Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú, one of the most influential journalists on Argentine radio, dies

Argentine journalist Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú at a meeting of the Buenos Aires City Ombudsman, on November 30, 2013. Buenos Aires City Ombudsman

At the age of 87, the influential Argentine journalist and writer Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú died this Tuesday.

The popular radio host, who marked generations of Argentines with her morning show

, also played a key role in Argentina's return to democracy: she was a member of the National Commission for the Disappearance of Persons (Conadep), which prepared the report

a based on the testimony of survivors and relatives of victims of the Argentine dictatorship.

Her death, announced by the journalist Jorge Lanata, had a great impact on the media and social networks.

“Until two weeks ago it was on the air.

She would sit down and light up in front of the microphone.

Always with the newspapers in tow, with the vulnerability of the years, but with a tremendous vocation, ”said Lanata when speaking of her colleague.

“There are several things with which to identify Magdalena: first, the courage, of a person who was from the Argentine upper class, who could have kept his mouth shut at home, could have enjoyed the San Martín Palace [seat of the Foreign Ministry Argentina] where she lived when she was a girl, and she didn't do that, she went to work like any of us," she added.

Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú was born on February 15, 1935. Her father, Enrique Ruiz Guiñazú, was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship.

From an early age, she was clear about her journalistic vocation and although radio was her great passion, she also worked in graphic and television media.

From her program

, aired on Radio Miter between 1987 and 2006, the host marked the political agenda of the day for years.

Starting in 2014, she became a guest columnist for Lanata sinfilter, another popular radio show.

On television, she highlighted her hosting of the Channel 7 newscast with Antonio Carrizo in the early 1970s and her participation in the Cacho Fontana program on Channel 11.

In 1984, months after Argentina returned to being under a democratic government, Ruiz Guiñazú was one of the first civilians to enter the Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada, where the largest clandestine detention center of the dictatorship operated.

“I will never forget when we entered the ESMA with Graciela [Fernández Meijide] and a group of survivors, who also felt the walls to recognize the place, because they had been blindfolded during captivity and torture, which they were reporting

So they remembered the space from the touch... It was one of the most brutal images that I had to see.

I also remember the cynicism of some soldiers who then received part of the commission and when they saw us they asked vilely: 'What do you want?'

Difficult to match."

Ruiz Guiñazú also recalled the "terrible experience" that the nine months of work of Conadep, chaired by the writer Ernesto Sabato, entailed.

Literally, it involved a descent into the infernos of the human soul, as Sabato himself defined: 'This, really, is the darkness of hell'.

It was up to us to realize nothing less than the horrors of the dictatorship.”

Politicians of different stripes fired Ruiz Guiñazú.

"His immense work in journalism and CONADEP reminds us of the importance of defending human rights by raising our voices, from a place of peace, in defense of democracy," Argentine President Alberto Fernández wrote on Twitter.

His predecessor, Mauricio Macri, described her as “a journalism legend with an unblemished track record.”

“He stood out for his enormous bravery.

No one could ever silence her, she always defended truth and freedom.

My respect to her memory and my condolences to her family and friends, "added Macri.

The journalist was also fired by numerous colleagues and human rights figures.

“We want to express our sadness at the death of Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú.

In addition to her outstanding role as a member of Conadep, as a journalist she always accompanied the search and struggle of Abuelas”, she was fired by the organization Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.

His commitment to human rights transcended the borders of Argentina.

In 1979, while Argentina was governed by a Military Junta, Ruiz Guiñazú visited the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz together with Pope John Paul II.

“It was the most important trip of my life”, he reiterated on several occasions when remembering that experience that left a deep mark on her.

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