Granma. History of the most communist newspaper in Cuba

photo: Grama.cu and the private archive of Jesus Capote

This was the name of the yacht aboard which 81 fighters of the 26th of July Movement, led by Fidel Castro, returned from exile in Mexico on December 2, 1956, to liberate Cuba from the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

The plan was solid, but its execution was hindered first by a storm, then a mistaken landing site, and finally, on December 5, by a government forces’ attack. Castro, with a handful of comrades, hid in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where their guerrilla forces soon grew into an army. The plan to free Cuba was not completed until two years later.

On January 1, 1959, Batista fled the country, and Cuba was free. On February 16, Castro became prime minister, and the yacht Granma became a symbol placed in a museum. At that time, the main sources of information in Cuba were two key newspapers: the conservative Diaro de la Marina (1844) and the official publication of the People’s Socialist Party of Cuba Noticias de Hoy (1938). In 1959, Castro created a new outlet called Revolution, the official paper of the 26th of July Movement, which he personally managed. In May 1960, Diaro published its final issue.

Granma. Merger of "Noticias de Hoy" and "Revolution"

In the years that followed, all revolutionary forces in Cuba aimed to restore "normalcy" in the country. This effort culminated on October 3, 1965. The Central Committee of the Cuban Party was formed. That very same day, after the constitutional session, Fidel Castro visited the offices of Noticias de Hoy to officially inform the staff of the dissolution of their newsroom and that of Revolution, and the founding of a new outlet as the symbol of revolution and our path, the newspaper Granma, whose first issue had to be released the next day. The importance of this decision was marked by the presence of President Osvaldo Dorticós and several other figures such as Ramiro Valdés Menéndez and Carlos Rodríguez. A photo of this historic meeting still serves as a frequently cited document during anniversary commemorations.


The editor-in-chief of the new Cuban newspaper was Isidoro Malmierca Peoli, naturally a member of the newly established Central Committee. No one opposed the changes, and no one was dismissed - everyone kept their positions. Only the name of the newspaper changed. In fact, everyone had known about the change a day earlier and worked hard to ensure everything was ready for Comandante’s first visit.

Designer Horacio Rodriguez and artist Adigio Benitez were tasked with creating the newspaper’s logo. They prepared several designs featuring the yacht. Castro chose one that remained in use for years and is quite similar to today’s version.

Journalists from the former Noticias de Hoy:

• Enrique Mesa,
• Gabriel Molina,
• Ricardo Sáenz
• Joaquín Oramas

prepared articles on current events, and the visual side, with 31 photos, was managed by photography masters: Jorge Oller and Pedro Beruvides. The graphic artists added their touch, and everything was assembled into a whole by Jacques Brouté. On the night of October 3 to 4, no one left the newsroom, and typesetters and printers worked until dawn to produce 498,784 copies of the new twelve-page Granma newspaper, which stood out with its red title and matching red frames. This was the beginning of Cuba’s "Grandma" era, which continues to this day.

From the very beginning, the paper’s mission was clear:

• to spread, through its articles and commentary, the work and principles of the Revolution, the achievements of the Cuban people, and the unity of the people with the Party and Fidel
• loyalty to the Party’s policies and ethical principles, focusing on both Cuban society and international relations

Granma seven times a week. A million-copy run

Isidoro Malmierca Peoli, one of the "young angry fighters", was 35 years old and had little journalism experience when he took charge of the newsroom. His role was to ensure "appropriate content", which wasn’t difficult at a time when Cuba wanted change and believed in Castro’s leadership. But time showed not everything that glitters is gold.

During Peoli’s two-year tenure, Granma was published daily, including Sundays. Fidel Castro treated the paper as his personal bulletin. He often visited the newsroom and influenced what was printed. That paper boat was his and for him.

When Peoli decided to enter Cuban politics in 1967, Castro appointed Jorge Enrique Mendoza as editor-in-chief. It was a wise choice - Mendoza led the paper for twenty years.

Mendoza, a friend of Fidel and revolutionary, wanted to make a good newspaper. A journalist and teacher by training, he approached his new role differently than his predecessor. He wasn’t afraid to debate "El Comandante" on difficult topics. He dealt with "Castro’s people" sent to the newsroom to oversee his wishes. He stood firm in 1967 after Che Guevara’s death, in 1968 covering Czechoslovakia, and in 1970 when Allende came to power in Chile.

As a teacher, Mendoza instilled an investigative spirit in his students and demanded the same from his journalists. He was once a radio speaker and had a talent for communication. Even the most resistant journalists eventually yielded to his charm. He brought several changes to the paper.

