In anticipation of Latvijas Radio’s 95th birthday, the radio goes to listeners on the Estonian border. For Aria, radio is a medicine for worries, Baibai radio creates a sense of togetherness with the public, but for Vladimir, radio is the best company for fishing.
The Republic of Latvia goes to listeners on the Estonian borderCynthia Ambote00:00 / 00:00
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Five years ago, Latvian Radio on its birthday went to Lithuanian border villagesto ask citizens about their listening habits, the quality of broadcasting, and suggestions on what to do better in the years to come.
This time, on the 95th anniversary of Latvijas Radio, he goes to the farthest farmsteads in Latvia on the Estonian border – Ape. Also there, you can catch several Latvian Radio channels in radio waves.
Entering one of the small streets of Ape, someone grabs leaves in the yard of an old house. The man has a work vest with many pockets on his back, a gray hat with Latvian characters on the lapel on his head and work gloves on his hands. It is Raitis, and he likes to hear the radio in the background, but listens to the content during smoking breaks between works.
“We listen to both LR1 and LR2. Who likes it, the girl likes one music, I like another, ”says Raitis. Weather conditions can affect the quality of radio reception. “But we are used to it already,” adds Raitis.
What is more important for Raitis – music or current information? “Radio goes on all the time, day and night. For example, I listen more to cigarettes, sometimes even two cigarettes to coffee when the news goes and you listen to what’s going on. ”
Photo: Latvian Radio / Cynthia Ambote
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As in the middle of the working day, some homesteads are completely quiet. In one yard you can hear wind chimes, but there is no radio sound or human commotion.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, a guard of another backyard is barking loudly, as it turns out, named Bob. And after a moment, we manage to meet Rudīte, who has stepped back at the gate of the house with a branch broom at hand.
“Radio is the best and freshest news, well, the internet is good too. But without radio never, even during the war, radio was in every pillar. When I get older, I will definitely have a radio in my ear all the time. Look around every house where older people turn off the radio, ”says Rudīte.
She also enjoys listening to radio in other languages: “You can’t understand Estonian radio, but when you go in Russian, you can understand and you hear different opinions. And there is something different, in Latvian it is different again, and then you have something to compare. You stay in the middle and you have a vision for life. ”
Rudite, a resident of Ape, October 2020
Photo: Latvian Radio / Cynthia Ambote
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At one of the intersections of Apes streets, it can be seen that a couple with big bags approached each other. Vladimirs and Valija are from Alūksne and admit that they listen to the radio a little.
Vladimirs says that sometimes he listens to the music of Latvian Radio 2. “It simply came to our notice then. When you work in the garden, it encourages you, ”says Vallija.
Vladimir also listens to LR4 in Russian: “There are very good evening programs. I listen when I fish. ”
What would they like on the radio to hear more about? “I think that’s enough now,” says Vladimir.
“Usually everything is relevant – how many are in hospitals, how many have died. As if positivism might be a bit present, ”adds Valija.
Photo: Latvian Radio / Cynthia Ambote
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Even closer to the border, a lady in a thick woolen hat takes care of one of the yards of Upes Street houses. Aria listens to Latvian Radio 2.
She talks about the radio as her oldest friend with the first sentences. It seems to have managed to find a real radio fan in Ape. Aria is from Latgale, but she has been married and living in Ape for 40 years. She especially appreciates radio because of the music.
“You know how it is now, in this age. Everything has to be thought about: whether you will have enough pensions or not. And, for example, if you, an old person, miss, then turn on the music and forget all the difficulties. Go to the store and think – nothing that its prices are higher, I will buy a smaller piece. Also, I listen to everything about that virus, you think there is some joy. I then turn on the music and I’m happy, I hear the old songs and it improves the whole atmosphere. If a pensioner only listens to all this crisis and waits for the disease to spread to you, we cannot. Only LR2 saves us. In the morning, when I get up, I eat bread with coffee and put on music, then I light a candle so that the day is bright and clear today, ”says Ārija.
Aria, a resident of Ape, October 2020
Photo: Latvian Radio / Cynthia Ambote
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Throwing the last circle through the small Estonian border town, you manage to meet Baiba and Inta, who roam the yard of their home. Both admit that if people were divided into TV and radio people, then they would be radio people, because Latvijas Radio is an everyday ally, even if you have to enter nearby neighboring cities in Estonia.
“All tractors run in the background of Latvian radio 2,” reveals Ints.
“It simply came to our notice then. For example, when you hear a song with the words “When the stork last knocks”, farmers usually know what they need to prepare for. In the spring, there are other songs that catch on as well, ”says Baiba.
Baiba also continues that Latvian Radio “Free Microphone” sometimes creates a sense of togetherness with other residents, if the thoughts coincide. “Discussion shows where people are allowed to call and ask for themselves could be even more. Because, in fact, perhaps someone would have heard their public opinion more, because there is already a lot of different pain in Latvia.
Listening to it, it turns out that many of us thought similarly, regardless of whether you are in Riga or in a region. ”
In turn, Latvijas Radio listens more to informative content. For her, radio is an important part of everyday life.
Ligitu also points out that she likes to listen to the thoughts of the population, as well as appreciates the radio broadcasters, who moderate the conversations and give them a framework.
Before going in the direction of Riga and saying goodbye, Ligita also has a wish for the 95th birthday of Latvijas Radio: “So that you can continue to sound and that you have enough to make it happen! Because I have noticed that what seems stable now may not be tomorrow. May you have its stability and support, both financial and otherwise, so that you can sound and we can hear! ”
