Radio Martí, established in 1983, began broadcasting news radio in 1985 thanks to the Cuban American Broadcasting Foundation and the Reagan administration. Named after the Cuban writer and national hero José Martí, the radio station was established to provide news and informational programs in Spanish to the people of Cuba.
Now it also offers sports, interviews, and discussions on social and economic topics. In a survey by Bendixen & Amandi International, 20 percent of Cubans said they
listen to the station, USA Today reported.
Broadcasting from Miami, the station transmits internationally, but because of its often anti-Cuban government content and Cuba’s highly restrictive media atmosphere, transmissions are often jammed so residents of Cuba cannot listen. Raul Castro demanded Radio Martí be shut down in January as a condition for mending
relations with the U.S., The New York Times reported. However, there are ways around the content blocks, and residents of both the U.S. and Cuba, as well as Canada and other countries, can listen via a variety of methods.
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Here’s how to hear Cuba news Radio Martí online:
Martinoticias.com
The Radio Martí website allows Spanish speakers to listen live, review the station’s program schedule, and read articles about current events. The station, TV Martí, is also accessible from the site. In the first three months of 2015 more than 1.7 million people visited the site,
according to BBG Watch.
Facebook
Many Radio Martí and TV Martí broadcasts and articles can be viewed and heard on the popular social networking site. Posts on the page,
according to the Office of Cuban Broadcasting, reach around 30,000 people.
Twitter
Another social media platform great for connecting to listeners, the Martí Twitter account offers links to articles and broadcasts so followers can stay up to date on the latest information. The account currently has 10,600 followers.
Offline
Since online access in Cuba is limited and radio waves are often jammed, Radio Martí uses a variety of listening options including satellite radio, shortwave, apps, SMS text messages, and even person-to-person, hand-offs of DVDs and flash drives loaded with content; anything to get unfiltered content to the people of Cuba.
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