Published on 3 May by Granma

granma founder

On Sunday, May 1, Susana Lee López, a founder of Granma, passed away 

She was one of the intrepid and committed young people who didn’t hesitate to sign up for the literacy campaign following the triumph of the Revolution. She worked as a journalist for over 50 years. She began in the profession without prior training, in May 1962, when she was still a high school student at the Institute of Secondary Education in Havana. Her first steps were taken in the paper Hoy, where she evolved as a dedicated reporter of youth and women’s issues. Her first teachers were seasoned professionals of the pen, such as Ricardo Sáenz, Juan Marrero, Gabriel Molina, Raúl Valdés Vivó, sub-editor, and Blas Roca, editor of the paper.

Between 1972 and 1976, she undertook a degree course for workers, graduating in Law, a profession she never practiced as she devoted herself completely to her vocation as a journalist. She was a founder of the papers Juventud Rebelde and Granma, in which she left her mark as a reporter. In the former, she worked for 15 years from 1966, when the paper was founded as a merger of the publications La Tarde and Mella. She worked as head of her team and information.

In the following decade, her daily work was linked to historic moments and issues, such as the constitution of People’s Power. By 1981, following a proposal from then editor Jorge Enrique Mendoza, she returned to Granma, and four years later became head of information. Thousands of articles, interviews, and even reports personally commissioned by Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro, are the legacy of her long and productive time at the paper, the example of a journalist who won deserved acclaim amongst her peers.

She was a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power for three terms (15 years). She joined the Communist Party of Cuba in 1992.

In recent years she occupied herself with the Letters section of Granma, a task that she fulfilled with her customary dedication and style.

She was described by her colleagues and those who knew her as a modest, committed and disciplined worker.

Among the awards she received was the Dignity Award presented by the Union of Cuban Journalists.

Earlier this year she was awarded the José Martí National Prize for Journalism, for her life’s work.

Various tributes were paid to Susana this May 2, by relatives, friends and colleagues, while floral wreaths were sent by the leader of the Revolution Fidel Castro and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.