• He discontinued the Sunday edition. Until the 1990s, Granma appeared six days a week, Monday through Saturday.
• He expanded the international edition Granma Weekly Review, first released in February 1966 in French, later in English and Portuguese.
• He increased circulation by publishing Fidel’s speeches. In July 1973, circulation topped one million. The average remained 700000 copies.

Grandma supports the revolution

Mendoza appreciated and supported his journalists. Notable figures of the time included:

• Elio E. Constantin, sports journalist and Mendoza’s deputy. He also covered politics and current affairs. He became a self-appointed war correspondent during the Carnation Revolution in Portugal (1974) and in Nicaragua (1978-1979). He accompanied Castro to the UN in 1979. A defender of the Castilian language, he was a refined gentleman whose simplicity and modesty matched his knowledge and wisdom. He loved Granma and football.
• Félix Pita Astudillo, journalist and diplomat. A commentator on domestic and international affairs and a writer of historical texts. A cultured man with a sharp tongue
• Santiago (Chago) Armada, graphic artist and cartoonist, creator of Julito 26 and Salomón comic characters. Responsible for Granma’s visual identity.
• Osvaldo and Roberto Salas, father and son, photographers and documentarians. Invited to Cuba by Castro from the U.S. Roberto became Castro’s "court" photographer. One iconic photo by Osvaldo is Con Hemingway… (Ernest and Fidel) from 1960.
• Marta Rojas, journalist and writer, revolutionary heroine, witness to the 1953 Moncada Barracks attack, with Granma since day one. Covered national and international events, traveled with Castro, reported from Vietnam. A Cuban journalism icon.
• Julio García Luis, known as the chronicler of the Commander-in-Chief’s travels. A teacher by profession, he started learning journalism in 1967 at the paper, where he led the Ideology Page.

The newsroom at the time was large, with each journalist striving to stand out - while being required to be a Party member. The 1960s focused on the Revolution’s victory, Fidel Castro, and the Communist Party. Social issues and daily life were covered only in the Saturday edition.

In the 1970s, Cuba’s economy grew with Soviet support. The Granma boat, as the paper was called, sailed the current of history under Mendoza’s firm grip. Occasional storms - like Cuba’s military involvement in Angola (1975) and Nicaragua (1979) - were justified as revolutionary missions to spread communism.

But the common Cuban struggled. Many resented poor governance, low wages, and fighting for others’ rights while their own were ignored. The U.S. embargo crippled the economy, and when other countries joined the U.S. stance, Cuba approached crisis. Constitutional reforms in 1976 brought no real change. Many Cubans fled to Venezuela, Portugal, or the U.S.

It was difficult for Mendoza and Granma to praise Fidel while:

• a group of Cubans drove a bus into the Venezuelan embassy to seek asylum (May 13, 1979)
• the Revolutionary National Police of Cuba (PNR) opened fire on another group trying to enter the Venezuelan embassy (June 11, 1979)
• six dissidents crashed a bus into the Peruvian embassy seeking asylum (April 1, 1980)

Mariel Boatlift. An exodus through an open border

The journalists were aided by the leader himself. As usual, Castro appeared in the newsroom and with Mendoza, deputies Elio Constantín and Tubal Páez, and cartoonist René de la Nuez, they devised a press strategy. The next day, a statement appeared, officially declared by Castro on May 1, 1980:

Those without revolutionary genes, without revolutionary blood - we don’t want them, we don’t need them

He ordered the port of Mariel opened and anyone who wants to leave, let them go. In six months, nearly 125000 people left Cuba - mostly for the U.S. - whom Granma described as: criminals, lumpen, antisocials, vagrants, and parasites.

By opening the border, Castro also deported convicts, psychiatric patients, LGBT people, and sex workers - those he labeled "escoria" (trash). This period became known as the Mariel Boatlift, and those who fled are still called Marielitos, who remain scorned by the regime. The exodus ended in October 1980 after a bilateral agreement. As usual, Granma published the official announcement.

In the years that followed, the loyal newspaper filled its 12 large-format pages with Fidel’s speeches, government releases, and disdain for emigrants. The times were tough, and it’s no surprise some journalists resigned and left the country too.


Looking back, one cannot deny that the country’s history unfolded in the paper’s pages. Jorge Rivas Rodríguez, a current Granma journalist, writes:

Fidel’s political history is written in this information service, available to all who seek to deepen their knowledge. His experience in fighting for unity, rich with legacy from José Martí, offers a vital contribution to the politics Cuba, our America, and the world will need in the future.

