Encarna Sánchez
Encyclopedia
Encarna Sánchez was an influential Spanish talk radio
host and current events commentator. Generally viewed as a conservative
, her views were of great influence on working, middle classes and ruling Governments in Spain at that time. She was well known for her coverage of political scandals, such as those surrounding the collapse of Felipe González
's government in 1996. She won three Ondas Awards, an annual recognition given in Spain to major media personalities and shows.
Nevertheless, her show was not explicitly political, and concerned itself with general issues relevant to the Spanish public. Her subject matter could be roughly compared to that of The Oprah Winfrey Show
, though Sánchez particularly emphasized social issues. She is known for keeping in touch with her listeners’ daily problems through the show’s long call-in segments.
, Almería
on the Southeastern coast of Spain where a small square a few metres from the beach is named after her. She was only a few months old when her father, a Republican military official, died.
When Encarna was 14 she used to meet her boyfriend after school. He worked for a local radio station in Almería and one day she was given the opportunity to sub for the regular host, a woman who was ill at the time. The show editor, who also happened to be the station manager, was impressed and offered her first contract.
She was immediately enamored with the world of radio broadcasting. The following year she moved to Madrid to pursue a career as a radio host in the Radio Juventud Network which has a training school there. In her own words Encarna said that she 'passed in one year the required courses which would usually take five'.
As a professional she worked for Radio Juventud and Radio España, in Madrid
, and then she was in charge of marketing at a San Sebastián
radio station, in the Basque Country of Northern Spain.
Back in Madrid she began to be a well-known voice with nightly shows such as Esto es España, Señores (This is Spain, gentlemen), CS y buen Viaje (CS and good trip – CS being the show sponsor) and La noche vista por mí (The night as seen by me).
In 1970, Encarna accepted a contract in Mexico and later worked for stations in the Dominican Republic and Los Angeles while she was studying radio production for the ABC network. She married a company manager in Los Angeles but they divorced after three years and she decided to come back to Spain at a time when the country was moving towards democracy, two years after Franco’s death in 1975.
Though relatively popular in Madrid and Barcelona when she returned to Spain, Encarna was not a 'coast-to-coast' radio host yet, as Luis del Olmo, who had a program with that name, already was. That changed when she signed for COPE
in 1981, a network she would not leave until her death.
In the period 1978-81 she was the queen of the nights with her Encarna de Noche show (Encarna at night) in Radio Miramar, Barcelona. Then she hosted Directamente Encarna (Directly Encarna) in the early evenings since 1981.
During the last years of her life, she faced lung cancer in her typical challenging brave hard-working mood. For some months, in her four-year fight, she flew daily to Switzerland for treatment in the morning to be at her desk in Madrid at 4 p.m. for the millions who had made it into a habit to tune in to COPE to listen to the four-hour show.
Once she started to fail to host more and more shows, speculation about her health began to spread in early 1996 as her listeners were given little information about a situation Encarna wanted to keep pretty much to herself by asking the few friends who knew about it not to reveal it was cancer. In her last months, she sometimes called up the show still being aired by COPE, in part because not even the managers knew exactly how serious her condition was and partly because of the great amount of revenue in sponsorship the show attracted even without her. The in one of these calls, she referred to her disease as that 'little ailment for which the doctor has advised a few days rest'. She said to the 'millions of friends' that had encouraged her that 'the sound radio has been for me, and will continue to be, the shortest way to understand the road to friendship and, above all the road to loyalty… Now, I am here …You will smile again soon. You’ll come to meet me again. Soon I will be able to say with all the courage in the world: tremble, bunch of crooks!!'.
Encarna Sánchez died of lung cancer on Good Friday, April 5, 1996. Her voice is still missed by her listeners and has yet to find a comparable substitute.
Though to many her style was extreme, populist and somewhat fanatic, her shows, above all the early ones, always had some form of social commitment and service as she helped—and entertained— millions of Spaniards for over 30 years.
