Juan Bolívar Díaz Santana is Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Spain. More importantly, he is a journalist with six decades of experience in the noble profession. An idealist with courage like no other, he worked under censorship and intimidation in all forms of media and became one of the most influential figures in the Dominican press. This is not a profile of his life, this is a profile of his career.

A man of words and actions

At 79, most would expect to be enjoying a comfy retirement and spending their days leisurely reading or visiting grandchildren. But Díaz is an active septuagenarian who must represent his country to one of its biggest trade partners. He gets up multiple times for important calls in the middle of the interview. The Vice Foreign Minister has canceled his trip at the last minute and now the Spanish Government must be notified in humble, diplomatic terms. Later, a secretary walks in with papers to sign. Affairs of State cannot wait. Díaz finds a mistake in one document and sends it back. Once an editor, always an editor.

In a sense, this scene perfectly captures the career of Díaz—constantly in the middle of ten thousand things but with a clear path to take in mind. A devout Catholic, he originally wanted to be a priest and work in favour of social development. When the 1965 Dominican Civil War broke out, he felt he couldn't sit still and started a weekly newspaper with his friends. After that first experience, he knew he wanted to be a journalist, abandoning his theology and philosophy studies. Perhaps, he thought the pen was mightier than the cross.

By 1966, the Dominican Republic was under the government of Joaquín Balaguer. Balaguer was known as a “democratic strongman” for his aversion to civil freedoms and gave journalists such as Díaz a hard time. There is a famous video of the two going back and forth in a press conference. Balaguer would govern for 12 long years in elections fraught with irregularities. During this time, the secret police spied on Díaz and even tapped his phone. After a bomb detonated in his empty car, an agent of the secret police acting on his conscience notified Díaz that the order was to eliminate him. Via his contacts with Catholic student organisations, he managed to get a scholarship to Mexico where he finished his degree and eternally thanked his anonymous guardian angel.

On the third year he rose again

The stay in Mexico proved crucial for Díaz. Not only did he finally graduate college, but he also got his knack for all forms of media. Although originally a fan of print press, in Mexico Díaz was introduced to radio and to TV. He even interned for the legendary Jacobo Zabludovsky, held as the greatest anchorman in the Spanish-speaking world. Díaz had two good job offers in Mexico after college—these included one in the broadsheet Excélsior, a newspaper-of-record and one of the oldest in Latin America.

However, the call of the fatherland was too strong and he returned to the Dominican Republic for a job in TV morning news. This time period was marked by intense activity. Díaz was Secretary General of the Syndicate of Professional Journalists, a college professor, and editor-in-chief of a newspaper. All of this, while being openly in opposition to the government. In the 1978 elections, Balaguer conceded defeat and the atmosphere was more welcoming for the press so Díaz decided to launch a newspaper in 1981. Now as a journalist and media owner, he learned the business aspect of journalism and started noticing the trends we can see today.

“Without funds, we can't exist, and if no one likes what we say, then we get no funds,” he asserts. Sadly, by 1984 his newspaper El Nuevo Diario went bankrupt, and Díaz found himself without a full-time job. The government of president Antonio Guzmán, aware of his journalistic influence and misfortune, offered him the post of Ambassador to Perú and Bolivia. Díaz, in gratitude and out of need, took the job and spent the next two years in Lima.

Reflection and reinvention

The job was not demanding as the commercial presence of DR in Perú and Bolivia was not strong. The diplomatic mission only had one other diplomat posted along with Díaz, and they issued on average less than one visa a day. The workload was so low that the other diplomat was relocated, and the embassy essentially became a one-man show. Díaz, with intact journalistic memory, recalls that only 15 Dominicans lived in Perú at the time, three of them nuns in distant regions. Happily for Díaz that number grew to 16 since his son Juan Gabriel was born during his time in Lima.

Therefore the solitude of the Andes gave Díaz ample time to plan his next move. Díaz had stated that his tenure at the embassy would last one year. After the year was over, there was no replacement, and the government kept delaying the appointment of the next ambassador. Still grateful for being offered the job, he decided to stay until the end of that year but promised not a day more. By the end of 1986, no replacement had arrived so Díaz, a determined man, paid the rent of the office space, turned in the keys to the landlord, and promptly left.

The golden years

By 1987, Díaz was back in Santo Domingo and landed a TV job as head of news and producer for a news show. He also interviewed political leaders and additionally collaborated as a columnist in multiple newspapers. He maintained his independent and critical stance on issues marking himself equidistant between government and opposition. In 1990, eternal rival President Balaguer was controversially reelected (he had won in 1986 after 8 years out of power) for the presidency and things were bound to get heated. Only this time Díaz was not a college boy but a consolidated authority and one of the most important voices in Dominican TV.

The arguments and spats that followed were as convoluted as the early nineties. The Soviet Union fell, multiple crises in neighboring Haiti, the Gulf War with all of its controversy, all of these provided plenty of material to cover and plenty of debating to be done. The most impactful event of the nineties was, however, in the realm of domestic politics. And like in all good stories, it involved a recurring villain, President Balaguer.

The 1994 elections had President Balaguer win a whooping sixth election amidst a cascade of fraud allegations. A huge campaign of protests followed demanding respect for democratic institutions. Díaz was at the forefront of the media calling for greater transparency. Besides using his pulpit to denounce the abuses of the Balaguer fraud, he used his investigative journalism skills to write a book Electoral Trauma. The publishing of the book caused even more controversy as the Balaguer camp filed lawsuits of libel against Díaz. Finally, after months of protests and public pressure, Balaguer and the opposition reached a Solomonic decision. He would stay in power but would step down and call for elections after two years. Therefore in 1996, Balaguer retired and lost all political relevance. The charges against Díaz were also later dropped. In a sense of poetic justice, 30 years after the famous 1966 press conference, Díaz got back at the veteran strongman.

The last gentleman of television

This episode and his constant fight against corruption in the following decades solidified Díaz’s reputation. His clean record was accompanied by his on-screen persona. A real “Don Juan”, he was always impeccably dressed in a suit and tie—a tradition that carries on in the Madrid summer, owing the same respect to his position of Ambassador as he did to his audience. Witty and with a prodigious memory for names, dates, and even poetry, his interviews are a masterclass of journalism.

Regarding the state of this thing of ours, Díaz is optimistic. At a time when all we hear is “journalism is a dying trade” and “don’t waste your time majoring in journalism”, Díaz thinks there are many opportunities opening up in journalism. He acknowledges that “people watch less TV and buy less papers, but that doesn't mean that people are not consuming content from screens in video or text format.” Díaz thinks a move from TV to digital platforms would benefit most journalists. Since there is little informative content available on subscription streaming platforms, there remains untapped potential and audience for journalists trying to do traditional news shows. He also thinks that radio will remain popular and podcasts will continue to grow since “quite simply, people drive a lot”.

A couple of months after retiring in 2020, the newly elected President, Luis Abinader, offered him the Embassy. Although some saw this appointment as a retirement treat, (who wouldn't want to live with tax free status in Madrid?) the responsibility is immense. The ties between the two countries are strong in commerce, tourism, and investment. In addition to this, Díaz’s preoccupation with the little guy has made him set up social initiatives to keep kids off streetgangs including anti violence workshops and sports tournaments. After his tenure is over, he wishes to rest since he “retired four years ago and didn’t stop working”.

Over six decades of dedication to the craft in the most adverse and hostile environments make for a larger profile, but journalists prefer to read about the news than about themselves. There is not much left to say about a man who has spent his life saying a lot, except gracias Maestro.