PhontOn Festival

83 intense years. Not even cancer, which he suffered during his last years, mitigated his desire to live and to tell, whether with photographs, videos, books or ultimately with the words “on line” with which he shook social networks telling his stories, discussing current affairs or teaching lessons, until the latest moments of his life. Tireless traveller, he was the first reporter to ascend to Sierra Maestra during the Cuban revolution in December of 1957. He spent four months mostly living side to side with Fidel Castro. Back then, Che was just one more out of the one hundred guerrilla men who followed him. His pictures, once developed by himself, were smuggled sown on to a woman’s underskirt: 50 pages and 2000 negatives taken to Miami avoiding Batista’s censorship, and being published for three straight weeks on Paris Match. “You have to try to speak with a camera”, he would explain to the attendees at his conferences. He also liked to distinguish press photographers from photojournalists. He said the first ones were like text notaries, while the others narrate information with photographs; in this case, cameras replace typewriters or computers. He realised in Sarajevo, due to his lung problems, that it was going to be his last action report, but his activity as a journalist never ceased even during the worst moments of his cancer. His last years on his blog, twitter or any other media platform, turned him into a 2.0 journalist followed by many unconditional supporters of his reports and think-pieces. Full scale journalist for more than 65 years without giving in to any power. Middle East and India correspondent, director of Spanish Television “A toda plana” programme, director of Playboy’s Spanish edition, creator and director of “Los Aventureros” on Radio Nacional, monthly issued in two versions, Spanish and English. He produced the series “Robinson en Africa” for TVE2: a journey along 20.000 kilometres, 112 days and 11 countries together with his 14 and 15 year old daughters Barbara and Anne Isabelle as leading roles. Besides from working for Paris Match and Life, he contributed with dozens of newspapers and magazines. Amongst the dozen of published titles we can find: Fidel Castro, Nasser el último faraón, Escrito en carne and his memoirs, Hasta aquí hemos llegado. “Journalism is my passion, in any of its aspects”. This phrase defines Enrique Meneses, together with essential words in all human relationships, although sometimes strange for some, such as humbleness, generosity and kindness.