, a suburban town near Madrid. The sketch evolved into complete confusion when the lady, who is never seen on stage, mixed up all the details of her conversation and even said that she was frying the two sons and that Móstoles was on fire. The sketch basically ridiculed working class women in trouble to make their point in the short span of the phone call, the so-called 'marujas
' in Spain, who made up much of Encarna’s audience. The problem came a few years afterwards when the subject of ridicule was not the audience but Encarna herself and her close friend, famous folk singer Isabel Pantoja
. In the new sketch, one of many in their show, Martes y Trece seemed to suggest, though in a very unclear way, an intimate relation between the two women. From then on Encarna’s comments towards the comedians turned into periods of silence and others of harsh criticism.
Over the last year, a new crop of gossip and reality TV shows dealing with exposing all kinds of scandals led by 'Aquí hay tomate
' (There’s tomato here) a Spanish TV equivalent to National Enquirer-meets-Springer
, have sporadically returned to Encarna's private life with information by a former reporter of her shows and some from the 'bunch' she talked about in her last message.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host and current events commentator. Generally viewed as a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, her views were of great influence on working, middle classes and ruling Governments in Spain at that time. She was well known for her coverage of political scandals, such as those surrounding the collapse of Felipe González
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.-Early life:Felipe was...
's government in 1996. She won three Ondas Awards, an annual recognition given in Spain to major media personalities and shows.
Nevertheless, her show was not explicitly political, and concerned itself with general issues relevant to the Spanish public. Her subject matter could be roughly compared to that of The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, though Sánchez particularly emphasized social issues. She is known for keeping in touch with her listeners’ daily problems through the show’s long call-in segments.
Style
Her style was aggressive at times, more subdued and sympathetic in interviews. When she first appeared on radio, her powerful, slightly hoarse voice assisted her in drawing casual listeners surfing the airwaves. At the height of her popularity, she dominated the early evening timeslot, with ratings comparable to morning host Luis del Olmo, and midnight sports host José María García, of Supergarcia fame. Like García, but unlike del Olmo, she had many prominent enemies on whom she dealt especially strong criticism. Some were famous entertainment personalities, such as TV hosts whose shows she found distasteful. Others were important politicians whom she felt to be corrupt.Life and radio shows
Encarna, the youngest of five siblings, was born in the little town of CarbonerasCarboneras
-External links: - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía - Diputación Provincial de Almería* - Satellite relief maps and aerial photography*...
, Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
on the Southeastern coast of Spain where a small square a few metres from the beach is named after her. She was only a few months old when her father, a Republican military official, died.
When Encarna was 14 she used to meet her boyfriend after school. He worked for a local radio station in Almería and one day she was given the opportunity to sub for the regular host, a woman who was ill at the time. The show editor, who also happened to be the station manager, was impressed and offered her first contract.
She was immediately enamored with the world of radio broadcasting. The following year she moved to Madrid to pursue a career as a radio host in the Radio Juventud Network which has a training school there. In her own words Encarna said that she 'passed in one year the required courses which would usually take five'.
As a professional she worked for Radio Juventud and Radio España, in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and then she was in charge of marketing at a San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
radio station, in the Basque Country of Northern Spain.
Back in Madrid she began to be a well-known voice with nightly shows such as Esto es España, Señores (This is Spain, gentlemen), CS y buen Viaje (CS and good trip – CS being the show sponsor) and La noche vista por mí (The night as seen by me).
In 1970, Encarna accepted a contract in Mexico and later worked for stations in the Dominican Republic and Los Angeles while she was studying radio production for the ABC network. She married a company manager in Los Angeles but they divorced after three years and she decided to come back to Spain at a time when the country was moving towards democracy, two years after Franco’s death in 1975.
Though relatively popular in Madrid and Barcelona when she returned to Spain, Encarna was not a 'coast-to-coast' radio host yet, as Luis del Olmo, who had a program with that name, already was. That changed when she signed for COPE
COPE
COPE may refer to:* The Council of Pacific Education , a regional branch of Education International, the global federation of teachers' trade unions* Coalition of Progressive Electors, a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
in 1981, a network she would not leave until her death.
