Ernesto McCausland
Ernesto McCausland was born in Barranquilla on January 4, 1961. He began his career in journalism at a young age, working for Barranquilla’s El Heraldo, where he remained editor-in-chief until his final days. Although involved in all facets of writing, McCausland is best known for his chronicles and outstanding, true-to-life feature stories. These stories, and his work in general, earned him sixteen National Journalism Awards including five Simon Bolivar National Journalism Awards and the India Catalina Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cartagena International Film Festival (FICCI). In 2012, McCausland was awarded the maximum honor – the Simon Bolivar National Journalism Lifetime Achievement Award.
McCausland was also a filmmaker; his films include El último carnaval (1998), Siniestro (2000), winner of the Ministry of Culture’s Best Colombian Film award, and Champeta Paradise (2003), the short films El pargo rojo (2007) and Luz de enero (2009), and the documentary Eterno nómada (2012).
In the 1980s, he directed the Telecaribe program Mundo Costeño/TV and the QAP news show from 1995 to 1997. His television work includes directing Crónicas de la calle (1982-1983), directing and hosting Telecaribe’s A las 11 con Ernesto (2007-2010) and contributing stories to Caracol TV and RCN TV, the country’s two major television channels. He wrote for the El Heraldo newspaper from 1982 to 1987 before becoming a columnist with the paper until 2010 and, finally, editor-in-chief.
Ernesto was also a columnist and reporter for Cambio magazine (1997-1999); a reporter for Cromos, Soho and Interviú; and a columnist for the El Tiempo newspaper (2007-2010). His work appears in Las crónicas de McCausland (Espasa, 1996), Antología de grandes reportajes colombianos (Alfaguara), Antología de grandes crónicas colombianas (Alfaguara), the latter two by Daniel Samper Pizano, and in Antología de notas ligeras colombianas, (Alfaguara) by Maryluz Vallejo and Daniel Samper Pizano. He is the author of Victorias de la paz: 10 historias de jóvenes que derrotaron la Guerra (OIM, 2010), translated into English and French, and the novels Febrero escarlata (2006) and El alma del acordeón (2008).