Carlos Barba, a television pioneer who helped found what is now known as Telemundo, died at the age of 87 in South Florida due to health complications over the weekend.
Barba, an entrepreneur born in Cuba, carved out an illustrious career in the world of media and communications that spanned decades.
Jorge Ramos, a journalist and former anchor of Noticiero 47 Telemundo, who was an employee and friend of Barba, said that the businessman was responsible for the Telemundo network existing today.
"What Telemundo is today was a vision of his because he began to establish ties with the Hispanic station in Miami and with the California station, channel 52, and he organized what was called NET-SPAN -- those three were stations to be able to acquire soap operas and programming to compete with the competition," Ramos said to our sister station Telemundo 47.
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Barba made history in 1955 when he conducted the first live broadcast between the United States and Cuba. In 1961 he left Havana for Venezuela and worked in the media in that country. In the United States, he was manager of a few dozen stations including in Puerto Rico and New York. Between 1989 and 1991, he created the board of directors of what is now the Telemundo network.
“He was brilliant in his career, we are all very proud of that and so is everyone who knew him,” said his sister Sonia Barba Inclán. “He was a great person, he helped everyone who asked him for something [...] so we remember him with a lot of love and affection."
One of the many talents that Barba helped was Ramos.
“I started, first, what is called as a booth announcer, he said that he wanted to meet me because I worked on weekends. He meets me and when he meets me he starts talking to me and immediately tells me, 'Do you want to do the news?'" Ramos recalled.
From there, the rest is history. For decades Ramos became the star figure of Noticiero 47 Telemundo.
Barba's impeccable career, accompanied by his great charisma, earned him the affection and respect of both his family and peers.
"He was charming because he was very kind. He was very loving," Ramos said. "He would see you, he would hug you. He always had positive things to say to you."
Meanwhile, his sister remembered how funny he was.
"He was very nice. He liked to make jokes, which he did very well too," Inclán said. "We have many beautiful memories of him."
Barba's legacy will live on thanks to his contributions and his dedication to Hispanic media and the entertainment industry.
To read this article in Spanish, click here.
NBC New York and Telemundo 47 are owned by NBC Universal, Inc.
