BY TERE FIGUERAS

  Carlos Castañeda, the publisher emeritus of El Nuevo Herald whose passionate belief in a free press helped guide several newspapers across Latin
  America, died Thursday morning in Lisbon, Portugal. He was 70.

  Castañeda, who suffered from an aggressive form of leukemia, was vacationing with his wife and one of his daughters when he became ill, his friends
  said.

  A veteran journalist whose career spanned more than five decades, Castañeda bore witness to the vagaries of politics and people -- and helped shape
  their coverage in more than two dozen papers throughout the Western Hemisphere.

  Perhaps his crowning achievement occurred in May when El Nuevo Herald was presented the 2001 Ortega y Gasset Journalism Award, given to the best
  Spanish-language daily newspaper in the world.

  Castañeda's passion for journalism began early. While growing up in Havana, he fell in love with the voices of radio newscasters and sports
  commentators, and had his own show as a teenager.

  In 1954, he joined the weekly magazine Bohemia, which gave exposure to the best Cuban journalists and writers of that era. Years later, he was one of
  the first journalists to interview a young revolutionary named Fidel Castro.

  Castañeda was there when Castro made his triumphant arrival in Havana in January 1959. ''There is a picture of him taking notes with Castro,'' said
  Salvador Lew, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which operates Radio and TV Martí.

  FORTUITOUS DECISION

  But the astute Castañeda sensed ominous rumblings of what was to come. ''He was never with Castro, just the opposite. He was a reporter, very
  vigilant and very smart,'' said Lew. ``I remember talking with him a few years before about the sad future that was coming for Cuba.''

  In 1960, Castañeda left Cuba for New York City with his wife, Lillian, and their family and $50 in his pocket. He worked for Bohemia Libre -- the exile
  version of the landmark magazine -- before switching to the Spanish-language version of Life magazine, working his way up to top editing post.

  In 1970, he helped launch El Nuevo Día, a leading Puerto Rican daily.

  During his 28 years as editor and publisher, Castañeda saw circulation grow more than thirteen-fold before ''retiring'' in 1998.

  ''Don Carlos lived journalism as a priesthood,'' said Puerto Rican entrepreneur Antonio Luis Ferré, who hired Castañeda. ``It was his life.''

  Retiring was a term the robust Castañeda used loosely: In November 1998, he was named publisher and editor of El Nuevo Herald in Miami, where he
  visited often to see his children.

  Alberto Ibargüen, publisher of The Miami Herald and chairman of The Miami Herald Publishing Co., recalled running into Castañeda one day at Perricone's
  Marketplace & Cafe -- and decided he was a perfect match for revamping El Nuevo into a publication with a distinct voice from its sister paper, The Herald.

  ''He transformed the newspaper,'' said Ibargüen. ``The idea was that El Nuevo should become a Latin American newspaper that happens to be edited in
  this North American country.''

  LEADERSHIP HONORED

  In an e-mail to the staff Thursday, Ibargüen paid further homage to Castañeda:

  ``El Nuevo Herald needed a journalist with a pan-American vision, someone who understood and loved both Cuba and Miami, someone with the courage
  of his convictions as he transformed the content, tone and pace of the newspaper. Carlos was the man, and . . . the Ortega y Gasset prize was fitting
  tribute for his extraordinary leadership.''

  Last December, he turned the reins over to Humberto Castelló, who worked with Castañeda in Puerto Rico.

  'Carlos' life was ruled by faith, journalism, family and his infinite love for Cuba,'' Castelló said in a message to his staff. ``He was my beacon and model
  for many years. Now he will be like the magic light that shines brightest when it's extinguished -- the light of thought.''

  Castañeda, with his trademark bow tie and wire-rim glasses, stayed on as a consultant to El Nuevo Herald -- a title he has held at more than 25 papers
  throughout the Spanish-speaking world, including Diario Popular in Argentina, La Nación in Costa Rica and Panama's La Prensa.

  HANDS-ON APPROACH

  ''When he was in town, he would come in here every day,'' said Gloria Leal, associate director of El Nuevo Herald. ``From 5 to 10 p.m. he would be here,
  deciding what went on the front page, what the headlines would be. When he was traveling, he would call in to see what was going on.''

  On Sunday, Castañeda called from the hospital in Portugal where he was undergoing tests.

  ''He wanted to know about the elections in Brazil,'' Ibargüen said. ``He wanted to know how we were going to play it.''

  Democracy -- and the role news organizations play in bolstering that ideal -- was a driving force in Castañeda's life.

  A longtime member of the Inter-American Press Association, Castañeda served on the Committee on Freedom of the Press, which monitors censorship in
  the region.

  ''People here sometimes take journalism and mass media for granted; here we have the First Amendment, we have rights,'' said Julio E. Muñoz, executive
  director of the IAPA. ``That is not the case in many countries. Carlos understood that and was passionate in his defense of the press. He saw it as the
  very tool of democracy, of sharing ideas.''

  Castañeda lectured frequently at newspapers throughout Latin America, offering ideas on how to revamp content, modernize technology and improve
  circulation in often politically tumultuous countries.

  ''Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico -- the list is long,'' Muñoz said. ``People would call and ask for him, and he would go wherever, whenever.''

  KNOWN FOR ACTIVISM

  In April 1991, as regional vice president for Puerto Rico of the IAPA, he bristled at a decree from Gov. Rafael Hernández Colón to charge fees for
  information from a government agency. ''This is a tantrum by a man full of arrogance who is miffed because things are not turning the way he wants
  them,'' said Castañeda.

  He also reported abuse and intimidation of Cuban journalists on the island to the IAPA's 1,500 member newspapers -- working in tandem with a
  counterpart on the island.

  ''I don't think Castro would have let him back,'' Muñoz said.

  Born in 1932, Carlos Mauricio Castañeda Angulo got his start as a radio sports commentator hosting his own show, La Voz del Aire, when he was 16 --
  five years before graduating from the University of Havana with a degree in journalism. He attended the University of Missouri from 1953 to 1954 before
  returning to Cuba, where he worked at the respected daily El Mundo in addition to Bohemia.

  After leaving the island, Castañeda worked as editor and correspondent for Bohemia Libre and later as the political correspondent in Washington.

  In 1965, Castañeda joined Life en Español and remained until 1969. He moved to San Juan the next year to join El Nuevo Día, where the paper grew
  from a circulation of 16,000 to 120,000 in a few years.

  Its current circulation is more than 212,000 on weekdays, 234,000 on Sundays.

  NEW VOICE

  Castañeda also had a hand in the early incarnation of El Nuevo Herald. In 1975, as Miami-Dade County grappled with waves of Cuban immigrants,
  Castañeda helped design El Miami Herald, a Spanish-language insert that debuted a year later.

  Despite his wide-ranging influence in Latin America, Castañeda never fulfilled the one dream he took with him from his homeland.

  'When I approached him to come to El Nuevo, he said, `I've done everything in my life I've wanted -- except to edit a newspaper in a free Cuba,' '' said
  Ibargüen, who told Castañeda that ``when the time is right, we'll bring that newspaper to Cuba. That's when we shook hands.''

  In addition to his wife, Castañeda is survived by his son, Eduardo, and daughters Aileen, Tanya Maria and Millie.

  A Mass will be said in Lisbon today.

  A memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. Oct. 19 at St. John Bosco Church, 1301 W. Flagler St.

  Herald translator Renato Perez and El Nuevo Herald staff writer Pablo Alfonso contributed to this story.