With the sobriety that characterizes him, he announced his retirement from Televistaz after 56 years. At parting, visibly moved by the end of a long career, he was about to break down, pushing his calmness to the limit. Gathering her strength, she managed to hold back the tears that appeared in her clear eyes.

There is no doubt that this is a long-thought-out decision, which closes the cycle of the television presenter and journalist who holds the Guinness record for the most persistence as a presenter in a central news show.

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For his farewell, he chose the Easter holiday, when most of his countrymen were at home with their families, held back by heavy rain and fear of insecurity on the streets. Interestingly, this coincided with Maundy Thursday, a special day of the Christian liturgy that contains the symbolism of the climax of a life devoted to others. Although many do not consider it, journalism is a form of apostolate, service to the community.

I met Alfonso Espinosa de los Monteros Rueda on May 1, 1976, exactly on Labor Day. I started as a rookie reporter for Televistaza, and since he was news director, a position he held all the time while he was anchor, he accompanied me to record my first story at Parque Seminario regarding the installation of the first coin-operated machine. parking devices for part of the municipality of Guayaquil. Those were the times of the military dictatorship when the first steps were taken to restore the constitutional order.

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Since then, we have established a friendship that lasts through time, without the need for a frequency that is maintained from time to time. The last time I saw him and we spoke on the occasion of the fair honor he received in the Main Port, he reflected on the satisfaction of having fulfilled his life’s mission as – he, I say – a leading journalist of national television.

His simplicity and kindness make him a very approachable person, without obstacles in terms of age, economic and social status, gender, etc. After the first meeting, you have the impression that you have known him all your life. He is a man of humor and easy smile. Of course, an excellent conversationalist, with an inexhaustible repertoire of anecdotes, which is the trump card of the profession.

As his dear and remembered colleague from Ecuavisa Alberto Borges affectionately called him Alfonsito, that’s how I started working. And I continue to call him that, as do others close to him, as a sign of affection.

It should be noted that his close friend Xavier Alvarado Roca, the promoter of the old Guayaquil Channel 2, founded in 1967, always faithfully followed him in his career. They were a kind of tandem in managing the channel’s editorial and information policy. media, which is considered the best journalism school for Ecuadorian television training.

When one cycle closes, even at the age of 81, another begins. Although there may be skeptics, Don Alfonso will give us his best version. (OR)