The decision by a state-owned network in Argentina to convert an all-rock radio
station to classical music prompted a strong protest this week in Buenos Aires.
Mario Giorgi, Radio Nacional's new interim director, announced that he would
switch the Supernova FM rock station to a classical-only format as of April. The
move was strongly opposed by some 500 rock musicians and fans, who cut off
traffic in front of the downtown Buenos Aires headquarters of the network.
The demonstrators blasted rock music from a truck, shouting "No, no, no." In a flyer handed to the press and passing pedestrians, they said that Supernova has given "scores of rock and pop groups their first and only chance to be heard on a station of reasonable broadcasting power," and called Giorgi's decision "unfair and unjustified."
The protesters made a point of acknowledging the importance of classical music. "It goes without saying," they wrote, "that it's good that the so-called 'cultured' music is broadcast, and that classical composers, played by either old or new musicians, are disseminated [to the public]." They were joined by a group of 100 employees of Radio Nacional who have not been paid their salaries since December because of Argentina's financial crisis.
Radio Nacional's network of 40 stations around Argentina broadcasts a wide
mix of classical, pop, jazz, tango and rock music. Founded in the 1940s, during
Juan Perón's first term in office, the government-run network has frequently
been used as a propaganda tool. During the 1990s, the Nacional stations reduced
classical music to a minimum in keeping with then-president Carlos Menem's
populist policies.
