Jesús Hermida: A reporter with a pivotal role

Andalusian journalist Jesús Hermida (1937-2015) became a major figure in Spanish-language television after working as a correspondent in the United States between 1968 and 1978. His coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 established him as a household name in Spain. He also played a pivotal role in bringing the culture of American news broadcasting and the wider panorama of international affairs to Latin American television, particularly in Mexico.

His importance lies in the way he brought American events into Spanish-speaking homes at a time when international television reporting was far less immediate and widespread than it is today. He helped Spanish-speaking audiences understand a rapidly changing world through the new medium of live television broadcasts.

Born in Ayamonte, Huelva, in 1937, Hermida became the first New York correspondent for Spain's public broadcaster, Televisión Española (TVE). His posting began during a period of extraordinary political and social upheaval in the USA. The country was entangled in the Vietnam War, major civil rights struggles and political assassinations.

The award-winning journalist reported on world events such as the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandal, which culminated in the resignation President Richard Nixon in August 1974.

The significance of his work was not that he was the only journalist covering these world events, he was a prominent interpreter of them for Spanish-speaking audiences - for whom the wealth of international news channels available elsewhere was not an option.

However, it was to be his reporting from the Nasa operations area at Cape Canaveral in 1969 that would come to represent the defining moment of his career. Working alongside other European journalists reporting on the Apollo 11 Moon landing, he acted as an interpreter, explaining the astronauts' technical communications in Spanish as the events unfolded. Spaceflight involved specialised language and unfamiliar procedures, and his job was to turn those details into an accessible narrative for Spanish-speakers. His voice became part of the event's memory, especially in Spain: his commentary became closely associated with the Moon landing itself.

When Hermida returned to Spain in 1978, he moved from being a foreign correspondent to becoming one of the most influential figures in Spanish television.

He died in Madrid in 2015 following a stroke at the age of 77.

Read more stories about Andalusian influencers around the world