WPUC-FM (88.9 FM), branded on-air as Católica Radio, is a non-commercial educational[3] radio station broadcasting an Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Ponce, Puerto Rico, the station serves the entirety of the island with the aid of a booster at Caguas and a translator covering Mayagüez. The station is owned by Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Service Association, Incorporated.
Broadcast area | Puerto Rico |
---|---|
Frequency | 88.9 MHz |
Branding | Católica Radio |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Spanish and English |
Format | Adult Contemporary |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | 1958 (as WEUC AM 1420) May 17, 1984 |
Former call signs | WEUC-FM (1982-2000)[1] |
Call sign meaning | Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 9351 |
Class | B |
ERP | 50,550 watts[2] |
HAAT | 853.0 meters (2,798.6 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 18°10′27″N 66°35′32″W / 18.17417°N 66.59222°W |
Translator(s) | W206AF 89.1 (Mayaguez) |
Links | |
Website | catolicaradiopr |
The Catholic University of Puerto Rico entered into broadcasting when it built WEUC,[4] a 1,000-watt AM radio station operating at 1420 kHz, in 1958.[5] The station, which signed on in May, was the island's first Catholic radio station.[6] The station's call letters stood for Emisora Universidad Catolica (Catholic University Station).[7] Bishop James E. McManus, who founded the university, had invited Father Carl Hammond to assist in the design of the buildings on the campus; Hammond, an avid ham radio operator, was instrumental in launching the station.[8]
On May 17, 1979, the Catholic University of Puerto Rico applied to the Federal Communications Commission to build and launch a noncommercial FM station on 88.9 MHz. WEUC-FM was approved by the commission on January 11, 1982, but the station did not sign on the air until May 17, 1984.[9]
The university sold the AM station in 2000 to El Mundo Broadcasting Corporation, owners of WKAQ-AM-WKAQ-FM in San Juan and WUKQ-FM in Mayagüez, for $1.45 million; the sale resulted in the AM frequency becoming a simulcaster of WKAQ.[10] After selling the AM station, the university changed WEUC-FM's call sign to WPUC-FM, reflecting the papal designation of the pontifical title on the university, which had taken place in 1991.
The radio station serves dual purposes: as a communication media with the external community and as an internship for students studying communications.[11] In 2014, the station's main studio was named for Luis Varela (1938[12] - 23 June 2020[13]), whose sports program Trinchera Deportiva aired from WEUC/WPUC since 1961.[14][15]
After Hurricane Maria, WPUC-FM lost 80 percent of its coverage. The translator for Mayagüez, located inside the Maricao State Forest, was returned to service in January 2019.[16]
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | ERP (W) | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|
WPUC-FM1 | 88.9 FM | Caguas, Puerto Rico | .25 | FMQ |
W206AF | 89.1 FM | Mayaguez, Puerto Rico | .25 | FMQ |