05/15/2023

Radio amateurs in Puerto Rico have a day to honor their hobby, held this year on Tuesday, May 9. As set out by Law Number 50 of June 7th, 1996, every second Tuesday of the month of May is known as "Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico," or Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Day. It is part of a larger celebration of National Radio Month held each May on the island.

Amateurs received a special proclamation for the day, signed by Governor Pedro Pierluisi and Secretary of State Omar Marrero. It recognized the help amateurs have offered in times of emergency, like Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the January 7, 2020, earthquake. It also highlighted the ARRL Puerto Rico Section and the fact that licensees have reached 5,000 as of June 15, 2022.

Activities included a special 2-meter net from the Federación de Radioaficionados de Puerto Rico (FRA)
an ARRL Affiliated Club, divided in two time slots to commemorate the day. They offered a special electronic certificate for the occasion.

Radio station WRSS 1410 of San Sebastián had a special program about amateur radio hosted by Rafael Carrasquillo, KP4RAS. Carrasquillo has a bi-weekly program about the community plan contingencies for emergencies in the city of San Sebastián. A phone call was received from Assistant Section Manager of the ARRL Puerto Rico Section Leyda Rios, WP4RBK, to congratulate all amateurs on the island.

May is also National Radio Month in Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico Broadcasters Association (La Asociación de Radiodifusores de Puerto Rico) sent a special message to all amateurs on social media, as some who work in commercial radio are also hams. Special messages also came from the Red Cross Puerto Rico Chapter and the municipality of Caguas.

Interesting fact: radio amateurs in Puerto Rico are also known as "kapecuatros," the phonetic spelling (in Spanish) of the KP4 prefix.

A special thanks to Lourdes Hernández of the Translation and Proclamation section of the Department of State for helping to make the proclamation different each year, and to ARRL Public Relations Committee Member Angel Santana, WP3GW, for original reporting on the subject from Puerto Rico.

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