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Mallku, 4796v kHz |
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Radio
Mallku, Uyuni, 4796.44 kHz, was heard at 1003-1008 fair on
Dec 31, 1999.
After playing a nice Bolivian huayno, the canned identification
was given as follows:
"Desde el salar de Uyuni y para todo el sudeste potosino ,
transmite Radio Mallku en la frecuencia de 4795 kc banda tropical
de 60 metr os onda corta."
Note: The station which formerly identified itself
Radio A.N.D.E.S. under the slogan "la voz de los trabajadores
campesinos", was established and operated by FRUTCAS "Federacion
Regional Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos del Altiplano Sud"
(the Unique Regional Federation of Peasants in the Southern
Highland) which has members in five provinces in the Department
o f Potosi.
The initials making up the station name stand for the first
letter o f the five provinces: Antonio Quijarro, Nor Lipez,
Daniel Campos, Enrique Valdivieso and Sud Lipiz.
According to the "Diccionario Quechua-Espanol" (published
by the Municipality of Cusco, in 1995), the "Mallku" has two
meanings: the Inca Divinity invoked by the Andean diviners;
Varayoq del Ayllu (the authority of the social organization
in the Andes) nominated each year. I t was symbolized by a
totem of condor (kuntur), in the Inca civilization.
According to the "Gramatica y Diccionario Aimara" 2th edition
(published by Juan Enrique Ebbing; printed by Editorial "Don
Bosco" in La Paz, Bolivia, in 1981), it is written as "Mallko"
in Aymara and has two meanings: chief and condor.
Consequently, Radio Mallku may be translated as "Radio Chief"
which signified the peasants federation's chief being invoked
by diviner, or "Radio Condor" which signified the authority
of the peasants federation, symbolized b y condor.
Takayuki Inoue Nózaki, January
9, 2000, Relámpago DX
Some
days ago I got a very nice QSL-letter from Señor Erwin
Freddy Mamani Machaca, the station manager of Radio Mallku
in Bolivia. The letter contains a lot of information concerning
Radio Mallku. I hope that it will be of interest to some of
you. Here now the details:
Personal and ownership structures
The staff of the station consists of exactly two persons.
The just 22 years old Freddy Mamani calls himself as program
manager of Radio Mallku. He is the leader of the station since
three years. His co-worker is Señora Clotilde Yucra de Cayo.
Beyond that they still have three honorary co-workers. Under
the name „Radiodifusoras A.N.D.E.S.“ the station began to
transmit already in December 1996. The former station name
consists of the initial letters of the five provinces in the
Potosí department. The telecommunications authority in La
Paz however refused the transmission license at that time,
because Radio Los Andes from Tarija already existed as a radio
station of similar name. Only renaming in Radio Mallku, which
is Quéchua and means "condor", legalized the operation of
the station. Owner of Radio Mallku is the agricultural worker
organization „Frutcas“. An advisary board (Concejo de Administración)
consisting of five persons supervises the conversion of the
resolutions of the executive committee of the agricultural
worker federation Frutcas (Federación de Campesinos Frutcas).
On the Campesino congress (Congreso Campesino) the advisary
board of the station as well as the guidance of the organization
Frutcas are elected for two years. Therefore Señor Mamani
is not the owner of Radio Mallku, but rather a type of leading
employee.
The Program
The administrative structures of Radio Mallku and the designation
as „Voz de los Trabajadores Campesinos del Altiplano Sud“
suggest the primary mission of the station. Primarily the
station is labor union orientated and represents the interests
of the Campesinos in the southwest of the Bolivian department
Potosí. On that reason apart from Spanish also the Indio language
Quéchua is used. Education programs as well as health programs
(„Programa de Mujer Salud“) are dominating the program schedule.
Like many other LA stations also Radio Mallku broadcasts the
so called "mensajes" (Quéchua: Willaykunas). Music programs
such as „Ramilletes musicales“ can be found in the program
schema likewise.
Country and People
At the end of his letter Freddy Mamani describes the inhabitants
of the Uyuni region as lovable and hospitable people. In the
highland region of the Altiplano Sud prevails a relatively
cold climate. Up to the privatisation of the railways in the
year 1994 Uyuni was an important regional traffic junction.
The most important attraction of this area is the large salt
desert with 12400 square kilometres. A beautiful photo of
the salt desert was attached to the QSL letter. Mr. Mamani
doesn't conceal the problems of his homeland and expresses
likewise that Potosí is the poorest Bolivian department. The
living conditions of the population partly are not satisfactory
at all. A lot of people emigrated to Argentina or Chile on
the search for better conditions of work and life. This led
to a considerable decrease of population in the Uyuni region.
Michael Schnitzer. June 22,
2000, hcdx list |
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