They were there too
- Culture Folder
- Trends
- Jul 24
- 18 mins
In 2024, we commemorate the centenary of the birth of Spain’s first radio station, Ràdio Barcelona. Many women have played significant roles in this illustrious history, striving for visibility and recognition. Yet, even today, men predominantly occupy executive roles and morning time slots, and they host shows with bigger budgets and teams.
To honour the contributions of women to radio, the “Dones a les ones” [Women on the Airwaves] project offers a multimedia platform showcasing a diverse array of voices. Featuring approximately 400 female radio professionals, this initiative celebrates those who have helped sustain this vital medium of communication throughout the past century since radio’s inception in Catalonia.
The residents of Barcelona watched with curiosity as towering antennas are erected atop the hotel Colón in Plaça de Catalunya. These antennas would transmit the sounds of a new invention: the radio. On 14 November 1924, Ràdio Barcelona was inaugurated with the official call sign EAJ1. That marked the beginning of a communication medium that has proven indispensable not only in broadcasting but also in shaping politics and society.
Radio was born during the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, a regime marked by strict censorship, broadcasts exclusively in Spanish and the sidelining of women. Over its history, radio navigated through two dictatorships, a republic, a civil war, a transition and a democracy. In each of these historical periods, the medium has adapted to the political, economic and social dynamics of the time, while female broadcasters have contended with implicit gender norms.
Voices that made history. Pioneers
Among the earliest voices heard on the radio was Maria Sabaté, the director’s secretary, who conducted sound tests in 1924. Later, she took on the role of reading advertising announcements for the companies backing the station.
The first female announcer didn’t come until 1926, and it was Maria Cinta Balagué who was entrusted with hosting the women’s programme. This cultured young woman, with a good voice and diction, began the programme under the pseudonym Salus, only to later abandon it in favour of her real name. In the programme Radiotelefonía Femenina on 27 May, Balagué introduces a prominent voice of the time, Carme Karr, a writer and journalist, who reads her manifesto: “A las mujeres. Lo que es Acción Femenina” [To Women. What Feminine Action Is].
That year also marked the beginning of María Ángeles Fernández’s career as a broadcast technician. As the niece of the director, Joaquín Sánchez Cordovés, she had the privilege of learning the technical aspects of the equipment from him. At just 22 years old, she started managing sound controls. Fernández remained an active member of the station for 38 years, retiring in 1965 as the broadcast manager. Her extensive career stood in contrast to that of the first female presenter, Maria Cinta Balagué, who hosted the women’s programme for only a few years, possibly because of her prior employment in Barcelona City Council’s Department of Culture since 1917.
One of the first voices on the radio was Maria Sabaté, who conducted sound tests for Ràdio Barcelona in 1924. © Arxiu Fotogràfic de Ràdio Barcelona - Cadena SERRepublican women broadcasters
It wasn’t until the 1930s, following the proclamation of the Republic, that the first and only female journalist of the era, Maria del Carme Nicolau, emerged. She served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine La Dona Catalana. Nicolau began her broadcasting career at Ràdio Associació de Catalunya, but in 1932 she was hired by Ràdio Barcelona as an assistant in the news department. There, she wrote the news and presented the midday news bulletin, which she named La Paraula in Catalan. In an intriguing move towards inclusivity, she introduced a segment aimed at the female audience within the same news programme, titled Radio Fémina, and afforded it equal importance to the so-called mainstream news.
The Republic opened up opportunities for women to work and study, and, most importantly, to dare to do things that were unthinkable during the dictatorship. The invention of the radio fascinated many young women, leading them to approach the emerging stations across Catalonia to test the sound of their voices through the airwaves.
In 1934, when the Guía de locutores de las emisoras de radio de toda España [Radio Presenters Guide for All Radio Stations in Spain] was published, Catalonia boasted a notably higher number of stations per capita compared to the rest of the country, along with a greater representation of women behind the microphones. The guide listed 49 broadcasting stations across Spain, with 9 of them situated in Catalonia. When we consider the percentage of male and female presenters, women comprised 52.5% in Spain, whereas in Catalonia, female presenters accounted for 81.8%. This indicates that in the majority of these nine stations, one or more female broadcasters were actively performing presenting duties.
It is fair to say that the professional status of female broadcasters during the 1930s was quite solid, with recognisable and beloved names like Rosa Cotó at Ràdio Barcelona, or Rosalia Rovira at Ràdio Associació. Both were actresses, genuine stars whose careers were not just extinguished by the onset of Francoism, but also silenced, keeping them away from the microphone and any involvement in radio or theatre work.