Jorge Enrique Mendoza stepped down as editor-in-chief in 1987 to become director of the Institute of History. He was succeeded by Enrique Román.

It was a hard time for the paper, its staff, and the entire nation. One by one, the Eastern Bloc states rose from their knees, and the Soviet Union neared collapse. Heavily dependent on the USSR, Cuba began to feel the crisis in its economy and daily life.

Crisis looms large

Granma could not criticize the party or Fidel’s rule, as the Revolution remained the driving force behind everything. Roman decided to give more space to culture in the broadest sense. Right after taking over as editor-in-chief, he sent Marta Rojas, whom no one could resist, to persuade Pedro de la Hoz, a cultural journalist and music critic running the provincial paper Villa Clara. Although the two were close friends, Hoz was hesitant to join a Havana paper where politics overshadowed everything. So Roman sent Rojas, and she succeeded.

Hoz joined the cultural section led by Rolando Pérez Betancourt, who was passionate about film and television. Together, they built a high-quality department full of substance and openness, while still honoring revolutionary ideals. When Betancourt left for television, Hoz took his place. His main driver was learning. In an October 2020 interview marking Granma’s 55th anniversary, he said:

A passion for journalism matters, but training is essential. This isn’t just about techniques, skills, or mastering each medium - it’s about constant learning, cultural hunger, and improving how we interpret reality.

Hoz embraced challenges. He interned in the Czech Republic under Leonel Lopez Nussa, experiencing sports, political, and agricultural journalism. This made him eager to write on topics beyond the arts.

Despite great efforts, Enrique Roman and Granma could not weather the crisis Cuba faced after the Soviet Union collapsed. Our duty is to save the homeland, the revolution, and socialism appeared in nearly every editorial in September 1991.

To save the newspaper, a revolution of its own was needed. The Granma boat had to stay afloat in history’s current. That task fell to Roman’s successor, Jacinto Granda, who took over in 1990 and led for five years.

Cuts, layoffs and Granma Internacional

Due to paper shortages and other issues, he initiated the Período Especial (Special Period), lasting nearly a decade. Starting in March 1992, it involved:

• changing the format from broadsheet to tabloid
• reducing page count to 8
• cutting publishing days to five (Tuesday-Saturday)
• staff layoffs across all departments
• lowering circulation from 700000 to 400000
• focusing on the international edition. To the existing English, Portuguese, and French versions, German and later Italian were added. Granma Weekly Review became Granma Internacional
• greater focus on culture, sports, and education

The mid-1990s were economically tough for Cubans. Granma’s role was to lift spirits, reassure people that the Party and Comandante watched over them, and remind them the spirit of the revolution still burned in leaders’ hearts - and should in the people’s too.

But the people were weary, and Cuba’s youth saw their future differently than Party leaders. In 1992, the constitution was amended to allow for a state of emergency. Granma wrote: it’s necessary, for our own good. Castro’s speeches were printed in full so no word escaped the public’s attention.

A year later, the paper praised the government for actions taken for ordinary people:

• legalizing private businesses
• freedom of religious practice
• allowing EU operations
• food rationing to ensure enough for everyone
• legalizing U.S. dollars
• an agreement with the U.S. (on the trade embargo), which prevented another immigration crisis

To highlight the Revolution’s importance and continuity, a drawing of armed revolutionaries (led by a bearded figure) was added next to the paper’s title. That image remains today.

Spain often helped Cuba and its citizens. In 1992, Andalusians organized aid to break the U.S. embargo. On the ship Ignacio Agramonte they sent rice, olives, cars, medicine - and a printing press as a gift to Granma from Journal of Cádiz. Jacinto Granda politely declined, but weeks later (possibly after high-level talks), Cuban technicians arrived in Cádiz to disassemble and ship the press to Havana. Granma’s equipment was outdated, and Cuban journalists could only dream of computers, which were already standard worldwide.

A well-placed investment

The USSR’s fall forced Cuba to act independently. The same went for Granma. Everything was subject to Fidel Castro’s approval, and it took finesse to implement anything new. Although Granma’s international edition existed since 1966, it was always prepared and printed in Havana, reaching readers abroad with delays.

In 1978, editor-in-chief Jorge Enrique Mendoza managed to launch printing in Argentina. Fourteen years later, Jacinto Granda succeeded again. Starting in 1992, Granma was printed in Brazil and Mexico, and by 1994 in Spain. Plans included expanding to France and Canada. The paper aimed to profit from ads and subscriptions. The international edition had over 60000 copies in circulation and global interest in Cuba was growing. The investment paid off.

