Carlos «Caco» Hernández

Radio Cachamay and the RETO 14.5.0

From Radio Sur he moved to RC 14.5.0 AM — Radio Cachamay — under the direction of Luis Alexander Payares, where he stayed until 1991. In September 1989, when the station was barely a year old, two announcers — Carlos Eduardo Bertorelli and himself — and two operators — José Alfonso Mata and Elvis Rondón — set out to set a world record for continuous hours of team broadcasting: the goal, 150 hours without sleep, with the station's doors open so that anyone at all could certify that they were live on the air.

«We reached the goal, but the Guinness Book did not validate the feat, since they had to have staff of their own present throughout the whole time of the RETO 14.5.0. Even so, we delivered what we had promised and we even took drug tests so as to leave no doubt about our achievement.»

Cuyuní 106.5 FM: first place in the ratings

After Radio Cachamay he arrived at Cuyuní 106.5 FM, with Óscar Barreto Odremán, where they put together — in his words — a magnificent team of announcers that by then held first place in the region's ratings.

The RETO 14.5.0 did not come out of nowhere: the original record of Venezuelan radio had been set by Julián Isaac at Caracas 750, in 1985, with 125 straight hours on the air. Four years later, the Radio Cachamay team set out to beat it — and did: the 150 hours of the RETO 14.5.0 broke that mark. Two generations of announcers, at two ends of the country, measuring the endurance of the voice.

Article in progress

Article in progress…… Still missing are his specific link with the minitecas of Guayana (jingles, hosting, events), recordings of his voice, period photographs and his path after Cuyuní. If you have material, contribute to the MiniTK Archive.

Social media

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Credits and sources

• · Account given by Carlos “Caco” Hernández himself to Culturaminiteka.com (protagonist source, 2026-07-10): the certificate, CC Trébol, Radio Sur 1530 AM (April 1987, under the direction of Jesús Rafael “Jerals” Sifontes), Radio Cachamay until 1991, the RETO 14.5.0 (September 1989, with Carlos Eduardo Bertorelli, José Alfonso Mata and Elvis Rondón) and Cuyuní 106.5 FM with Óscar Barreto Odremán.
• · Internal cross-reference: the Archive's Radio Sur entry (Allies On Air) — this testimony supplies its period frequency (1530 AM in 1987), its youth format and its director.
• · Under documentary verification: external validation of the RETO 14.5.0, exact dates at Cuyuní, and his direct relationship with the region's minitecas.