Why Argentinians Prefer Radio to TV
Unlike England (increasingly a bunch of TV and celebrity addicts), Argentina (along with Chile, the world’s most southerly country, known for its football), has a nation that does not gawp at reality programs all day. This musical nation (where the Tango dance was invented), prefers to listen to the radio.
Argentina is one of the most biodiverse nations on earth. It’s home to 400 mammals (including wild giant anteaters, 1000 bird species and 9000 species of plants).
Back in 1920 in Buenos Aires, a group named ‘Los locos de la azotea’ staged one of the first live radio broadcasts from the Teatro Coliseo. From opera to Latin music, within years radio had become a hugely popular medium in Argentina.
Evenings would mean that chairs were pulled up close to a wooden set, while mothers cooked and fathers turned the dial. Radio also helped to make the national dance of tango popular. In Argentina, people don’t just watch Strictly Come Dancing. They turn the TV off, put the radio on and dance the tango themselves!
The main cities are also gridlocked with traffic, so drivers and taxi drivers often have the news on, to know of any traffic jams. It’s estimated that around 70% of Argentinians listen to radio, while on the move.
Everyone gets involved. You don’t have non-stop music programs. A morning radio program is about like our mid-morning TV. You may get a band play a song, then an interview with a politician, then a recipe, then a quick weather forecast.
What was the Falklands War About?
Many of us are only really familiar with Argentina, due to the war with the Falkland Islands, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. The islands (8000 miles from England) are an overseas territory, with most residents having Scottish, Welsh, Scandinavian or South American heritage.
On the one hand, they are filled with wildlife (lots of penguins) and free from supermarkets and fast food chains. But of course war affects all species, and local sea lions, elephant seals and albatross birds no doubt suffered from all the ships, planes and missiles.
The war also cost over 900 human lives. Three casualties were Susan, Doreen and Mary (30, 36 and 81). They were all staying with friend John, who had built an air raid shelter from tea chests, and covered them with mattresses.
The ‘misguided missile attack’ from the Royal Navy led to all three being killed. Doreen died in the arms of John’s wife, the shrapnel had passed through her spinal column.
Most people remember Simon Weston, the soldier who suffered severe scarring from burns during the Falklands War. When the fuel ignited on the ship he was on. He now runs a holiday company, specialising in accessibility issues.
