Cuban Journalist Arnie Coro (CO2KK) Dies at 80

Cuban radio broadcaster, journalist, and DX-er Arnaldo de Jesús Coro Antich, known to listeners as Arnie Coro, passed away early Jan. 8, 2023, at the age of 80. He was well-know for his twice-weekly program “DXers Unlimited” on Radio Havana Cuba, Cuba’s English-language shortwave service.

His amateur callsign was CO2KK.

Coro became interested in radio as a child and at the age of 12 joined the Radio Club de Cuba amateur radio association. In 1957, he began working as a journalist at Canal 7 (CMBF-TV). During the Cuban Revolution, he was one of the founders of Radio Havana Cuba in 1961, working to help set up the station’s first transmitter ahead of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

In 2017, Coro was honored with the National Radio Award by state broadcaster Radio Cubana.

Over the years, Coro produced a number of science and technology radio programs for Juventud Rebelde, Radio Progreso, Radio Taíno and Radio Metropolitana, as well as for the magazine Juventud Técnica. He also authored the 1984 book La Guerra Radial de Los Estados Unidos de América Contra Cuba (The United States’ Radio War Against Cuba).

Coro was always passionate about ham radio. He was an active member of the Federacion de Radioaficionados de Cuba, and he worked tirelessly to help other broadcasters overcome technical problems. He also was sought to highlight the important role of amateur radio operators during emergencies, and, at the time of his death, he served as emergency coordinator for Area C of Region 2 of the International Amateur Radio Union.

He was an assistant professor at the Raúl Roa García Higher Institute Of International Relations and served as vice president of UNESCO’s Cuban Commission for the Preservation of Audiovisual Heritage.

SOURCE: https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/people-news/cuban-journalist-arnie-coro-dies-at-80