Ismael Mascarell Cubells, a Valencian from Alzira, in love with Murcia and its people and who revolutionized Murcian radio since 1976, when he was assigned by Cadena SER to these southeastern lands, has just passed away. Difficult place because another famous radio operator reigned here, Adolfo Fernández, the one who won the radio stripes in ‘La Gran Subasta’ to raise funds for the victims of the floods in Valencia. But Mascarell was not intimidated and managed, in a short time, to revolutionize the old station EAJ 17- Radio Murcia that broadcast, as his advertising said, for “Murcia y su Huerta”.
The dean station (it was founded in August 1933) had been managed by Arsenio Sánchez Alcarria and his wife, María Pacheco, associated with Unión Radio, precursor of SER. In those more than forty years, Radio Murcia covered all kinds of Murcian events such as floods, various festivities and elections for Queen of La Huerta and, of course, the famous contests or radio soap operas in a Spain under the dictatorship. It must be taken into account that the radio was not considered an informative medium, as it is today, because it had the obligation to connect with Radio Nacional de España and the famous “part”.
There was a time, in the mid-seventies of the last century, when the territorial division of Cadena SER was configured, internally, by “counties”. Each county had an earl or director of local radio stations. All of them under the baton of the fat boss of the chain that was Eugenio Fontán. Here in Murcia and Albacete, which then belonged to the Region of Murcia before it was incorporated into the new Castilla-La Mancha, leaving us composed and uniprovincial, the county territory was directed by the peerless Ismael Mascarell Cubells. “Mascarell County,” as it was known around the house.
Your role in the transition
Mascarell arrived in Murcia from his native Alzira, after thinking seriously, he was an ambitious man professionally, going to Madrid looking for radio glory.
– “Stop the stories,” a famous countryman told him, Joaquín Prat, who did succeed in the capital, that this is a jungle, Masca “(Mascarell, his intimates and employees for the bajini we called him ‘Masca’, in front” boss”).
Total that Masca -Mascarell- came to Murcia. And he did it at one point, the political transition in Spain, which was going to mean a real revolution in the media. A revolution that had its most dramatic moment in the so-called night of the transistors, the coup d’état of Colonel Tejero on 23-F. On that occasion, Mascarell managed to deceive the uniformed officers who showed up at the station, under the orders of the coup leader, Lieutenant General Miláns del Bosch, so that military marches were broadcast on the broadcast. He ordered the technician to make a discreet crossover of the cables in the console to emit the signal from the Madrid plant. This could have cost him a lot of trouble, but thanks to him, Murcia (and his garden) were able to listen to the entire broadcast of the events of the Congress of Deputies.
He knew the radio business, but his enormous ability to create human teams and project them towards success was outstanding.
At this point, it must be said that Mascarell was a man with a singular talent that I have rarely seen throughout my life. He triumphed on Murcian radio but he would have triumphed in banking, in a cement company, in a vacation hotel complex or any other place that he had proposed. Not because he knew a lot about the business, but because he knew how to lead teams of people. Saving the distances, Mascarell was a Steve Jobs of the radio. The American businessman with the bitten apple did not know how to make a telephone and its engineering intricacies, he was not a computer scientist and did not know how to develop programming, but he had an innate talent, one of those that I call the “perfect conductor.” Jobs was a wizard at starting up teams and selling us products like the first affordable personal computer, the first smart phone, etc.
radio boom
Mascarell knew the radio business but his enormous ability to create human teams and project them to success was outstanding. He looked for the best, changed them if they weren’t working, and gave people a game. All this in a context of maturity of Spanish radio that raised audience shares to levels unknown until then in Spain and Murcia. Radio Murcia’s audience rose and advertising began to pour in. He managed to place the dean station in the first regional position and expanded the chain to Cartagena, Lorca, Yecla and other associated stations that joined the success.
He looked for the best: Valentín Contreras, head of news; Enrique Ferrer and Maruja Gallardo, radio stars of the morning and afternoon (the kings of Hablando people understand each other); Félix Serrano, Mariola Alegría, Juan Ros, Elías Ros, María Adela Párraga, Joaquín Boj… in the very important Department of Advertising; Dólera and his son-in-law, Andrés Gonzálvez, in administration, and other dóleras in various departments, Vicente Pascual, Ramón Saez, his son Mariano, “Jimmy”, Rocamora, Bocanegra, Paco López, Joaquín Sánchez, Juan Balsalobre and many others in The technique. And a bunch of announcers and presenters such as Marcilli, Felipe Nicolás, Massotti, María José Alarcón, Juan Máiquez, Héctor Madrona, Mariano Gómez Olmos, Trini Fuentes, Isabel González, Merce Marín, Ana González, Carmen Castello, Ramón García del Real, or myself and countless colleagues in administration. In the radio stations, delegates like Pascual Ballesteros, Andrés Yago, Javier Navarro or collaborators like Maestro Ibarra and his disciple Ruiz Vivo, also Falgas, Skoda… If I accidentally forget someone, the truth is that they were all important in Radio Murcia.
It was pure and joyful Valencian dynamite. She sometimes had a hard time keeping up with her because she was inexhaustible
Personally, Mascarell was pure and happy Valencian dynamite. She sometimes had a hard time keeping up with him because she was inexhaustible. He had her quirks, of course, but they were little compared to the overwhelming force of her personality. I traveled with him to numerous SER conventions. He loved life with the excess and baroqueness of the Levantine character.
Perhaps he would have left Murcia if Mari Carmen Izquierdo, a regular staff announcer for Radio Murcia, had not crossed his path, his partner all these years. The SER assigned him the last radio seasons to Radio Valencia, but he already retired he returned to the capital of the orchard. I would tell him, when I ran into him on the street: «Tocayo -this familiarity with the man who had been my boss for so many years already allowed me- you have been the best director of Radio Murcia». He was laughing, mischievously, but obviously pleased. Murcia owes him a lot because he revolutionized Murcian radio in those years. Now, it is fair to admit it, when Ismael Mascarell has begun the transition to the paradise of Hispanic radio broadcasters.
Good trip, boss.
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