Castro's Illness, Cuba's Future Dominate U.S. Hispanic Media
August 02, 2006
By Laura Martínez

The announcement late Monday that Cuban leader Fidel Castro required emergency surgery and temporarily ceded power to his brother Raúl has quickly grabbed the attention of the U.S. Hispanic media, dominating coverage on air, online and in print.

Noticiero Univisión, Univision's national newscast, on Tuesday devoted 25 minutes out of its half-hour telecast to live reports from Havana (via CNN en Español), Miami's Little Havana, Washington, D.C., and Latin America. Sitting in for Univision anchor Enrique Gratas, who is on vacation, reporter Martín Berlanga even featured a Spanish-speaking surgeon who discussed in detail Castro's illness and its potential complications.

The news coverage continued Wednesday morning on both Univision and Telemundo, where morning show host María Antonieta Collins interviewed Cuba-born journalist Carlos Alberto Montaner about the situation in Cuba and the possibility of a regime change on the island. Calling for regime change, Montaner referred to Fidel Castro as the "Stalin Caribeño" (The Caribbean Stalin). Cada Día con María Antonieta also featured a guest astrologist who was mapping out Castro's astrological chart, studying his zodiac sign to determine his health future.