La Ligua is known across Chile for one thing above all else: its pasteles de La Ligua, traditional sweets that have made the small Valparaíso Region town a household name for anyone with a sweet tooth. Radio Dulce, literally "Radio Sweet," took its name directly from that local pride when it signed on the air on December 5, 2006, on 96.7 FM.
From One Frequency to a Regional Network
What started as a single La Ligua signal has grown into a genuine regional network. According to the station's own history page, Radio Dulce expanded steadily through the 2010s into Petorca and Cabildo, then completed full coverage of Quillota province by 2020 before pushing further into the Aconcagua Valley and Choapa province. By the mid-2020s the network stretched across roughly 14 frequencies between 95.3 and 106.3 MHz, reaching towns from Los Vilos and Illapel in the north down to Puerto Varas and Frutillar in the south, an unusually long broadcast footprint for a station that began in one small town.
A Chilean Music Commitment That Beat the Legal Minimum
Radio Dulce has also built a reputation for backing homegrown music rather than just talking about community pride. In 2026, Chile's music authors society recognized the station for dedicating 37.90 percent of its programming to Chilean artists, comfortably clearing the country's legal minimum requirement, according to details from the station's own record. Paired with a format built around romantic and nostalgic music from the 1960s onward, it gives listeners a station that treats Chilean songwriting as a core part of its identity rather than a quota to clear.
A Town Built on Sugar and Textiles
La Ligua itself dates back to 1754 and carries a history that runs from Inca settlement through Spanish colonial gold mining in the hills around Cerro Pulmahue. Today the town is known nationally for two things that have little to do with each other: those famous pastries and Valle Hermoso, a nearby district nicknamed the "cradle of weaving" for its more than 100 textile shops and workshops, a detail covered in a regional tourism guide to the area. Radio Dulce's name plants the station firmly in the first of those two identities.
Tune In
For a station that grew from a single small-town frequency into a network spanning three regions without losing its local name, Radio Dulce is worth a listen on Radio Shuffle.