Cuba’s situation improved in the late 1990s. Granma celebrated too, under new editor-in-chief Frank Agüero, a seasoned revolutionary.

A colonel and committed communist, Agüero printed Pope John Paul II’s blessing to Cubans in December 1997 ahead of his January 1998 visit. That’s when Cubans learned they could celebrate Christmas again - Comandante had approved. These "miracles" were widely praised.

Granma published visit schedules, church service approvals, and extensive statements from both Castro and the Pope on its front pages. Cubans’ hopes for a better future gained color. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Though elderly and hardline, Agüero had to accept that global technology was advancing - and Cuba wanted progress, and Granma needed computers and internet. Journalists from Granma Internacional led the charge, launching a website in August 1996. A year later, the main paper joined. Granma became Cuba’s first media outlet with its own site. Despite online popularity, the print edition returned to a six-day schedule in 1999 - and circulation rose.

In 1998, Agüero ordered Fidel’s speeches to be translated into other languages. The first appeared in International Granma, a speech from May 14, 1998, in Geneva for WHO’s 50th anniversary, printed in English and French. Previously, only one address had been printed in 8 languages, including Russian and Arabic: the June 12, 1992 UN Environment Conference in Rio.

From October 18 (VIII Ibero-American Summit), Portuguese was added. From November 1 (Havana’s FIHAV’98 trade fair), German and Italian followed. By 1999, Russian was included (June 11, 1999 Culture and Development Congress). After September 11, 2001, Arabic was added, and five years later - Mandarin.

A kick for Frank Agüero

Frank Agüero led Granma for 10 years, until 2005. His closest ally was photojournalist Juvenal Balán (owner of the newsroom’s first computer). Surprisingly, the two held power for so long despite being widely disliked and accused of misconduct and excesses. While Balán was just a staffer, Agüero - a revolutionary colonel - should not have disrespected colleagues, abused his position, or behaved inappropriately. Anonymous complaints reached the Central Committee until, as journalist Sergio Parado from Cubanos por el Mundo wrote, Colonel Frank Agüero was kicked out with a sovereign boot to the rear.

In 2005, Lazaro Barredo became the new editor-in-chief. Previously, he was deputy director of Juventud Rebelde and columnist for Trabajadores (both state media). His youth in the army gave him a strong sense of discipline. He covered national and international affairs, specializing in economic issues and U.S.-Cuba relations. A year before the U.S. elections, Granma had clashed with El Nuevo Herald, and Barredo didn’t "bury the hatchet". He kept attacking "bad Bush" and America.


He aimed to humanize the paper and connect with readers. Though letters had appeared occasionally (from 1975-1984 via the column A vuelta de correo), they often praised the government or discussed statistics. On March 14, 2008, Barredo launched Cartas a la dirección (Letters to the Editor) right after Raúl Castro declared the party open to criticism. The newsroom was flooded with letters. The column’s goals were:

• to act as a platform where Cubans could directly engage with the paper and the Communist Party
• to hold the Party and government accountable to the public
• to inform leaders about citizens’ concerns

Initially, responses weren’t printed, but that changed. Criticism of the paper itself was also allowed. The column quickly became popular, though sharper attacks were withheld from publication. In 2007, in agreement with Italy’s Corriere della Sera, a free Italian edition of Granma was included with every issue, printed in Havana, but Italians selected the articles.

Fidel the columnist

An earlier change, prompted by illness, shifted where Castro’s words appeared. From the beginning, front pages had featured his speeches. But in July 2006, a new section emerged on later pages: Reflexiones del compañero Fidel (Reflections of Comrade Fidel). After handing power to his brother, Fidel remained Granma’s spiritual leader. From president to columnist, he wrote letters and messages to officials and later shared reflections as an aging revolutionary.

All his speeches since 1959 were compiled into annual volumes with themed titles:

• The first was called Año de la Liberación (Year of Liberation).
• 1965, the year Granma was founded, was Año de la Agricultura (Year of Agriculture).
• In 1972, with 61 speeches, the theme was Año de la Emulación Socialista (Year of Socialist Emulation).
• 1976 marked Año del XX Aniversario del Granma (20th Anniversary of Granma).
• 1984 celebrated Año del XXV Aniversario del triunfo de la Revolución (25th Anniversary of the Revolution’s Triumph).
• 2000 was Año del 40 Aniversario de la Decisión de Patria o Muerte (40th Anniversary of the Homeland or Death Decision).
• 2006, the Año de la Revolución Energética en Cuba (Year of the Energy Revolution), featured his final speeches, shorter and less fiery.

