Báez Guerrero presents “¡Más es usted!”, his memoir of 45 years in journalism

• The book brings together the author’s interactions and anecdotes with leading figures from business and politics, as well as a chronology of the country’s growth and economic stability and an outlook for the future.

Santo Domingo: – Lawyer and journalist José Báez Guerrero presented his new book “¡Más es usted!” at an event at the National Library attended by figures from culture, business, politics and society, as well as President Luis Abinader and other officials.

The book was presented by the distinguished journalist and diplomat Aníbal de Castro, who said that “Báez Guerrero’s autobiography is an enriching testimony that transcends statistics and historical events, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the unique human experience of an individual as he navigates the social context that shaped him.”

“By sharing his own experiences and challenges,” De Castro added, “he offers us life lessons, advice and motivation that resonate throughout the text. His work is also a daring one, an act of courage that reveals personal and vulnerable aspects of his life: an exploration of his own authenticity.”

After thanking De Castro, president and editor of Diario Libre, for his words, Báez Guerrero said he wrote his memoir so that his grandchildren would know details of their grandfather’s life and circumstances, as well as the historical and social context of the decades before they were born.

“¡Más es usted!” includes the period before the author’s career in journalism, with concise details of historical context, data, figures and references that paint the social, political and economic landscape of Dominican life from his childhood to the present, over the last 65 years.

In this memoir, Báez Guerrero offers opinions grounded in documented precision and the passion of his well-known vocation for debating most national issues. It contains 65 chapters, including accounts of his interactions with much of the business leadership of the last five decades, with keys to the country’s growth and economic stability, together with an outlook on the future.

It also recounts anecdotes of personal encounters with the most prominent political leaders of the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century so far, from Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, Joaquín Balaguer, Rafael Bonnelly, Donald Reid Cabral, Juan Bosch, José Francisco Peña Gómez, Antonio Guzmán, Jacobo Majluta, Salvador Jorge Blanco, Jacinto Peynado, Leonel Fernández, Hipólito Mejía and Danilo Medina, through to the current president, Luis Abinader.

The event began with a blessing by the Reverend Father Domingo Legua, who also praised the civic virtues of the author, whom he said he had known for decades through family and the Church. Báez Guerrero’s family attended, including his wife Patricia Delgado Veras, his children Manuel Báez Delgado and Sofía Blandino, and his grandchildren Nicholas, Gonzalo Enrique and Manuel Alejandro.  

The book’s index of names was compiled by José Chez Checo, president of the Dominican Academy of History, and the cover was designed by the renowned designer Luisito Nazario B.

De Castro said that “the author’s experience plays a fundamental role in illuminating the connection between personal life and the wider social environment. As José Báez Guerrero recounts his life, he not only shares significant events and moments, but also reveals how those events were influenced by the social context around them.”

“In Más es usted, this journalist, with almost half a century in the profession, places himself in turbulent historical periods, such as the April war and the ups and downs of the country’s political life,” said De Castro.

“He describes compellingly how these circumstances directly affected his decisions, values and outlook. His personal narrative is an intimate reflection of the social challenges and changes he has lived through.”

He added that “the account also doubles as the author’s interaction with the culture, norms and expectations of our society. Details about his education, personal relationships and work experiences give us a complete picture of how these influences have helped shape his identity.”

The first edition of the 590-page book was published in paperback by Editora Búho in December 2023, and its first delivery to bookshops sold out in a week. A second hardback edition was published by Editora Corripio in January 2024. Both editions contain illustrations, most of them previously unpublished.

Báez Guerrero is the author of the biography of President Antonio Guzmán, “Guzmán, su vida, gobierno y suicidio”, which won the National History Prize in 2009, as well as Buenaventura Báez, which was book of the year and won the León Jimenes-FIL prize in 2015. Both works have been reprinted seven times and are still sold at Librería Cuesta and in digital format on Amazon.

Among the 21 works published by Báez Guerrero are the novel Ceroles in 1996; the short stories Siete Gotas de Arena in 2007; and the poetry collections Cartas de un Borrasho in 2013, La Cura del Deseo in 2015 and Recuerdos de Afganistán in 2021. He has also published several essays.

The publication of “Más es usted”, celebrating the author’s 45 uninterrupted years in journalism, was sponsored by Banco de Reservas, Grupo SID, FERSAN, Grupo Puntacana, Transagrícola, Barrick Pueblo Viejo, Central Romana, Marítima Dominicana, Humano and Báez Guerrero EIRL.

The launch in the Juan Bosch auditorium of the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Library on Wednesday 24 January was one of the best-attended events at the institution, where Báez Guerrero presented his first work, Crónicas de un Viaje, in 1982.

Architect Mónica Gutiérrez Fiallo was master of ceremonies, and after the event, where a violinist played live music, the author mingled with guests and signed books bought by the public.

More about the author

José Báez Guerrero is one of the most influential opinion leaders in the Dominican Republic. He writes a daily column as well as analysis for the newspaper El Día, Noticias SIN and his own website.

Monday to Friday at 7:55 a.m., he delivers an editorial commentary on Color Visión, channel 9, whose content is also posted on his website La Prensa de Báez Guerrero ([www.josebaezguerrero.com]www.josebaezguerrero.com), which is linked from the digital edition of the newspaper Listín Diario, along with his own YouTube channel and a daily presence on social media.

He was a correspondent for The New York Times and has written for the most important newspapers in the United States. He was also director of and a lecturer at the School of Journalism of the Universidad Católica Santo Domingo and a founding member of its academic council.