From the article of the entrepreneur Eduard Rifà (Manlleu, 1882 – Barcelona, 1938) in the magazine Radio Barcelona (18-IV-1925) about the engineer Josep Maria de Guillén-Garcia (Barcelona, 1885-1973). Own translation. One hundred years ago today, EAJ-1-Ràdio Barcelona began broadcasting, the first public broadcasting radio station with a wide reach that could operate regularly in Catalonia.
(…) Josep Maria Guillén Garcia was one of the spirits that dawned on radiotelephony and received in our country the glow of this new light of progress: he followed step by step with other technicians all the tests, from the reception of time signals and Morse signs to the reception of the first sound waves that crossed the skies of Europe. From that moment Guillén Garcia’s intense enthusiasm for the science of Radio – which until then had been an intimate enjoyment of his scientific temperament – experienced the vehemence of expansion, he set out to popularize radiotelephony and it was his desire to provide Barcelona with a broadcasting station. At the beginning of 1924, his altruistic plan began to be realized by calling us to a meeting, in which only four of us were present, in the editorial office of the magazine Radiosola. Since then, Guillén Garcia developed an activity and an eagerness that spurred us on to achieve the goal we proposed. With sincerity we confess that we often failed; but always the word of Guillén Garcia, acting as a lever supported by his robust enthusiasm, encouraged us and, not daunted by the enormous task that was proposed, he worked day and night in the processing of requests to obtain the concession official of the Radio Broadcasting Station of Spain. Already achieved, she worked tirelessly on the execution of the installation plans for the Central and the studios, on the antenna take-off and on the organization of the first concerts; directed and wrote the magazine Radio Barcelonaacted as an advertising manager, visited the authorities to resolve the last official formalities; was president of the National Association of Radiodifusión; in short, he multiplied and went everywhere to solve the difficulties of every new organization, since Guillén Garcia overcame them, not only as a specialized engineer, but because of his many relationships and studies dedicated to radio. It must be recognized that the engineers Noble and Raurich assisted him in this task. (…) When three months after the successful inauguration of the Ràdio Barcelona station we were expecting a break, even if it was temporary, Guillén Garcia proposed to us the rebroadcast of the Liceu operas. Negotiations, studies, plans, line installations, permits, tests, everything was organized by Guillén, so that we never knew whether to find him on some roof examining the pole of the lines, or behind the scenes of the Liceu, or testing microphones and extensions, or in the dome of the Hotel Colón, in Plaça de Catalunya, controlling the emissions. Thus, without rest, the director of Ràdio Barcelona acted and acts, who during office hours receives numerous visitors, directs the magazine Radio Barcelona and controls all programs. (…)
Source: www.ara.cat
