It is well known that radio people love to talk and when they all get together there is no one to stop them. Therefore, it was not easy for Andreu Buenafuente to meet the scheduled date in the special program that he presented on Wednesday evening in Barcelona to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cadena SER. More than 400 people gathered in the Oval Hall of the National Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) for an emotional gala commemorating important radio episodes as well as the protagonists of this means of communication that is celebrating its 100th anniversary more important than ever. .
The world of journalism met last night at the special event of Cadena SER, where there was no shortage of veterans of the airwaves such as Iñaki Gabilondo, Luis del Olmo, José María García or José Ramón de la Morena; Important journalists such as Àngels Barceló, Pepa Fernández, Gemma Nierga and Julia Otero, as well as the singer Joan Manuel Serrat, who remembered his first performance with his guitar in the historic Toreski studio of Radio Barcelona, were invited by the late Salvador Escamilla.
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Prisa President Joseph Oughourlian was in charge of opening the event under the impressive dome of the MNAC's main hall. He emphasized that the origin of radio in Spain was in Barcelona and joked about artificial intelligence, convinced that it will not be the one to overthrow a medium that has been considered dead more than once. “The anniversary fits perfectly with radio, it is the liveliest means of communication there is,” he concluded in his speech.
From left to right: Ignacio Soto, General Director of SER; Prisa Vice President Pilar Gil; the Minister of Education Pilar Alegría and the President of Prisa, Joseph Oughourlian.massimiliano minocri
Buenafuente then launched the 100-year program, exclusively live, with luxurious talk shows that were among the best ever to air. With his usual joking tone, he first introduced Carles Francino, who was his mentor at Radio Reus when he first appeared there at the age of 16. In most cases, this early calling coincided with an environment that everyone describes as fascinating.
The first memories of most of them were of moments at home with the family when the radio would not stop playing, as commented by Julia Otero, who said that it always accompanied them when she did her homework. Gemma Nierga remembered that it was a love that led her to the radio waves and Àngels Barceló how she stayed awake and let herself be carried away by stories when she put it on at night.
From left: Luis del Olmo, Iñaki Gabilondo and Andreu Buenafuente. Massimiliano Minocri
The announcer of “Hoy por hoy”, Carles Francino (left), and the host of the gala, Andreu Buenafuente. Massimiliano Minocri
Andreu Buenafuente with the journalists, from left: Gemma Nierga, Pepa Fernández, Julia Otero and Àngels Barceló. Massimiliano Minocri
Singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat (left) speaks with Andreu Buenafuente. Massimiliano Minocri
The journalists Gemma Nierga and Iñaki Gabilondo.massimiliano minocri
From left: Gustavo Serpa, Managing Director of Amber Capital Colombia; Carlos Núñez, President of Prisa Media; Pilar Gil, Vice President of Prisa; Joseph Oughourlian, President of Prisa, and Ignacio Soto, General Director of Cadena SER.massimiliano minocri
Victoria Martín (left) and Carolina Iglesias hosts the “Stretching the Gum” podcast. Massimiliano Minocri
José Luis Sastre, host of “Hoy por hoy” on Cadena SER.massimiliano minocri
The journalists, from left, José Ramón de la Morena, José María García and Iñaki Gabilondo. Massimiliano Minocri
The director of the newspaper “EL PAÍS”, Pepa Bueno, is photographed at the “photo session”.massimiliano minocri
Javier Penedo and Andrea Sánchez, hosts of “Morning Box”, from LOS40 Classic.massimiliano minocri
Glòria Serra, presenter of the program “Investigation Team”.massimiliano minocri
LOS40 announcer Toni Aguilar.massimiliano minocri
Juan Cantón (left), general director of press at Prisa Media, and Vicente Jiménez, director of the newspaper “AS”. Massimiliano Minocri
Fran Llorente, director of Prisa Vídeo, and María Jesús Espinosa de los Monteros, general director of Prisa Audio.massimiliano minocri
From left: Jaime Martínez Llabrés, Mayor of Mallorca; Elías Bendodo, General Coordinator of the Popular Party; Daniel Sirera, President of the PP of Barcelona, and Borja Sémper, spokesman for the Popular Party.Marta Pérez (EFE)From left: Ignacio Soto, General Director of SER; Pilar Gil, Vice President of Prisa; Pilar Alegría, Minister of Education and Vocational Training, and Joseph Oughourlian, President of Prisa.massimiliano minocri
Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, on the carpet before the gala. Massimiliano Minocri
Former minister Salvador Illa and the president of the Provincial Council of Barcelona, Lluisa Moret.Marta Pérez (EFE)
From left: Javier Ruiz, editor-in-chief of Cadena SER's Economy magazine; Montserrat Domínguez, Content Director of Cadena SER, and Jaume Serra, Delegate of Prisa Media in Catalonia. Massimiliano Minocri
The presenters Berto Romero (left) and Andreu Buenafuente come to the gala.massimiliano minocri
The presenter of “La Ventana” on Cadena SER, Carles Francino, arriving on the red carpet. David Oller (Europa Press)
From left: Pilar Gil, Vice President of Prisa; Pere Aragonès, President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and Joseph Oughourlian, President of Prisa, pose during the “photocall”.massimiliano minocri
Journalist Isabel Gemio poses during the photocall of the Cadena SER gala. David Oller (Europa Press)
The journalist and presenter of the program “Hoy por hoy” on Cadena SER, Àngels Barceló, upon her arrival at the gala at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC).massimiliano minocri
The Ciudadanos deputy in Catalonia Carlos Carrizosa (left) and the presenter of “Gomaespuma” Juan Luis Cano.David Oller (Europa Press)
Journalist Luis del Olmo and his wife Mercedes González pose at the photocall before the gala. Massimiliano Minocri
The singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat and his partner Candela Tiffón.David Oller (Europa Press)
The writer Boris Izaguirre and the journalist Gemma Nierga.massimiliano minocri
Presenter Frank Blanco poses during the photocall.David Oller (Europa Press)
From left: journalist Raquel Sans, former parliamentarian Elisenda Alamany and Marta Vilalta from ERC.Marta Pérez (EFE)
The journalist and presenter of the show “El larguero” on Cadena SER, Manu Carreño, on the red carpet.David Oller (Europa Press)
Even as a child, Gabilondo fell in love with the radio, a device closely linked to his childhood since television did not arrive until he was 19 and, as he recalled, he was already going to university. “A childhood without television shapes one forever through the radio,” he said, before recalling a date marked with fire, October 13, 1977, when the commitment to association with RNE ended, the only one during the dictatorship provided information. This is where “freedom” began, he emphasized to José María García, who in his speech could not avoid repeating his famous phrase “eye on the data”.
Carles Francino and Andreu Buenafuente during the gala. Massimiliano Minocri
At 98, Luis del Olmo was, as he himself joked, the oldest of the evening and probably the one who has spent the most years on the air. The legendary announcer recalled that he also worked at SER for five years when it started in Asturias. Gabilondo referred to him as “the chief of the tribe,” and Buenafuente took the opportunity to declare this historical figure a “shaman.” It was an evening of collegiality in which the microphone also reached younger journalists like Mara Torres, from other stations like Jordi Basté, from music radio like Toni Aguilar or from the new podcast represented by the presenters of Estirando el chicle, Carolina Iglesias and Victoria Martin.
During the broadcast, the break was led by comedian Raúl Pérez and Berto Romero also went on air to joke with his better half. “It is rumored that if we are a couple, we cannot be,” Buenafuente confessed. At the end of the evening, the presenter of course received a special Ondas award for the best radio gala. The best or not, it was the Ser network's 100th anniversary gala. As Joseph Oughourlian said at the beginning: “Long live radio.”
The gala was also attended by the Minister of Education Pilar Alegría and the Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun, the President of the Generalitat Pere Aragonès, the Mayor of Barcelona Jaume Collboni and also the former Mayor Ada Colau and other representatives politicians. From the world of communication there was no shortage of journalists such as Ricard Ustrell, Pablo Tallón, Boris Izaguirre, Manu Carreño, Glòria Serra, Isabel Gemio and Jesús Gallego, as well as the General Director of SER, Ignacio Soto, the Content Director of SER, Montse Domínguez, and the director of EL PAÍS, Pepa Bueno.