A dark curtain fell
In the early years of Franco’s regime, radio stations reverted to broadcasting exclusively in Spanish. Some female broadcasters, like Maria Tersa, who had worked as a presenter at Ràdio Lleida and Ràdio Girona, decided to leave the industry. Others, such as Antolina Boada at Ràdio Terrassa or Francina Boris at Ràdio Associació de Barcelona, transitioned from the era of the Republic to that of democracy. Boada left the Vallès station in 1976, while Boris, after a period of being sidelined from the microphone, returned to radio in Girona, where she remained active until the age of 87.
During these bleak years, programming had been largely dominated by religion, propaganda and Spanish-language entertainment; Catalan was relegated to the confines of family communication and banished from public spaces. Various contests had served as a distraction, fostering audience loyalty while circumventing censorship. Children’s shows, which had gained popularity during the republican era, made a comeback with beloved characters like Maginet, a regular fixture on charity-focused broadcasts under different names depending on the station, and Pau Pi, who teamed up with Pilar Montero to form a successful radio duo. Initially located on Carrer de Casp, they later relocated to a station on La Rambla as Paulinet, broadcasting for the public from the Sala Mozart.
Enriqueta Teixidó was one of the great voices of EAJ1: she served as both a presenter and a narrator, and, when needed, she also lent her voice to singing and played the piano. She hosted the renowned programme Recortes de prensa by Antonio Losada, recited during the public sessions broadcast from the Sala Mozart and presented numerous other programmes during her nearly forty years at the station. An intriguing detail: she was Spain’s first female presenter who, alongside Enrique Fernández, took on the role of presenter during the television tests conducted at the 1948 Trade Fair.
During Franco’s regime, the majority of female broadcasters found themselves confined to music slots, where they presented requested or dedicated records.
The music box
The majority of female broadcasters found themselves confined to music slots, where they presented requested or dedicated records and filled hours of airtime with music and words requested by those paying the station’s fee. Broadcasters like Maria Escrihuela or Maria Costa at Ràdio Badalona; Luz Acero in Tortosa; or Isabel Freixinet in Reus, among many others, served for years as disc jockeys avant la lettre – a specialty as music presenters that went unrecognised when, in the 1960s, the format of Los 40 principales [The Top 40 Hits] arrived. The Ser deemed the female voice insufficiently convincing to present new music releases, and it took over a decade for female broadcasters to gain that opportunity.
Speaking of music, we mustn’t overlook Radio Juventud, one of the stations that breathed new life into radio during the 1960s and 1970s in Catalonia. When Radio Unión awarded Radio Juventud with Estación Escuela [a radio station that served as a training ground platform for aspiring broadcasters and media professionals] number 15, that humble station, which had begun in 1951 in Sant Just Desvern and Esplugues de Llobregat, relocated to Barcelona and transformed into a school open to all. This ethos turned Radio Juventud into a breeding ground for alternative radio styles, more modern and free-flowing, featuring young people who improvised and spoke directly to the new generations, breaking away from the scripted format typical of radio under censorship at the time. Female presenters such as Pilar Matos, Maribel Álvarez or Mari Cruz Román, among many others, filled the airwaves with their voices and spontaneity, making the station a catalyst and launching pad for others, including a young Elisenda Roca, who began her career at Radio Juventud before enjoying a successful professional career thereafter.
Radio theatre
Another significant aspect of the decades spanning the 1950s, 60s and early 70s was the emergence of radio drama productions, which became popular across numerous stations. Major stations in the capital such as Ràdio Barcelona, Radio Nacional and Radio España had their own ensemble of professional actors, actresses, directors and scriptwriters. Among those dedicated to adapting classical and modern works were talents like Amanda Camps or Cecília A. Màntua at Ràdio Barcelona; Mari Carmen García Lecha at Radio Nacional; and Odette Pinto at Radio España. Actresses such as María Victoria Durá and Ángela Liaño, featured in Teatro invisible on Radio Nacional; Encarna Sánchez, who, alongside Isidro Sola, formed a successful partnership at Ràdio Barcelona; and Núria Cugat and Luis Posada, on Radio España, achieved acclaim through their contributions to popular radio theatre broadcasts.
Advice columns
Certain formats tailored for the female audience enjoyed enduring success, remaining on the airwaves for over four decades. Among these were sentimental advice columns, which originated during the Republican era and persisted well into the democratic period. Maruja Fernández, portraying Elena Francis, bid farewell to the show in 1984 on Radio Peninsular, while Mercedes Laspra played Montserrat Fortuny from 1939 until 1981, with the advice column continuing on Radio España / Cadena Catalana until 1986. Undoubtedly, this was one of the most long-standing formats in broadcasting history.
