Radio is a highly popular mode of recreation and information in Rio, having been a fundamental component of the lives of cariocas for the last century.

Until recently, a large swathe of the population would have been unable to afford a television and, instead, it was the radio that families and friends gathered around to learn about events in their neighborhood, or to revel in the plotlines of their favorite soap operas, referred to in Brazil as 'novelas'.

Many of these novela actors and actresses have since migrated to television, along with audiences However, despite the great rise in the number of those with access to televisions, the popularity of radio has hardly diminished. 

Perhaps most importantly, radio was and is the means by which cariocas are able to hear and enjoy music - the nation's great opium and love.