WPUC-FM (88.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

), branded on-air as Católica Radio, is a non-commercial educational

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting an

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format. Licensed to

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, the station serves the entirety of the island with the aid of a booster at

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

and a translator covering Mayagüez. The station is owned by Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Service Association, Incorporated.

History

The Catholic University of Puerto Rico entered into broadcasting when it built WEUC, a 1,000-watt AM radio station operating at 1420 kHz, in 1958. The station, which signed on in May, was the island's first Catholic radio station. The station's call letters stood for ''Emisora Universidad Catolica'' (Catholic University Station). Bishop James E. McManus, who founded the university, had invited Father Carl Hammond to assist in the design of the buildings on the campus; Hammond, an avid ham radio operator, was instrumental in launching the station. On May 17, 1979, the Catholic University of Puerto Rico applied to the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

to build and launch a noncommercial FM station on 88.9 MHz. WEUC-FM was approved by the commission on January 11, 1982, but the station did not sign on the air until May 17, 1984. The university sold the AM station in 2000 to El Mundo Broadcasting Corporation, owners of WKAQ-AM-

WKAQ-FM WKAQ-FM (104.7 MHz, "KQ105 FM") along with its satellite WUKQ-FM (98.7 MHz) are a pair of radio stations in Puerto Rico broadcasting a bilingual contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, WKAQ-FM serves the eastern h ...

in San Juan and WUKQ-FM in Mayagüez, for $1.45 million; the sale resulted in the AM frequency becoming a simulcaster of WKAQ. After selling the AM station, the university changed WEUC-FM's call sign to WPUC-FM, reflecting the papal designation of the pontifical title on the university, which had taken place in 1991. The radio station serves dual purposes: as a communication media with the external community and as an internship for students studying communications. In 2014, the station's main studio was named for Luis Varela (1938 - 23 June 2020), whose sports program ''Trinchera Deportiva'' aired from WEUC/WPUC since 1961. After

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

, WPUC-FM lost 80 percent of its coverage. The translator for Mayagüez, located inside the

Maricao State Forest Maricao State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Maricao'') is a state forest located in the western Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as ''Monte del Estado'' because it was one of the first forest reserves in Pu ...

, was returned to service in January 2019.

Translator stations

References

External links

* * * {{Puerto Rico Radio PUC-FM Radio stations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Puerto Rico Campus, college, student and university radio stations PUC-FM Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico

History

Translator stations

See also

References

External links