“Cappy Donzella” — booth microphone of the Voices collection; the CMTK Archive is still looking for a portrait of him (section image)

1 / 3

Image from the Voices section — the CMTK Archive is looking for the real photograph of this announcer

Voice · Voices That Left a Mark

Cappy Donzella

The last hippie of Venezuelan radio

Santos Calixto Escalante Donzella, a founding voice of Radio Capital 710 and a promoter of rock and hippie culture who later threw himself into Venezuelan music.

In search of the sound of Cappy Donzella

We are working to track down genuine Cappy Donzella sets in the best possible audio quality. If you keep a cassette, a mix or a jingle, share it through the contact form.

From the first day of Radio Capital

Born in Caracas as Santos Calixto Escalante Donzella, he started very young at Radio Capital 710 AM, the most important youth station of its time. From the moment the signal went on the air, in September 1968, he had programs of his own: “Éxitos Psicodélicos” and “Hippies Happy Cappy.”

He was one of the most celebrated announcers of the Radio Capital of the seventies, alongside his brother Alfredo Escalante, Napoleón Bravo, Iván Loscher, Tinedo Guía and Plácido Garrido — the group that appears in the photographs of this entry.

From rock to the cuatro

He was one of the main promoters of rock and of hippie culture in the Venezuela of the sixties. And then, in 1974, he made a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn: he left that leadership behind to devote himself to Venezuelan and Latin American music, a cause he defended for the rest of his life, among other places from the program “Si… es Cappy” on Radio Nacional de Venezuela.

He died on March 2, 2018, at the age of eighty-four, after a long battle with Alzheimer's. The press bade him farewell as “el último hippie venezolano.”

Social media

· Social media and contact: still being traced — do you have information? Write to us through the contact form

Credits and sources

· Real name, beginnings at Radio Capital 710 from September 1968, the programs “Éxitos Psicodélicos” and “Hippies Happy Cappy,” the 1974 turn toward Venezuelan music, “Si… es Cappy” on RNV and his death on March 2, 2018: reports by Alba Ciudad 96.3 FM, teleSUR, Panorama, Venezolanos Ilustres and the blog Locutores y Emisoras de Venezuela. Accessed July 31, 2026.
· Kinship with Alfredo Escalante (brothers) and the shared Radio Capital roster: same sources.
· Photographs of the Radio Capital 710 team contributed to the CMTK Archive.

Were you part of the crew, or did you witness their setups? Help us document this story with verified facts and images.

Tell us and help improve this entry

← Back to Voices That Left a Mark

Source consulted on July 31, 2026

70s · 80s · Radio · Voices