Maspalomas draws visitors from all over Europe, but few stations speak as directly to one community as Radio Calima does to the Italians who live in or vacation across the Canary Islands. Broadcasting in Italian from studios in Playa del Inglés, the station has built itself into a genuine local institution for an audience that could easily have been left without a voice of its own.
Built by Two Founders, for a Community Far from Home
According to Arcipelago Canarie's profile of the station, Radio Calima was founded by Roberto Brandolini and Angelo Ferro, who built the station into a consolidated presence on the islands in a relatively short amount of time. The idea was straightforward but valuable: give Italians living in or visiting Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote a station that speaks their language and understands their community, rather than leaving them to navigate exclusively Spanish-language radio.
That mission shows in how the station is run. The flagship morning show, Calima de Mañana, broadcasts live from the central studio in Playa del Inglés with hosts including Roberto Brandolini himself alongside Barbara Massaro, mixing information and music aimed squarely at the Italian expatriate and tourist audience.
A Network of Channels for a Diverse Coastline
Radio Calima has grown well beyond a single stream. Sister channel Calima Oro focuses on Italian and international hits from the 80s and 90s, while Calima Ciao leans further back into Italian songs from the 60s and 70s. Notably, the network also runs a dedicated channel for the LGBTQ community that lives in or visits Maspalomas, one of Europe's best known gay travel destinations, a programming choice that reflects how closely the station tracks the actual makeup of its audience rather than treating the region as one uniform market.
The station has also expanded into podcasts and a companion video platform, Calima TV, giving it a footprint that extends well past traditional FM listening.
A Soundtrack for Sun, Sand and a Familiar Language
What makes Radio Calima worth tuning into, even for listeners outside its core Italian audience, is the atmosphere it captures: warm, easygoing, tied unmistakably to its coastal setting. It is the sound of a Gran Canaria afternoon as heard through an Italian lens, adult contemporary music and local information delivered with the relaxed pace of a place built for vacation.
Listen to Radio Calima on Radio Shuffle for a taste of Maspalomas and the Italian community that calls the Canary Islands home.