From 2007, the paper printed phone conversations, thoughts, and reflections from Castro. At his request, Granma expanded into the Chinese market, translating content into Mandarin, Hindi, Farsi, and Sinhalese. Between 1965 and 2006, Granma published over a thousand of Castro’s speeches - all now available at http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/.

In 2008, when Fidel officially transferred power to Raúl, the new leader eased up on the people. Cuba had long been criticized globally for lack of free speech and human rights. The new administration aimed to change that image. While independent papers offered sharp critique, Granma approached issues more cautiously - it was expected.

Lazaro Barredo, seen as a traditionalist, adhered to Granma’s 1965 editorial line. Then and now, the paper’s core themes remain:

• Speeches by Cuban government leaders
• Official state announcements
• Stories of revolutionary struggles from the 19th century to the present
• News and commentary on Latin American and global politics
• Achievements of Cuban workers and farmers in defense of socialism
• Progress in Cuban industry, agriculture, science, arts, and sports
• Daily TV programming in Cuba

Young Cubans, who know the Revolution only from stories, are weary of its grip on their lives. Words from that era mean little today, and action is scarce. Aspiring journalists lack places to grow. It’s no surprise many seek better lives beyond the island.

The Case of Mairelys Cuevas

In 2008, a talented journalism graduate Mairelys Cuevas Gómez began working at Granma. She completed her journalism studies at the University of Havana with honors. Her thesis project, Steel horses inspired by Girón (Bay of Pigs), about the origin and training of elite Revolutionary Armed Forces specializing in tank operations, was published in the newspaper.

Cuevas quickly climbed the career ladder and by 2012, at just 27, she was head of the national news section. That same year, she traveled to Mexico on official duty with government approval and... never returned to the newsroom. She requested asylum in the United States. This "betrayal" hurt everyone - from officials to her newsroom colleagues. The Latin American journalism community split into two camps: those who understood her reasons - lack of prospects, stagnation, forced lies - and those who saw her as opportunistic. They noted she wasn’t persecuted or poorly paid and accused her of fleeing over an "online romance", which they saw as insulting to real refugees. After Cuevas, five more cases followed, including Granma journalist Aída Calviac, who also requested asylum in the U.S. Eight months earlier, her journalist husband Abel Gonzáles Veranes had escaped Cuba.

Cuevas’s act led the government to announce plans to "streamline Cuban journalism". Radical changes were promised. Raúl Castro declared: an end to secrecy in state media… then several independent journalists were arrested.

Few in the media believed in this "fresh breeze". As proof, they cited José Antonio Torres, a Granma correspondent arrested in 2010, accused of espionage, and sentenced to 14 years. In July that year, he published a report on irregularities in aqueduct construction in Santiago de Cuba. Raúl Castro had said: This is the spirit the Party press should reflect - transparent, critical, and self-critical investigations... Months later, Torres was in jail. So much for the end of secrecy…

Granma`s housecleaning began with the dismissal of Lázaro Barredo and the October 2013 appointment of Terry Pelayo Cuervo as editor-in-chief with the task:

To reflect Cuban reality in all its diversity, timely and objectively present the work of the Revolution, eliminate information gaps and secrecy, and consider public needs and interests.

Cuervo came to Granma from Juventud Rebelde, like his predecessor.

As editor, he prioritized young people, the Internet, and social media. He ran the blog Ciber Editor. In line with the Castro brothers’ directives, he opened the newsroom to the world - inviting foreign journalists from Vietnam’s Nhan Dan and journalism students from the University of Miami. He gave interviews, such as to the BBC, openly discussing the newspaper’s and the country’s challenges. He was a popular and respected leader. The newsroom had about 70 staff, including 14 national correspondents and one in Venezuela.

Cuervo was strongly supported by deputy Karina Marron Gonzales, also head of the national section. She advocated for new equipment, especially for color printing of the international edition. But the country’s economic woes hit the newspaper hard.

To draw readers, Cuervo included two full pages of reader letters in the 16-page daily, mostly complaints the government was obligated to respond to.

In one case, a reader reported a water supply issue in a southern province. Granma investigated. The government apologized, fixed the problem, and fired the responsible official. Surprisingly, every letter or email is read, routed to the proper authorities, and must be answered. Some readers buy Granma’s weekend edition solely for the Cartas a la dirección section.

