Entertainment of the Past: Radio Drama and its Collaboration with the <i>Sainete Criollo</i>

Abstract

Radio drama emerges in Buenos Aires in the thirties, in the midst of a hectic political and social context, and it quickly consolidates itself as a form of popular entertainment. It is the result of the fusion of diverse genres that were already established and that had already proven their effectiveness with large audiences, such as the sainete criollo and melodrama, amongst others. This article seeks to demonstrate the relations of mutual feedback between these genres and the radio theater of Buenos Aires. The purpose is also to rescue the memory of the popular expressions that entertained our predecessors.