In the period 1978-81 she was the queen of the nights with her Encarna de Noche show (Encarna at night) in Radio Miramar, Barcelona. Then she hosted Directamente Encarna (Directly Encarna) in the early evenings since 1981.
During the last years of her life, she faced lung cancer in her typical challenging brave hard-working mood. For some months, in her four-year fight, she flew daily to Switzerland for treatment in the morning to be at her desk in Madrid at 4 p.m. for the millions who had made it into a habit to tune in to COPE to listen to the four-hour show.
Once she started to fail to host more and more shows, speculation about her health began to spread in early 1996 as her listeners were given little information about a situation Encarna wanted to keep pretty much to herself by asking the few friends who knew about it not to reveal it was cancer. In her last months, she sometimes called up the show still being aired by COPE, in part because not even the managers knew exactly how serious her condition was and partly because of the great amount of revenue in sponsorship the show attracted even without her. The in one of these calls, she referred to her disease as that 'little ailment for which the doctor has advised a few days rest'. She said to the 'millions of friends' that had encouraged her that 'the sound radio has been for me, and will continue to be, the shortest way to understand the road to friendship and, above all the road to loyalty… Now, I am here …You will smile again soon. You’ll come to meet me again. Soon I will be able to say with all the courage in the world: tremble, bunch of crooks!!'.
Encarna Sánchez died of lung cancer on Good Friday, April 5, 1996. Her voice is still missed by her listeners and has yet to find a comparable substitute.
Though to many her style was extreme, populist and somewhat fanatic, her shows, above all the early ones, always had some form of social commitment and service as she helped—and entertained— millions of Spaniards for over 30 years.
Controversies
In her lifetime, one of the controversies surrounded Martes y Trece, one of the most famous comedians in Spain ever. The best known sketch of the duo was about a confused mum, calling Encarna’s nightly show while frying small pies to talk about her two sons and their military service in MóstolesMóstoles
Móstoles is the second-largest city in population belonging to the autonomous community of Madrid. It is located 18 kilometres southwest from central Madrid. Móstoles was for a long time only a small village, but expanded rapidly in the twentieth century....
, a suburban town near Madrid. The sketch evolved into complete confusion when the lady, who is never seen on stage, mixed up all the details of her conversation and even said that she was frying the two sons and that Móstoles was on fire. The sketch basically ridiculed working class women in trouble to make their point in the short span of the phone call, the so-called 'marujas
Stay-at-home
Stay-at-home may refer to:* Stay-at-home dad, a male parent who is the main caregiver of the children and the home* Stay-at-home defenceman, a hockey defenceman who plays a very defensive minded game...
' in Spain, who made up much of Encarna’s audience. The problem came a few years afterwards when the subject of ridicule was not the audience but Encarna herself and her close friend, famous folk singer Isabel Pantoja
Isabel Pantoja
Isabel Pantoja is a popular contemporary Spanish singer. She is of Romani origin, born in the Triana district of Seville, Spain. She has released more than a dozen albums throughout a career spanning many decades, and is known for her distinctive Andalusian style.-Biography:She was born into a...
. In the new sketch, one of many in their show, Martes y Trece seemed to suggest, though in a very unclear way, an intimate relation between the two women. From then on Encarna’s comments towards the comedians turned into periods of silence and others of harsh criticism.
Over the last year, a new crop of gossip and reality TV shows dealing with exposing all kinds of scandals led by 'Aquí hay tomate
Aqui Hay Tomate
Aqui hay tomate was a popular Spanish television program produced by Salta and issued by the chain Telecinco. It premiered on March 24, 2003, broadcasting Monday to Friday afternoon, the final broadcast was February 1, 2008.-Format:...
' (There’s tomato here) a Spanish TV equivalent to National Enquirer-meets-Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
, have sporadically returned to Encarna's private life with information by a former reporter of her shows and some from the 'bunch' she talked about in her last message.