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[Spanish original]
Jaén is a medium sized city of about 60.000 inhabitants that it is in between the Andes and the rainforest. At first sight, and judging by the circulatory chaos, the activity of most of the population seems to be driving one of the cheerfully colored, noisy mototaxis through the central streets of the city trying to make the biggest number of traffic infractions. After the initial impression one also notices a commercial activity that shows the economic crisis which seemingly Peru is coming out of. In the surroundings of Jaén rice is cultivated and in the mountains coffee.
The north of Peru has been traditionally an area of the jesuits' influence. The Bishop of Jaén is jesuit and the Comunity of Jesus also directs the seminar. The church in Peru cares for great part of the most impoverished population's necessities. In Jaén, The Vicarage of the Solidarity helps out with the medical necessities of people that cannot afford to pay the cost of the treatments of the hospital (health care is not gratuitous). They also offer a service of jurisdictional consultantship for the constant cases of abuses on the part of the not well paid officials and the landowners. The bishopric has also created the Vicarage of the Environment that is in charge of promoting the respect to the nature, to promote methods of cultivation that don't deteriorate the environment and to denounce the numerous ecological attacks that take place.
Radio Marañón it is the most popular radio station in the area. Our old sender of 10 KW of power allows us to reach the isolated villages in the mountains with 200 inhabitants, five hours on donkey away of the nearest road. The originator already has its ailments and every other day it stops working. Luckily the bishop and Toni are technical experts and maintain it in operation.
The morning in the radio starts with an informative program at 6 o'clock. This is the time the farmers go to their "chacras" with their inseparable transistor radio. Local and national information. After that "Canta Carioco", the music program in the morning. If Radio Marañón didn't play music nobody would listen to us. Then follow other programs in which these topics are treated: health, human rights, children; phone participations, and of course, music of all type: salsa, cumbias, huaynos.
Besides this, the sign of identity of Radio Marañón: the "comunicados": "Dígalo Usted Mismo" (Say it yourself). The Radio is the only way that these people have to communicate with the villages and send messages, often vital messages. For one sol (US$ 0.30) the radio transmits their message. From the humblest farmer up to the Ministry of Sanity or Education, everyone uses this service. The statements are fascinating; you hear pass before you all the miseries, problems, illusions and projects of the people that surround you. The "comunicados" of Radio Marañón are the clearest example of the service that this radio offers to the people of the area, who are so vulnerable and unprotected.
At one o'clock the informative program; more news and the stellar intervention of the Mobile Unit. Homero Marín, the total reporter and José, the chauffeur of the motive, bring every day accusations and news directly from the streets: missing children, mandatory recruitments of young, disappearances, corrupt mayors. It seems a lie that with these means nothing can be done. If you saw "Luis del Olmo"...
Then more music, "Telegrama Musical" with the sweet voice of Roxana Robles, the small giant of the radio, Anny Mejía, dedicated to the youth, "The Guayusero" of Ismael, dedicated to the farmers with ecological methods and suggestions of cultivation. Everything to serve the poorest people, people of the countryside. Lastly, Bobby, with his program of romantic music "Punto Corazón", one of the most popular programs, judging by the fans that are in love with his voice and that come to the radio to leave letters and to get to know the speaker. In total there are 17 hours of program, 17 hours in which the life of people of the region goes by a radio that wakes up with them and is quiet when they go to the bed.
Many projects, but also many problems, for example, the government wants to drown the annoying educational radios prohibiting them to emit commercial publicity. We will see what this will lead to. But Radio Marañón is more than a Radio. It is an institution that negotiates several projects of development in the area: improvement of cultivations, integral farms, network of popular correspondents, juvenile correspondents.
When I studied journalism in the university they told us how an ideal means of communication should be, what functions it should supply: to inform, to form, to entertain, to be the middlemen of the information, and to protect the audience. I have known many media, some very good ones, but I must say that Radio Marañón is the most similar to an ideal means of communication, taken root in the society and committed to the society (and not to the economic interests of its owners). This commitment is returned by the audience with an affection and fidelity that would make any director of marketing of a great company cry with emotion.
Working in Radio Marañón I have realized the wonderful work that a means of communication can do when it is committed to and working on an hourly basis to improve the conditions of a population's life. We should not forget that the Right of Information is also a Human Right.
JUAN ZARATIEGI
(translated from spanish, H.+A. Spiegl)