Africa-Press – Cape verde. Journalist Carvalho Santos, considered a reference point for Cape Verdean journalism and a pioneer of modern press in Cape Verde, passed away today in Praia at the age of 72, after a long illness, his family announced.
Alfredo Carvalho Santos was part of the so-called first generation of post-independence journalists and worked for the historic newspaper Voz di Povo, one of the most important media outlets in the country at that time. He worked alongside other prominent figures in the Cape Verdean press such as Arnaldo Andrade, Daniel dos Santos, Aristides Lima, José Filomeno Monteiro, Aldegundes Tolentino, and Franklin Palma.
Reacting to this loss, Simão Rodrigues, editor-in-chief of Inforpress, where Carvalho Santos was director and journalist, said he received the news with “deep sadness.”
“It was with him that I began my journey in the world of journalism at the now-defunct newspaper Voz di Povo and, later, at Inforpress,” said Simão Rodrigues, for whom Carvalho Santos was and continues to be a “reference for Cape Verdean journalism.”
Simão Rodrigues recognizes in Carvalho Santos the colleague who believed in him early on and opened doors for him, instilling in him a passion for the profession he has embraced for over three decades.
For Arnaldo Andrade, a former colleague of the late Carvalho Santos, he is yet another pioneer of Cape Verdean media who has passed away.
“I pay tribute to my friend, a colleague with whom I had the opportunity to work in the same newsroom, overcoming almost every obstacle to bring information from Cape Verde and the world to people on the islands and in their homes,” stated Arnaldo Andrade, adding that initially, it was journalism focused on the cause of national liberation and the construction of a state considered an impossible task.
At the time, Andrade emphasized, all personal sacrifices were necessary.
“And we did it with good taste. It was the spirit of the time, and Carvalho Santos, with his patience and proverbial calm and wisdom, transformed physical fragility into resilience in all situations,” that is the image of him that I will always keep.
The deceased was also president of the Cape Verdean Journalists’ Union Association (AJOC).
On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of Cape Verde’s Independence, in 2015, Carvalho Santos was awarded, along with other journalists, the First Degree Medal of Merit, in recognition of his work and dedication to journalism.
Carvalho Santos’ burial is scheduled for this Saturday, the 21st, at four o’clock in the afternoon, in the Várzea cemetery. Meanwhile, before that, the body is lying in state in the hall of the Church of the Nazarene, in Platô, from where it will depart for the religious ceremony at the Parish Center of Our Lady of Grace (Praia).
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