Getting others to speak and sharing what they say is essential in journalism and other disciplines that use writing to convey a message, stated Elena Poniatowska Amor, winner of the 2013 Cervantes Prize. Yesterday morning, during a keynote lecture, the storyteller and journalist recalled asking Diego Rivera why he had such a big belly. “Ah, because I eat up the little Polish girls,” the muralist replied.
She highlighted: “I am lucky enough to have reached the age of 94 and to still belong to a left-wing newspaper: *La Jornada*.”
In the Julio Bracho Hall at the University Cultural Center, Poniatowska reflected on what she has learned over 73 years of working in the press and writing.
The chronicler noted: “the crafts of writing and listening are tools that are perfected over time. Writing is a trade like carpentry or sewing: it doesn’t turn out right the first time. It is a matter of persistence, practice, and dedication.”
The novelist recalled her interview with Rivera, which took place before she had even seen one of his murals. “Stemming from my clumsiness and ignorance—and coming from a convent school in the United States—I was able to enter the life of Mexico, something I have been grateful for from the very first moment.”
During the closing ceremony for the seventh cohort of CulturaUNAM’s Investigative Journalism Unit, the writer contrasted her own experience with the current landscape. “Young people have all the latest technological advances at their disposal; however, a novice reporter must rely on their intelligence or intuition (which plays a major role, especially for women).”
She also advised budding journalists to “respect themselves and be sufficiently critical of what they see—including what appears on social media—in order to distinguish fake news that pollutes public opinion and leads us to accept lies and corruption without a second thought.” The journalist “has to put it all on the line; they must be willing to give their life for what they see, feel, and receive from others,” the chronicler noted.
She warned that digital journalism faces new challenges: “The information we find on various social networks—such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube—is crowded with influencers who monopolize the space, in a way dehumanizing a noble profession. That profession entails not merely describing what happens to others, but reporting it, denouncing injustices, and conveying the story in the most ethical, professional, and effective manner.”
Waiting and hope
She remarked that her work as a journalist has led her to write novels, short stories, and—believe it or not—poetry (back when she was very young, not an old lady). Each of these pursuits involves research, even though the forms themselves differ.
She recalled being inspired by figures such as photographer Tina Modotti, as well as comedians like Germán Valdés “Tin Tan” and Mario Moreno “Cantinflas,” and the singer María Victoria.
Regarding the work she began in 1953, she noted that journalism “is about waiting and hope. No politician grants you an interview immediately; no painter opens their studio door the moment you ask; no actress receives you right away. They don’t need to. Perseverance is an essential tool in journalism, just as it is in writing novels and short stories.”
Known for chronicling harsh realities over more than seven decades—such as the 1968 student movement and the massacre at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, the 1985 earthquake, and the plight of opposition activists in the country—Poniatowska views perseverance as a virtue she has believed in all her life.
The author of *La noche de Tlatelolco* (Massacre in Mexico) champions the importance of curiosity, interest, and steadfastness; one must “do the same thing: seek people out and do so with a level of dedication that lasts a lifetime.” Poniatowska evoked figures such as the writer Alfonso Reyes; the muralists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros; the founder of Mexican cardiology, Ignacio Chávez; actresses María Félix and María Dolores del Río; singer Jorge Negrete; actor Emilio “Indio” Fernández; and comedians Cantinflas and Tin Tan.
She also recalled the dancer Yolanda Montes “Tongolele”—”who caused a scandal at the Teatro Blanquita”—as well as writers Carlos Fuentes, Juan Rulfo, Octavio Paz, Parménides García Saldaña, Gustavo Sainz, José Agustín, Rosario Castellanos, and Elena Garro.
“All those I had the pleasure of interacting with found it hilarious that someone would show up to ask them questions. They paid attention to me because I’m so tiny. ‘What does the dwarf want? Why is she calling me? Why does she want me to answer a few questions?’ That’s how I started,” the journalist said.
