Journalism and media has been left with a great humble figure after the
demise of Jimmy Giménez-Arnau on the 17th of September in the year 2024, three
days after the anniversary of his 81st birthday. This updating journalist
writer and television personality known popularly as Paco Giminez, was born on
14th September 1943 in Spain, with the birth name of Joaquín José Victor
Bernardo Giménez-Arnau Puente.
Jimmy Giménez-Arnau would come into the public scene in the late 1970s when he
started practicing journalism which did not take time for him to be infamous due
to his blunt analysis and opinions. Jimmy Giménez-Arnau was not only a reporter: he was an
artist who was telling stories and capturing Spanish society and politics in
its entirety and with its dark sense of humour. Jimmy Giménez-Arnau was a rebel in a way which
was completely acceptable because his work represented the voice of the
unheard.
What can be considered as one of the most incredible facts of Jimmy Giménez-Arnau’s life was his connection with the Franco family. In 1977, Jimmy Giménez-Arnau married María del Mar Martínez-Bordiú y Franco whose grandfather was the former
dictator of Spain Francisco Franco. Their marriage and subsequent separation in
1982 saw them enter the realm of tabloids where Jimmy Giménez-Arnau was to use his vantage point
of the family that had defined modern Spain as a point of criticism. In his
candid book, Yo, Jimmy: La vida entre los Franco, Jimmy Giménez-Arnau was not embarrassed to
paint his family as multi- dimensional and to show a side of Franco’s family
few could ever illuminate.
Before going into a brief analysis on his writing, it is worth to point out
that Jimmy Giménez-Arnau was also a communication giant in the television in which he
shared his loveliness through the television screen at the same time as he did
it in the print media. Jimmy Giménez-Arnau was always ready for controversy and preferred to
entertain the audience while delivering socially significant message. There is
yet another quote from him where Jimmy Giménez-Arnau said, “If you can’t have a good laugh at
your past, then you are bound to make the same mistakes over and over again and
that too in front of the camera, preferably live!”
To say that Jimmy Giménez-Arnau had a colourful personal life would not be an
overstatement. Jimmy Giménez-Arnau had another glamorous love affair after his marriage with
María del Mar and then he met a journalist Sandra Salgado in 2013 with whom he
got married despite the fact that she is 35 years younger than him. Jimmy Giménez-Arnau acknowledged that he had difficult relationships with them, but his two
children was living proof of his existence and existence in future.
Thus, as I pay my respects to the memory of the remarkable man that has
undergone such a sad incident, I think that it is only fair to focus on the
fact that he has been an important figure who knew how to bring up
controversial issues, tell amazing stories, and make people think. Jimmy Giménez-Arnau's
accomplishments in journalism and media will remain copyright and his way of
making humor out of complex issues in life. Atlast his voice in today’s divided
world will be missed but his idea will keep on resonating among the next
generations. RIP Jimmy, you really did leave your stamp on Radio 1 for all the
right reasons.
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