Radionovela

A radionovela (also known as serial radiofónico or simply serial) is a type of radio drama first broadcast in Latin America in the early 20th century. Radionovelas are typically melodramas or soap operas which are issued in chapters, in contrast to other radio dramas which may encompass different genres and are often broadcast as individual works, such as The War of the Worlds.

With the advent of television, the radionovela began to be displaced by the telenovela.

The first example of serial radio drama in Argentina was probably Francisco Mastandrea's La caricia del lobo in the late 1920s. But their golden age was the 1940s, making a star of future First Lady Eva Perón.

Los Pérez García, a long serial about a typical Argentine family, was perhaps the highlight of the 1950s. Later, more innovative crime fiction and noir-themed shows emerged.

In addition to El siniestro Doctor Mortis (), a creation of Eva Martinic and Juan Marino, Eduardo Calixto is considered a pioneer of radio stories in Chile, through his work ¡Hogar, dulce hogar! This was conceived by the author in a cafe in Santiago, where he wrote in dashed lines on a napkin. It remained on the air for over 40 years.

The communications center Voces Nuestras produced a series of radio dramas with a political and educational approach within a traditional melodramatic package. They covered topics such as migration, the lives of miners, and domestic violence. Among these was Pueblo de Paso, broadcast on 184 stations in Latin America, including 10 Spanish-language stations in the United States. It incorporated the music of Perrozompopo, Papaya Music, Miriam Jarquín, and Guillermo Anderson.

As in many other Latin American countries, the melodramatic and tear-jerker radionovela achieved great popularity among the Cuban audience. El collar de lágrimas, a serial by José Sánchez Arcilla, was the longest-running Cuban radionovela with 965 episodes. It went off the air on 31 December 1946. Likewise, Félix B. Caignet's magnum opus El derecho de nacer () holds an abiding place in sentimental memory, perhaps owing its longevity to television adaptations which have been made in several Latin American countries.

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