About the Souvenir Sheet
The set of four postage stamps illustrates elements that synthesize the history of the beginning of radio in Brazil. In the foreground on the left is the radio, marking the beginning of the first transmission on September 7, 1922. On the right, at the microphone, is Roquette-Pinto, responsible for founding the country’s first broadcaster and considered the father of broadcasting in Brazil. At the bottom of the radio circles gradually increase, representing the propagation of sound waves creating the idea of the timeline from its first transmission in 1922 to 2022. The technique used was computer graphics.
Centenary of Radio in Brazil
In 1922, in Rio de Janeiro, the federal capital, the celebrations for the centennial of Brazil’s Independence took place. These festivities took place from September 7 of that year until July 24, 1923.
To mark the date, the city underwent major renovations. The Morro do Castelo hill was filled in, creating an extensive area over what used to be the sea. Dozens of pavilions appeared, extolling Brazilian industry, commerce, agriculture, great inventions, and the nations friendly to Brazil. Everything was part of the great Centennial Exposition. A model just like the gigantic world expositions.
Brazil, on this occasion, demonstrated to its people and to the international community its potential. At the exhibition, the country promoted inventions, like those that made it necessary to set up transmission stations-such as the ones on Corcovado, previously telegraphic, and the one at Praia Vermelha. They were deployed to demonstrate the use of sound and voice over long distances, with repeater antennas in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro and in São Paulo. The idea was to show a technological advance capable of making transmissions propagated through the air without the use of wires. Some of them occurred during September 7, 1922, such as the one in the pavilions area, with President Epitácio Pessoa giving a speech to the people. So did the introduction of Carlos Gomes’ opera “O Guarani” at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro that very day. They were noisy transmissions, which needed improvement. It was a real discovery in the eyes of those visiting the fair and the surrounding area, listening to the broadcast.
Thus, radio was officially born in Brazil on September 7, 1922, with wireless, long distance transmission.
Roquette Pinto (1884-1954), professor, physician, director of the National Museum and anthropologist, partner of Cândido Rondon, researched radioelectricity for physiological purposes, followed everything and, enthusiastic about the transmissions, convinced the Brazilian Academy of Sciences to sponsor the creation of the Rádio Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro, which would become PRA-2. The radio only began operating, however, on April 30, 1923, with a transmitter donated by Casa Pekan, from Buenos Aires, installed at the Escola Politécnica, in the then federal capital, Rio de Janeiro. His staunch defense of educational radio made him donate his station to the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1936, and today it is Rádio MEC. He also created, in 1934, the Rádio Escola (Radio School) do Rio de Janeiro, which today carries his name: Rádio Roquette-Pinto.
Little by little, Brazil believed in the creation of a vehicle that could propagate information, mostly of a socio-educational nature, based on the system of clubs or civil societies, which maintained such broadcasters.
Stations were created, such as Rádio Educadora Paulista, in São Paulo, Rádio Clube Paranaense, in Curitiba, and others, such as Rádio Clube de Pernambuco, in Recife, and they reorganized themselves with a different model of radiotelegraphy. Gradually other states joined the new conception.
In the 1930s, during the government of President Getúlio Vargas, radio was allowed greater investment and progress. From shortwaves to medium waves, then to amplitude modulation (AM), we have reached the “Radio Age”. Broadcasters, such as Nacional (National) from Rio de Janeiro, were heard throughout the country, with their singers becoming idols. The Radio Queens appeared and soccer became a national passion. Radionovelas such as “Em Busca da Felicidade” (In Search of Happiness), “Fatalidade” (Fatality), and “O Direito de Nascer” (The Right to be Born) became references. Large networks have emerged, such as the Unidas (United), the Associadas (Associated), and the Cadeia Verde-Amarela (GreenYellow Chain). Journalism gained tradition with the anthological “Repórter Esso”.
In 1935, the program A Voz do Brasil (Brazil’s Voice) appeared, initially under the name of Programa Nacional (National Program), which, in 1938, became a mandatory broadcast with a fixed time slot from 7 pm to 8 pm, and the name changed to A Hora do Brasil (The Hour of Brazil). It was in 1962 that the program was renamed A Voz do Brasil. It is the oldest radio program in the country and in the southern hemisphere still being broadcast.
