Radio Habana Cuba-Cadena Azul (lit. "''Radio Havana Cuba-Blue Network''") was a Cuban radio network operating in various forms from 1939 until 1954. It was a heated rival of radio network CMQ.

History

Origins

RHC was created in 1939 by Felix O'Shea, founder of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

's CMK radio station, with stations in

Jovellanos Jovellanos is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. Overview The municipality is divided into the barrios of Asunción, Isabel, Realengo and San José. It was founded in 1842 as Corral de la Bemba on the location of an old ...

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

and Victoria de Las Tunas; the network was then sold to Cristóbal Díaz González. Cadena Azul began in 1939. In 1940, Amado Trinidad Velazco became the owner and various Cuban stations merged with CMHI, among which were CMCF and CMKO thus forming Radio Habana Cuba, with its offices at Prado #54, corner of Capdevila Street."RHC Cadena Azul", ''EcuRed''
(Cuban state wiki) Díaz González was a partner with the Cuban telephone company, and with his connections the network had access to a telephone line repeater that could pass on the signals across the island. ''Cuba And Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo, Volume 1'', Ned Sublette
/ref>

Characteristics

The goals of RHC Cadena Azul were to: * Promote Cuban-ness * Protect domestic artists * Position Cuban music in its "rightful" place as they saw it * Provide the listener with the best quality music * Raise the standards of music broadcasting by radio To achieve this Trinidad raised the artists' and technicians' salaries. RHC Cadena Azul employed 40 singers, 34 actors, 18 announcers, 20 writers, 10 composers and 10 bands. Some famous musicians of RHC Cadena Azul were Iris Burguet,

Manolo Álvarez Mera Manolo Álvarez Mera ''(né'' Manuel Ernesto Álvarez-Mera 7 November 1923 Havana, Cuba – 16 October 1986 New York City) was a Cuban-born tenor who flourished as a bel canto during the late 1940s and 1950s. Despite having an operatic caliber v ...

, René Cabell,

Vicentico Valdés Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a musician and composer better known by his stage name Vicentico. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs along with Flavio Cianciarulo. He was ...

Miguelito Valdés Miguelito Valdés (September 6, 1912 – November 9, 1978), also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of ''cubanismo''. Life Miguelito Valdés was born ...

Joseíto Fernández José Fernández Díaz (September 5, 1908 – October 11, 1979), commonly known as Joseíto Fernández, was a Cuban singer and songwriter. He is the writer of well-known songs, including "Elige tú, que canto yo", "Amor de madre", "Demuéstram ...

and Barbarito Diez; actors like

Rita Montaner Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda (20 August 1900 – 17 April 1958), known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a '' vedette'' (a star), and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and ...

, Jesús Alvariño, Rolando Ochoa, Leopoldo Fernández Salgado, Aníbal de Mar, Otto Sirgo and Rosendo Rosell. Singer and composer

Sindo Garay Sindo Garay (born Antonio Gumersindo Garay García; Santiago de Cuba, 12 April 1867 – Havana, 17 July 1968) was a Cuban trova musician. He was taught by Pepe Sánchez. Garay was one of the ''four greats of the trova''. He was of Spanish a ...

, was one of the network's most popular artists, with 116 songs. Mexican artists who worked at the studios between 1942-1946 included

Jorge Negrete Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno (; 30 November 1911 – 5 December 1953) was a Mexican singer and actor. Life and career Negrete was born in the city of Guanajuato and had two brothers and three sisters; his father was a Mexican Army Colonel who ...

Tito Guizar Tito may refer to: People Mononyms *Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman *Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journal ...

and

Pedro Vargas Pedro Vargas Mata (San Miguel de Allende, 29 April 1906 – Mexico City, 30 October 1989) was a Mexican tenor and actor, from the golden age of Mexican cinema, participating in more than 70 films. He was known as the "Nightingale of the Ameri ...

, and Argentine entertainer

Libertad Lamarque Libertad Lamarque Bouza (; 24 November 1908 – 12 December 2000) was a Mexican-Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as " ...

End of the Trinidad era

In 1952, Trinidad sold the network to Bed Marving of the U.S., who changed its name to Cadena Azul de Cuba. On March 1, 1954, Cadena Azul de Cuba was closed replaced by the Circuito Nacional Cubano.

References

*Soler, Yanela
Competerncia en el aire
Disponible en "mesadetrabajo.blogia.com". Consultado: 5 de agosto del 2011. *Cue Sierra, Mayra

Disponible en "www.cubarte.cult.cu". Consultado: 5 de agosto del 2011. *Artícul
La RHC Cadena Azul y su competencia con CMQ Radio
Disponible en "teleyradio.blogia.com". Consultado: 5 de agosto del 2011. *Artícul
RHC, Cadena Azul (1950)
Disponible en "www.libreonline.com". Consultado: 5 de agosto del 2011.

External links

"RHC Cadena Azul", ''EcuRed''
(Cuban state wiki)
"Amado Trinidad Velasco", ''EcuRed''
{{coord missing, Cuba Radio stations in Cuba Radio stations established in 1939 Mass media in Havana 1939 establishments in Cuba 1954_disestablishments_in_Cuba Radio stations disestablished in 1954