Friend of the right word, of the exact term, of the virtuous and well-constructed expression, Mario Antonio Sandoval Figueroa co-founded Free press 75 years ago, where he took charge of the parliamentary chronicle, a job that demands a lot insight, journalistic nose and expressive ability, requirements that he more than met.
In those first years, the reporters who came to the media had the timely advice of Don Mario, who described with great precision the intense debates that took place in Congress in the years that followed the Revolution of October 1944 and even to the Counterrevolution of 1954.
through the column Skylight It offered opinions and perspectives on various topics of national events, but it did so with such lucidity and richness of judgment that in many cases it practically had the spirit of an editorial. Around 1960, The founders agreed to entrust Sandoval Figueroa with the important task of being general manager of the companya position he held successfully for two decades.
Evidence of his excellent management and visionary spirit was the economic consolidation of Free press, a fact that allowed the acquisition of two rotary presses, one in 1963 and another in 1975. Likewise, another aspect of business improvement was the construction of the current building.
The expressive richness of Mario Sandoval Figueroa
Despite the primary importance of his functions, Mario Sandoval Figueroa never lost his simplicity or good humor. There are still those who remember him listening to the radio in his office and greeting employees with great warmth. His expressive richness and originality in saying things was another of the characteristics that remain indelible in the minds of people who knew him.
The artistic vein is another of the qualities that Mario Sandoval Figueroa treasured since his youth, as he wrote poems in various metric forms: from sonnets to tenths and quartets, but he was also an ingenious photographer who documented a surprising number of family portraits, landscapes, flowers and religious images, of which he was a faithful devotee throughout his life.
Source: Evolution Book: 60 years of writing the history of Guatemala, 2011