Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

began in 1928, when the Tela Railroad Company established ''Tropical Radio''. The first commercial radio station, ''Radio HRN'', began

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

in 1933.

History

In August 1920 a group known as ''Los Chicos del Coliseo'' began broadcasting from

Teatro Coliseo The Teatro Coliseo is a theatre in Retiro neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina which opened on July 8, 1905. History The Coliseum Theatre was opened in 1905 by the British clown Frank Brown, of great importance in the origins of the Creol ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, but it would take many years for radio to arrive in places such as the isthmus of Central America. In Honduras, radio experimentation had begun with local transmissions. American companies (known as ''bananeras'') were just a few of the companies providing employment before and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1928 the Tela Railroad Company (one of the two major railroads) had received a license to establish a radio station (known as Tropical Radio). It broadcast on the 51-meter

shortwave band Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (appro ...

, and HRB (''La Voz del Trópico'') was the first radio station in Honduras. HRB was not a "commercial" radio station. It was a medium for the Tela Railroad Company to broadcast its own bulletins. It also played recorded music and featured live performances by local talent (including the Sisters Cordova and pianist Guadalupe Ferrari Hartling), marimba bands, singers, poets and other artists. HRB did not last long, but it inspired several individuals to keep the broadcasting flame alive. Rafael Ferrari Garcia, an entrepreneur with great ambitions but little money, sold everything he owned to embark on a risky plan; he received permission to install the first commercial radio station in

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

. It was known as ''La Voz del Comercio''; to maintain its operation, he obtained commercial sponsorship from local businesses (retail and professional) and government agencies. From this HRN (''La Primera Emisora del País'') was born; Ferrari was credited as the first radio personality in Honduras. The station was founded on November 1, 1933. Kenneth See and Paul John were the principal technical engineers and attorney Manuel Bonilla Rodriguez, Nicholas Odeh, Rodolfo Brevé Martinez and Ferrari were the station’s staff announcers. Bonilla Rodriguez was the first to broadcast a soccer game in 1935 between a

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n team and Club Motagua, a renowned Honduran team. Assisting Bonilla as engineer was Nat Lopez Fuentes, from a

family radio Family Radio is a non-profit Christian radio network based in Franklin, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1959, Family Radio airs Calvinist teaching and Christian music. The network is most widely known for its false Family Radio#Failed ...

dynasty known nationwide. There were only a handful of radio receivers and in order to reach a wide audience Ferrari installed loudspeakers at various locations in Tegucigalpa. This was a daily pastime, an occasion for locals to meet and enjoy the programming. At first the programming was limited to news, government bulletins and recorded music. However, during the 1940s the station acquired a more powerful transmitter, reaching audiences in faraway countries with its shortwave signal. HRN was important during World War II, since it rebroadcast information from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in London and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

in the United States. Ferrari continued his support of local talent with broadcasts including pianists, marimba bands, orchestras, singers, poets, composers, comedians and amateur artists. After the war, Europe, Asia and North America began to rebuild their economies and Honduras enjoyed some prosperity and tranquility under the Carias Andino regime. HRN became one of many private enterprises which enjoyed a modest increase in business. During this time, the station replaced ''La Voz del Comercio'' for its current slogan, ''La Voz de Honduras''. Ferrari expanded the station, providing opportunity to a new generation of promising talent; some became household names, solidifying HRN's position as a powerhouse of Central American radio. ;Top 20 Honduras Radio Personalities #Rafael Ferrari García #Antonio Mazariegos Velasco #Nicholas Odeh #Manuel Bonilla Rodriguez #Rodolfo Brevé Martinez #Rigoberto Cuellar Cerrato #Gustavo Acosta Mejía #Raul Agüero Neda #Christina Rubio #Manuel Villeda Toledo #Francisco Rolando Ramos #Nahum Valladares #Ruben “Chito” Fuentes Flores #Moisés Ulloa Duarte #Orfa Mejía Arauz #Jorge Figueroa Rush #Sigfrido Munez #Roberto Diaz Lechuga #Carlos Eduardo Riedel Morales #Hector Maradiaga Mendoza .

Radio America

1948 marked the birth of Radio America. At that time Tegucigalpa (the capital) comprised two cities, divided by the Rio Choluteca. It was a small metropolis, both geographically and in population. Radio America broadcast with three kW of power; small by later standards, but sufficient for experimentation. Soon it increased its power to 10 kW, easily reaching audiences in the twin cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela. The station was first owned by Sergio Castellón who, within a few years, sold it to Cuban entrepreneur Rafael Silvio Peña. Peña, bringing the Cuban concept of radio as a fresh approach, began with live performances (especially ''radio-novelas'', or soap-operas). Peña brought in Emilio Díaz; the two developed programs popular in Cuba such as ''"La Tremenda Corte"'', which was known throughout Latin America. Subsequently Dr. Andonie Fernandez bought the station, maintaining its tradition while ushering in a new era. Several changes took place, the most important of which was the addition of well-known radio personalities and the highest-rated program (''“Platicando con mi Barbero”'', after the cast left HRN). This program featured a group headed by humorist Herman Allan Padgett, considered a genius for his comic range and originality. Padgett had gathered the best-known talent of the time, including Julio Lopez Fuentes, Abelardo Enrique Avendaño and Ricardo Antonio Redondo Licona. Like HRN, Radio America strives to improve; Fernandez created a conglomerate within the communications industry in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

.Radio America history (Spanish).
Retrieved 2011-04-02.

Musiquera

HRAX-FM Radio Musiquera or better known as Musiquera is a Honduran

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

station based in

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 701, ...

, department of Cortés, founded in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. It broadcasts from that

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

through the frequency 93.3 FM. Their

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

is "Tu Mejor Compañera." The station currently enjoys a high level of popularity among the Honduran population and abroad. This station is part of the A.G Multimedia group, to which other stations such as Radioactiva 99.7 FM, Estéreo Clase 92.9 FM and the TV channel Activa TV also belong. Musiquera has national coverage, through more than 20

repeaters ''Repeaters'' is a 2010 Canadian thriller film directed by Carl Bessai, written by Arne Olsen, and starring Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, and Richard de Klerk as young drug addicts who find themselves stuck in a time loop. Plot Kyle, Sonia, and ...

linked via

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

References

Sources

*Valladares, Nahum (2000). "La Historia de la Radio en el Siglo XX", UNAH. 384.54-V176.C2. *Valladares, Nahum (2008). "Grandes Veteranos de la HRN", ''La Tribuna'', article/47768/2008-11-04

External links