From 2014, the newspaper looked more favorably toward the U.S. The historic meeting between Raúl Castro and Barack Obama in April 2014 filled entire pages in both editions. A year later, Granma celebrated the opening of the U.S. embassy in Havana. Hope returned.

¡Hasta la victoria siempre, Fidel!

On November 26, 2016, Granma was printed only in black. Comandante Fidel Castro had died. The main headline read: ¡Hasta la victoria siempre, Fidel! (Until victory always, Fidel!). Cuba and Granma were in national mourning until December 4, noon.

On December 22 of that year, the paper appeared with updated typography - not a huge change. Cuban graphic designers and Argentina’s Fontana Diseño studio refreshed "Grandma". The image of revolutionaries remained by the title. The daily slogan was moved to the bottom of the page. The layout featured one photo, an editorial, and the beginning of the day’s lead story, with navigation below. Inside, there was clear section division. Despite technical limitations, photos were larger, and the print quality improved. By year’s end, color photos appeared and navigation was removed.


Terry Pelayo Cuervo meant well but let his guard down. On November 9, 2017, at 00:11:55, Granma’s website posted:

Due to errors committed, the Party leadership has decided to dismiss Comrade Terry Pelayo Cuervo from his position as Granma editor-in-chief.

Journalists were surprised, but Cuervo knew the real reason. In issue 266 from November 8, the subtitle of the lead article about the anniversary of the October Revolution read: Presidió Raúl Gala homenaje por el histórico hecho (Raul Gala attended the homage to this historic event). The word "Gala" capitalized, was shorthand for a surname… BUT NOT CASTRO!!!

In journalism circles, few believed this was the real reason for Cuervo’s dismissal. The regime loves truth - its own truth. Cuervo believed it too much and paid the price.

Oscar Sanchez Serra briefly led the newsroom until, in December 2017, a woman took charge - Yailin Orta Rivera, a 34-year-old journalist who, like her predecessors, came from Juventud Rebelde.

Little changed under Rivera’s leadership - perhaps it became a bit more colorful. Fidel’s legacy still dominated, while President Miguel Díaz-Canel gave speeches. The eight pages of the daily edition are divided as follows:

• Front page: large photo, editorial, and lead story intro
• Cuba - national news
• Mundo - international news
• Especial - coverage of major events
• Deportes - sports news
• Hoy en la Historia - historical events
• Cartas - reader letters on Fridays
• Cultura - culture section

In 2020, Granma marked its 55th anniversary. COVID-19 disrupted planned celebrations, but the paper published a flood of memories and congratulations.

Today, the paper is active on social media, with Maria Hortensia Gutierrez overseeing reader interaction. Granma reaches 65 countries and prints around 500,000 copies in Cuba. It remains loyal to the ideals of the Revolution, to its Comandante, and to the yacht it was named after. While more young journalists are entering the newsroom, stepping out from the shadows of Isidoro Malmierca or Jorge Enrique Mendoza - whose portraits line the newsroom walls - remains a challenge. But who knows what the future may bring...

Granma timeline:

• October 4, 1965 - first issue of Granma
• February 1966 - launch of international edition "Granma Weekly Review"
• July 1973 - Granma’s circulation hits 1 million
• 1975-1984 - "A vuelta de correo" column active
• 1978 - Granma printed in Argentina
• 1990 - "Periodo Especial" begins
• 1991 - Granma Weekly Review becomes Granma Internacional
• March 1992 - format and print schedule change
• 1992 - printing begins in Brazil and Mexico
• 1994 - printing in Spain begins
• 1996 - Granma Internacional website launched
• July 1997 - Granma website launched
• December 1997 - communist Granma prints Pope John Paul II’s blessing for Cuba
• May 1998 - Castro’s speeches translated into English and French
• 1999 - return to six-day editions
• 2001 - Castro’s speeches translated into Arabic
• 2004 - media war with Florida’s El Nuevo Herald
• 2006 - Mandarin added to Granma’s languages
• July 2006 - "Reflexiones del compañero Fidel" column begins
• 2007 - Granma included in Italy’s "Corriere della Sera"
• March 14, 2008 - "Cartas a la dirección" section premieres
• 2010 - Granma correspondent José Antonio Torres arrested and sentenced
• November 26, 2016 - Granma mourns Fidel Castro’s death
• December 22, 2016 - paper relaunched with color photos and new layout
• 2020 - Granma’s 55th anniversary

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