"AQUI RADIO-ANDORRA" !

THREE MAGIC WORDS THAT CHANGED PEASANTS

INTO RICH BUSINESSMEN.                                                                          (Go to original document in French)
 
 

This is the title of a long article published by "le Journal de Genève" , signed Tibor Denes,

We can't resist to the pleasure of quoting for you some extracts of this article. Presented with this poesy and this romantism inspired by our Principality to most of our foreign visitors, the history of our station is quite accurate and most of all, shown with humor.

"... One day, the airwaves transmitted across the world the magic words : "AQUI RADIO ANDORRA" . The first commercial radio station in Europe was born.  Andorra was an ideal place for such an enterprise. No railways, no planes, no industrial plants : No noise to break the silence of the mountains, or the voice of the speaker... "
"... Then, hour after hour, a little everywhere in the world people were listening to these words : "AQUI RADIO-ANDORRA" . And many opened their atlas to re-discover this little place, nearly unknown until now. The tourism managers, willing to serve their increasing number of customers, also looked at their maps.

Their agents soon invaded the Co-Princes' kingdom : They discovered splendid mountain for skyers, radious sky,  pure air, picturesque places and even, a fountain supposed to have benefit health effects. But hotels and comfortable rooms were missing, as well as souvenir shops, pubs, restaurants : in a word, most tourism facilities. But hopefully this was not to be missing for long...
 

"... Something else...  One day I was standing in front of the hill where RADIO ANDORRA station is located. Many cars were passing by without stopping (you have one car every three inhabitants). There were also pedestrians in the street. But all were having a brief devotional look at this dark grey building, a little as if it were a church. Actually the vassals of the Co-Princes will never forget that misery time ended at the very moment when the world heard for the first time the magic words "AQUI RADIO-ANDORRA" .

Since then, no one will pronounce the name of Andorra without thinking of its miraculous radio station. That's the legend of the fifth smallest state of our dear continent... "

TIDOR DENES (Le Journal de Geneve, August 26 and 27, 1967 - page 14)

[Radio Andorra document sheet - translated by Eric Tiffon]