The Ondas Awards gala focuses on Valencia in its 71st edition

The 71st edition of the Ondas Awards was held this Thursday at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on the same day that radio was born in Spain a century ago. However, despite the anniversaries, awards and dedications, the catastrophe that hit the Valencian Community just a couple of weeks ago has been one of the great protagonists of the night. From the presenters to the winners, no one wanted to stop remembering the DANA victims on such an important day.

José Luis Sastre, deputy director of ‘Hoy por Hoy’, Valencian and presenter of the awards along with Miguel Maldonado, began by thanking that the “old battery-powered transistor” was very useful on a night where hundreds of people “were trying to locate their relatives.” without any coverage” and only the radio remained.

One of the great protagonists of the night was Àngels Barceló, winner of the Ondas award for professional career in radio after more than two decades communicating from the microphones of Cadena SER. In his speech, Barceló wanted to mention his entire team for “generating enthusiasm and teaching new ways of working” and demanding decent working conditions: “I hope they can have a career as long as mine and for that working conditions are essential. and professionals that allow them to maintain their enthusiasm. The announcer and presenter of ‘Hoy por Hoy’ also wanted to have a memory for her partner Sara Vítores, who died in 2024.

‘The Revolt’ by David Broncano has also captured much of the attention of the night due to its premature award. The space had only broadcast 28 programs when it was awarded the best entertainment program. Broncano went up accompanied by Lalachus and Grison to collect the award. The comedian did not want to waste the opportunity to leave a message to the program’s ‘haters’ and thank RTVE for the opportunity: “Thanks to TVE for believing that a program like ours had a chance on public television, going against the opinion of people who said it was a political order”.

Likewise, the presenter wanted to remember “the grandmothers and older ladies who watch the program” and emphasize the importance of public services: “They make us proud and we have to defend them, because they literally give us life,” he commented.

During the night Carmen Machi, Macarena García, Ana Rujas and Amaia Romero also took the stage. In his case, for the series ‘La Mesías’ produced and directed by Los Javis. The couple stressed that this project highlights “the consequences of abuse of authority, violence, lies and manipulation” at a time “when information is so manipulated.”

Another of the moments of the gala was the clamorous request from Jordi Évole. The journalist, to finish his speech, sent a message in which he did not forget those affected by DANA and asked for the resignation of the president of the Generalitat Valenciana shouting: “Mazón, resignation!”

The presenter Aimar Bretos has collected with his team the Ondas for the best radio idea and has been moved when remembering the beginnings of the project: “When we started two years ago we were not able to imagine that so many people would join us every week to be surprised, moved and hug each other.” In this sense, the journalist thanked his entire team for their work: “Thank you for joining this madness when it was just madness.”

Another of the most recognized voices in our country, Carlos Alsina, along with his team from the program ‘Más de uno’, has also received the award for best special programming. The presenter celebrated that the recognition was for a sound fiction, in this case the recreation of the Kennedy assassination 60 years later. In his speech, the announcer once again wanted to allude to those affected by the floods and highlight the power of radio as a means of information: “The most valuable radio we know how to do is to grab a microphone and go do the program live from a street with half a meter of mud,” he noted.