Radio Libertad de Junín, Junín (5039 kHz)

by Mika Mäkeläinen

Radio Libertad de Junín is located high up in the Peruvian altiplano at an altitude of 4105 meters above sea level. The station office is at Jirón Cerro de Pasco No. 582, a dirt alley not far from the beautiful center of Junín. The station letterhead still gives the previous address, Jirón Simón Bolivar 497. I paid a visit in April 2000, when I was welcomed by Director gerente Mauro Chaccha Guere, his wife and Luis Molina Llanos, who had just finished hosting the morning program. You may hear Molina's voice also in the early evening hours local time, which is prime time for picking up Peruvian stations in Europe.

Molina took advantage of our visit by making an interview and by recording a few promos in different languages. Now you may even hear a station identification in English, Finnish or Swedish!

Mission accomplished

Chaccha explained that Junín is suffering from a prolonged economic depression, which according to him is partly due to the economic policies of President Alberto Fujimori. By lowering tolls Fujimori has paved way for the import of meat from neighbouring Ecuador, which has hit hard on the less efficient livestock production in the Junín region. Still, sheep and alpaka were grazing the endless steppe surrounding Junín, and roadside farms offered fresh cheese for sale.

As a consequence of the recession, Radio Libertad de Junín has suffered from the lack of listeners' paid messages, and with practically no commercial advertising, the station is on the verge of going bankrupt, says Chaccha. Election campaign ads were few.

All this means that as foreign correspondence does not generate any income, Chaccha is not particularly interested in responding to reception reports. No wonder also considering what he receives: the first reception report his wife showed me - if you can call it a reception report - was from some Mr. Bellabarba... After my requests, Chaccha and his wife were able to locate some more decent reports, and I was happy to receive verifications for myself, Tuomas Talka and Juha Ignatius.

Chaccha offered us local booze made of a plant called maka. And so we toasted to a better future for Radio Libertad de Junín. As for a better future for DXers vying for a QSL, you could try paying generously for all the expenses - that should improve your odds from the otherwise zero probability. The station does know very well what DXers want, but responding seems to be mostly a question of money and interest.

(published on April 22, 2000)