Founder of Miami Spanish-language newspaper dies at 82

MIAMI — Roberto Suarez, 82, who began his newspaper career in 1961 as an overqualified Miami Herald mailroom clerk — and ended it in 1995 as The Herald’s president emeritus and publisher of El Nuevo Herald — died overnight Tuesday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

A U.S.-educated Cuban refugee, Suarez launched El Nuevo Herald in 1987 as The Miami Herald’s Spanish-language daily. It was a novel concept at the time, with a separate staff that wrote in Spanish.

A previous effort, El Herald, consisted largely of Miami Herald stories translated into Spanish.

“It was quite a leap of faith for Knight Ridder to launch, because it required a big investment,” said El Nuevo’s second executive editor, Carlos Verdecia, now retired. “They went with it because they had Roberto. He was surely the spark that lighted the fire.

“Had it not been for Roberto, it would still be some kind of a supplement.”

Controversial and often vilified in Miami’s exile community, El Nuevo nonetheless prospered, and in 1998 became an independent publication.

Alberto Ibarguen, former publisher and president of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, said that Suarez improved the editorial quality and journalistic independence of the newspaper he led.

“By giving the community an independent voice, he helped it grow and define itself,” said Ibarguen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He helped “breach the gap between The Miami Herald’s dominant Anglo culture and exiled Cubans.”

Ibarguen called Suarez “a smart businessman who made sure El Nuevo Herald could not be dismissed as part of The Miami Herald Publishing Co.

“He did it through successful financial work and an interesting editorial product for its market, fueled by his own personality and his weekly column.”

Suarez — a cigar-smoking father of 12 — was born on March 5, 1928, in Havana, and was educated at Belen Jesuit School, where he played basketball and baseball.

He attended Villanova University in Philadelphia, and the University of Havana. He twice went into exile: in 1958, for political activities against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, then in 1961 following Fidel Castro’s revolution.

“He was very, very Cuban,” Verdecia said. Generally even-tempered, “he reserved all his anger for Fidel Castro. His wound from losing his country never healed.”

Joe Natoli, former chief operating officer of The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald and now vice president of the University of Miami for Business and Finance, said Suarez’s perseverance and his profound knowledge of Miami’s Cuban exiles prompted the eventual arrival of the newspaper in the community.

“He was the key to the newspaper’s success,” Natoli said. “El Nuevo Herald with its Spanish edition was way ahead of its time.”

He married Miriam Campuzano and they had 12 children.

His daughter Elena remembers him as the loving head of the family, constantly devoted to his loved ones.

“With 12 children, he worked very hard to provide everything we needed,” Elena said. “He knew what that meant because he had lost everything in Cuba and had to start all over again from scratch.”

In the early years of the Cuban revolution, Suarez was an indefatigable champion of freedom, democratic values and human dignity. His opposition to Fidel Castro’s regime forced him to leave the country. He came as an exile in 1961 with barely $5 in his pocket. Once he arrived in Miami, he never forgot where he came from and never ceased to yearn for a free Cuba devoid of any trace of communism.

His arrival in the United States marked the beginning of an exemplary professional trajectory in South Florida and North Carolina, where he worked in the ‘70s as general manager of The Charlotte Observer. Suarez filled his life with irrefutable triumphs and achievements.

“He was a man for whom education was of the utmost importance,” his daughter Elena said. “He taught us to have faith in ourselves and to overcome life’s hurdles and develop as human beings.”

Suarez started out in The Miami Herald’s mailroom shortly after arriving from Havana, loading newspapers in distribution trucks and inserting supplements by hand into the body of the paper.

His knowledge and extraordinary skills in print media fueled a meteoric and brilliant career that, years later, culminated in El Nuevo Herald with the foundation of a more independent journalistic endeavor for the Hispanic media in the United States.

David Lawrence Jr., former publisher of The Miami Herald and president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, said that Suarez’s story is full of accomplishments.

“Here’s a man with an academic degree (from Villanova) and real expertise in business and finance who comes to The Herald and works for the minimum wage,” Lawrence said. “Through the years, he rose of course to the highest level. He had marvelous work ethics, but he also knew how to operate.”

Suarez’s confidence in El Nuevo Herald’s success was described in a story published in the St. Petersburg Times on Nov. 23, 1987. There, with his blunt and analytical style, he defended the daily’s editorial independence and its news content.

“As an independent newspaper with a different target we can make our own decisions as to what it should carry.”

Developer Armando Codina, a personal friend of Suarez and very close to his family, remembered him as a person who, despite his numerous responsibilities, created great friendships and built a solid home.

“His legacy is his family, a wonderful family,” Codina said. “He also had a host of friends and leaves a ton of goodwill in this community. There was not one drop of malice in his body.” Codina added that his temper and clarity of ideas were sufficient tools to overcome any extreme situation.

“There was a really turbulent period for The Herald,” Codina said. “The Hispanic radio stations attacked the paper and Roberto went on the air (to defend it). They could hate The Herald, but no one could actually hate Roberto. He was always willing to help the paper in any way possible.”

Sons Armando and Tony died just weeks apart in 2007.

In addition to his wife and daughter Elena; Suarez is survived by sons Roberto Suarez, Raul Suarez, Miguel Suarez, Carlos Suarez and Gonzalo Suarez; and daughters Miriam King, Teresa Suarez, Esperanza Kelly and Ana Suarez.