine ''Nuevo Mundo'' interviewed Rivero about his relationship to Spain, and overall Cuban-Spanish relations:

"José Ignacio Rivero smiled a little sadly as he commented: 'In this sense, we pay more attention to you than you do to us... In Cuba there are men like the philosopher
Enrique José Varona Enrique José Varona (April 13, 1848, Puerto Principe, Cuba – November 13, 1933, Havana) was a Cuban author. He was educated in Puerto Principe, and began his literary career in 1864 as a contributor to reviews. In 1874, he moved to Havana, div ...
, the critic Jorge Mañach, the poets Marinello, Martínez Villena, and Agustín Acosta, the historians Fernando Ortiz and Ramon Guerra, and many others whose enumeration would be long, who deserve to be known in the intellectual circles of Spain.' "

After

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado was elected president in 1924 as the leader of the Liberal Party, a moderate reform ...

was removed from power, Rivero created two more publications; in 1934 he created '' El Avance Criollo'' with Oscar Zayas (the nephew of

Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso Alfredo de Zayas y Alfonso (February 21, 1861 – April 11, 1934), usually known as Alfredo de Zayas under Spanish naming customs and also known as Alfredo Zayas, was a Cuban lawyer, poet and political figure who was President of Cuba. He ser ...

), and in 1935 he created ''Alerta'' with Jorge Fernández Castro.''''

Spanish Civil War

Because Rivero had an

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

stance, historical accounts of his political affiliations written after the Communist revolution of 1959 mistakenly identify Rivero as a lifelong

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

.'''' However, prior to the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, Rivero was decidedly an

Anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

and wrote in his own words: "For us to feel like Hitlerists or fascists, the same thing would have to happen as for us to feel like Stalinists, that is, we would have to lose common sense."'''' In the Summer of 1936, when the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

broke out, Rivero travelled from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

into

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, accompanied by Jacques Dugé de Bernonville, who was a member of the

Action Française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...

.'''' Rivero proceeded to spend time in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

and

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, and visited the barracks of the

Requeté The Requeté (; , ) was a Carlist organization, at times with paramilitary units, that operated between the mid-1900s and the early 1970s, though exact dates are not clear. The Requeté formula differed over the decades, and according to its c ...

s. For a speech he delivered to the Carlist troops alongside José Luis Oriol Urigüen, he put on their uniform and their

Red beret The red beret is a military beret worn by many artillery, military police, paramilitary, commando, and police forces and should not be confused with the maroon beret worn by airborne troops all around the world. Artillery Red berets are worn by ...

, clearly indicating his position as a

like his father. He then traveled to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from Spain to praise Hitler's fight against

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

.'''' Rivero was not a fascist, but as a member of an elevated Spanish noble family, and Carlist, living in Cuba, he felt that communism was worse than fascism.'''' Furthermore, he wrote in his newspaper that Hitler had raised the German standard of living, and of the "immense popularity of Nazism and of the man who is the guide of its great spirit."'''' When he returned to Havana, he was named honorary president of the Comité Nacionalista Español (CNE). (The president of the CNE was Elicio Argüelles). Rivero used ''Diario de la Marina'' to mobilize Cuban support for the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

in Spain. He gained the favor of the national delegate of the

Falangist Falangism () was the political ideology of three political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española, the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS), and afterwa ...

foreign service, and Alejandro Villanueva Plata, the Inspector of

Falange Falange () is the name of a political party whose ideology is Falangism. Falange primarily refers to: * Falange Española, a Spanish political party active 1933–1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) * Falange ...

. Rivero coordinated the efforts of the

Falange Española de las JONS The Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FE de las JONS) was a fascist political party founded in Spain in 1934 as merger of the Falange Española and the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. FE de las JO ...

(later the

Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FET y de las JONS), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

), the Spanish Embassy to Cuba, and the CNE. He participated as a speaker in every event hosted by the Falangists and their Social Auxiliary in Cuba. In 1937, Rivero and

Eduardo Chibás Eduardo René Chibás Ribas (August 26, 1907 – August 16, 1951) was a Cuban politician who used radio to broadcast his political views to the public. He primarily denounced corruption and gangsterism rampant during the governments of Ramón Gra ...

pilfered each other in the Cuban press. Chibás used his column in ''Bohemia'' to attack Spanish Nationalism, which was what he called "fascist foreign nationalism," and Rivero responded by calling Chibás a "communist lackey," and a "rich, megalomaniac, extremist." During this disagreement with Chibás, Rivero published photographs of the Badajoz massacre in ''Diario de la Marina.'' In late 1939, at the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War, Rivero delivered a speech called the "Victory Speech," where he defended his positions, and the

Francoist Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

regime.'''' After the war, Rivero distanced himself from the Falangist movement, and went so far from the movement that the Cuban Falangist Chief Genaro Riestra called him the "great scam of Cuba." The historian Katia Figueredo Cabrera writes: "At the risk of causing astonishment, it is worth noting in these few pages that Pepín Rivero was never a member of the FET y JONS, nor of the National Fascist Party nor of the Cuban Nazi Party. He always distanced himself from any active militancy that could compromise the image of his newspaper, whose institutional solidity he managed to preserve and strengthen even in the most difficult and hazardous years of the Republican period."

World War II

In 1941, Rivero had dinner with George S. Messersmith and George Ogilvie-Forbes, where the two men managed to convince Rivero - following his trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

- to become an ally to the United States' entry into the War. Rivero realized that his newspaper would sell more copies if he was aligned with the Allies in the war, and the Allies also needed his influence in Cuba to counter the influence of the Axis.'''' On July 14, 1941, Rivero gave a public speech outlining his innermost thoughts: {{Poem quote , "I appear to be a reactionary and conservative outsider since 1933 and subsequent years when I went out to meet, like a wild beast, the deleterious forces of the Marxist revolution. I am Cuban not because I was born in Cuba and raised and educated here, nor because I am the son of a Cuban woman. I am Cuban because my love for my country has been more than proven by my actions. I do not care at all that I am called a fascist, because that does not mean that, given my habit of assimilating adjectives, I am going to feel like a supporter of the New Order. I defended Franco in the exercise of my perfect right, and, by the way, long before Franco combined the Spanish State with the Spanish Falange. I defended Franco because what you are telling us now, long after the war ended, Mr. Indalecio Preto, I saw very clearly before the war: in essence, it was a battle against Marxism. I took a picture in Pamplona dressed as a requeté because I was and still am proud to see myself for a few hours in the uniform that my father wore in the mountains of Maestrazgo sixty years ago."'''' On November 10, 1941, Rivero was awarded the

. With Rivero framing his fight in Spain as an anti-Communist fight, he won favor with the United States. Furthermore, he denounced the awards that he had received from Germany and Italy during the Spanish Civil War, renouncing his German Eagle and his Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.

Death

Rivero died in 1944. Many monuments were erected in his honor, streets were named after him, schools and libraries were named after him, plaques were dedicated to him, and more. Those outside of Cuba survive today, but those inside Cuba were largely destroyed by the Castro regime.

References

1895 births 1944 deaths Carlists Cuban journalists Cuban businesspeople Spanish-Cuban culture History of Cuba History of Spain Falangists Cuban anti-communists