Jorge Marín, the forgotten London reporter of 'Destino'

Abstract

Josep Manyé (1908-2000) was a prominent Catalan journalist who worked in London but who used the pseudonym Jorge Marín when writing in Spanish. Manyé is known for his job as BBC journalist, especially because he promoted the broadcasts in Catalan at the British corporation. Nevertheless, he is the author of an excellent and abundant work written in Spanish. Manyé has been included in what has been called the inter-war generation of Catalan journalism, a group of journalist on whom the influence of Josep Pla was projected. This work is intended to recover his leading figure and to highlight the enormous value of his articles in the weekly magazine Destino when he was its foreign correspondent in London. These articles include different genres —from the reportage, several of them magnificent examples of investigative journalism, to travel and daily life in England chronicles, through profiles and interviews— as a correspondent in London of the weekly Destino, for years considered an authentic reference of quality in the journalistic panorama of Spain. The magazine, which was founded in Burgos during the Civil War as a Falange’s publication, evolved since becoming liberal, modern, pro-European and critical of the Franco dictatorship to which it had initially given full support. The journalist, who was quite a celebrity, has almost been consigned to oblivion with time.