For many years, the responses to the queries that listeners sent to the supposed advisors gradually aligned with the prevailing discourse. This discourse was based on national-Catholic ideology, which prescribed gender roles and behavioural norms for each sex, in accordance with the dictates of the regime. With only minor changes occurring during the Transition period, it can be argued that throughout the nearly four decades of Francoism, radio programming in general, and advice columns in particular, were perfect accomplices to the patriarchal system.
The Transition, a new era for radio
With the transition to democracy, radio programming underwent a significant shift, leading to changes in radio profiles. The lifting of censorship and the end of the State’s monopoly on information, which had lasted for 38 years (1939-1977), paved the way for the establishment of news services. Consequently, many female journalists made their mark in radio, such as Anna Comas (R4) or Núria Ribó (Ser), while some presenters took on roles as editors and hosts of their own programmes, like Adelina Castillejo or Montserrat Minobis.
Community and independent radios brought a refreshing change, fostering a more open radio communication. Here, audience voices were aired through phone-ins, allowing professionals from the free and local radio movement to introduce new topics and perspectives. These examples created spaces and breathed new life into conventional radio, loosening the constraints of scripts and language.
New Catalan-language stations
Another outcome of democracy was the emergence of radio networks broadcasting in Catalan, both publicly and privately. In December 1976, Ràdio 4, part of RNE, began its journey, followed shortly by Ràdio Olot. Then, in 1983, Catalunya Ràdio was established, where Adelina Castillejo found success in the afternoons. Around the same time, Cadena 13 launched a network of stations that operated for nine years, providing opportunities for many professionals to step up to the microphone. Examples include Mònica Terribas (Barcelona), Pepa Fernández (Cervera), Fina Brunet (Blanes) and Gemma Nierga (Vilassar de Dalt).
COM Ràdio made its debut in March 1995 under the auspices of Barcelona Provincial Council, led by talented professionals who hosted programmes, including Silvia Cóppulo and Elisenda Roca, among others.
Ràdio Barcelona newsroom, 1936. In the foreground on the right, Maria del Carme Nicolau writing the news. On the left, a secretary types what is dictated to her over the phone. © Alexandre Merletti / Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics de CatalunyaOna Catalana, a privately-owned Catalan-language station, hit the airwaves in 1998 in Girona before expanding across Catalonia. Neus Bonet served as its content director, appointing Montse Prat to lead the editorial team. However, this venture was short-lived, closing down in 2007.
On 1 May 2000, RAC1 was launched as a mainstream and commercial radio station in Catalan, marking the beginning of careers for journalists like Núria Ferrer. It became the first private radio network – following the now-defunct Cadena 13 – to broadcast 24 hours a day entirely in Catalan. Right from the start, its listenership steadily grew, positioning it as the leading station in Catalonia. However, there have been few female radio presenters and hosts on RAC1: the station hasn’t been known for promoting its female professionals.
Female communicators in the emerging platforms and formats
Advances in telecommunications, computing and the audiovisual industry have shaped an information society that is becoming increasingly complex and dynamic. It’s a space where the internet has played a decisive role in spreading sound and images rapidly and extensively, transforming radio into more than just audio; it now encompasses a whole digital realm. Today, with just a computer, microphone and portable recording device, anyone can create radio programmes or podcasts.
In recent years, radio magazines have dedicated a significant portion of their airtime to news coverage. Female journalists and communicators have embraced this format, achieving impressive audience ratings, building credibility and earning the respect of the public. Julia Otero, known for hosting feminist-oriented programmes on Ràdio Miramar in the 1980s, made a return to radio after a stint in television. Currently, she hosts Julia en la onda on Onda Cero, drawing thousands of listeners every afternoon. Similarly, Àngels Barceló, who after Catalunya Ràdio worked for a number of years in television, now anchors Hoy por hoy, the Ser network’s morning magazine show. Following the paths of these leading figures in radio communication, it’s evident that Catalonia boasts a community of female radio presenters who lead various programmes and formats, covering politics, sports, ecology, culture, music, opinion, humour, etc. Across all these domains, there’s a chorus of female voices hosting programmes and informative spaces, alongside women involved in production, direction, scripting, technical control and other roles. Together, these professionals contribute their talents to shape a rich, diverse, plural and engaging radio landscape for Catalan broadcasting.
Over the past century, women have strived to carve out spaces, establish presence, build credibility and earn prestige in the radio industry. Nevertheless, professional equality with men has yet to be achieved. Men predominantly occupy executive roles and morning time slots, and they host shows with bigger budgets and teams. As we celebrate a century of radio existence, it’s crucial to acknowledge that women were there too. Through their dedication and hard work, they made it possible for this invention to resonate, provide companionship, entertain and inform us. And it should continue to do so.
The newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with Barcelona Metròpolis' new developments