Martha Viciedo took a break from Radio
Martha Viciedo Concepción’s greatest professional passion was captivating the hearts of radio audiences. She confessed this in more than one interview. She said it in the hallways and studios of the “palace” on the Sancti Spíritus ring road, near Olivos 1. She instilled this passion, for over 30 years, in every group she shaped with her own hands.
It was enough to see her arrive with her unhurried pace, as if time stood still. She would place her bag on the director’s desk and, without losing her gentle touch, offer guidance to each of the artists. It was the same whether it was 5:30 every morning or a Sunday afternoon.
“I would ask them: let’s work with salsa,” she declared in her last interview on the same airwaves she loved so much.
That’s the least you find on the street. Out there’s the blackout, the bus that never arrived…
Because Martha never denied her unwavering defense of the most deeply rooted cultural values. She felt every blow to her heritage or artistic expression. She even made this clear on more than one occasion when she ventured to create for the most demanding audience: children. Weekend after weekend, she accompanied the growth of many generations with “Mi jardín musical” (My Musical Garden) and “La carpa azul” (The Blue Tent), her most cherished dream realized by directing actors and actresses.
A routine that spanned more than three decades among microphones, scripts, tape recorders, and later, computers. A life, practically, some would say; she would add: an extended family beyond the one created in the small house near the Carretera Central (Central Highway), where Jorge, her husband, and Yuri, her son, served as a safe haven.
And in every live or recorded broadcast, she managed to fill the voids inherent in daily life, providing the spark to dispel problems, the medicine to soothe the soul.
“Radio is life, hope, confidence. You have to put passion into it. If you’re happy, life changes. Always remember that spreading love around you makes you happier, and that’s what radio is,” she blurted out, before emotion silenced her.