In 1950, TV arrived in Brazil and radio had to find a new path, as it gradually began to share attention with the new medium. In 1955, Anna Khoury, created the first FM radio station, Rádio Imprensa (Press Radio). Music gained more space, from the freshmen of Ary Barroso and Chacrinha, to the animation of Big Boy and the “Jovem Guarda.” We went from Bossa Nova to the “Disco Era.”
In 1962, Associação Brasileira de Emissoras de Rádio e Televisão - ABERT (Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters) was born and the broadcasting sector gained greater representation.
In 1966 Rádio Tropical FM, from Manaus, was inaugurated. It was the first radio station in Brazil and South America to operate in FM stereo.
In 1967, the Ministry of Communications was created.
In the 1980s, a large number of grants were awarded to all corners of Brazil, which allowed the expansion and development of regional broadcasting. Radio has further strengthened its identity with the population.
In the 1990s, the proliferation of national and regional broadcasting networks provided more space even for segmentation of programming content. Also in this decade, the Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações - Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) was created, which was a milestone for the sector. In the 1990s, it started to be discussed the flexibilization of the “A Voz do Brasil” program schedule, the appearance of the first Brazilian radio websites, which at the turn of the century became the basis for the creation of other types of content: web radios, conventional radios with streaming, and podcasts. Emails and, later, social medias.
In 1999, the Associação Brasileira de Rádio e Televisão - ABRATEL (Brazilian Radio and Television Association) was founded with the mission of defending broadcasting in Brazil. It has been more than 20 years of work focused on valuing the most comprehensive communication service in the country.
Next, in 2003, the Associação Brasileira de Televisões e Rádios Legislativas - ASTRAL (Brazilian Association of Legislative Broadcasting and Radio Broadcasters) was created, which congregates the radios and televisions maintained by the Legislative Branch in the federal, state, and municipal spheres, and has the objective of carrying out technical interchange and exchanging experiences; and stimulating the creation and operation of legislative radios and televisions.
Recently, public policies have allowed the population to listen to radio through their cell phones, via an FM chip. They also allowed the creation of the Serviço de Retransmissão de Rádio na Amazônia Legal - RTR (Service of Radio Retransmission in the Legal Amazon), which make it possible for the signals from FM stations, installed in the capitals of the states that make up the Legal Amazon, to be retransmitted to any municipalities in the same state, with the possibility of inserting locally generated content in part of the time. These policies contribute to the expansion of the radio signal, bringing information, entertainment, and culture to places previously unserved by radio signals.
Radio gained images: we went from the cameras transmitting backstage from the studios to the streaming platforms. Today, new guidelines permeate radio. In analog, the expansion of the FM spectrum and the creation of the extended band, giving better quality to stations that used to be AM stations. In view of the technological advances, the professionalization of the medium, with the implementation of a data-supported radio, with greater interactive possibilities with the public, also gains prominence.
From the local stations we went to the big satellite networks, such as Band, Jovem Pan, CBN, Transamerica, and others. Providing service, with the immediacy of radio, has become more widespread. The sport only grew, with his eloquent, emotion-filled radio narration. Today even humor has married with sport. Nowadays, the Internet supports it and gives it new directions. Radio keeps reinventing itself. Being 100 years old is not synonymous with being outdated. Radio continues to be, democratically, the medium that accompanies us everywhere!
In these hundred years, radio in Brazil has expanded through its ability to unite the credibility and dynamism of online, reaching the mark of more than 9,000 stations and being heard by more than 80% of the population.
Broadcasting Secretariat of the Ministry of Communications
Technical Details
Stamp issue N. 13
Art: Felipe Honda
Print system: offset
Paper: gummed chalky paper
Souvenir sheet with 4 stamps
Facial value: R$ 13.00 (R$ 3.25 each stamp)
Issue: 14,000 souvenir sheets (56.000 stamps)
Design area: 30 x 40mm
Stamp dimensions: 30 x 40mm
Souvenir sheet dimensions: 142 x 197mm
Perforation: 12 x 11.5
Date of issue: September 7th, 2022
Places of issue: Rio de Janeiro/RJ and Brasília/DF
Printing: Brazilian Mint
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