AM en el Cerro del Tío Pío

A few days after Radio Nacional de España unexpectedly switched off its AM broadcasts on December 30, 2025 after 88 years of emission, we scanned this band from one of the highest points in Madrid. The spectrum is fairly empty, but we picked up a frequency from North Africa. Cerro del Tío Pío, also known as Parque de las Siete Tetas, is a group of artificial hills in Vallecas formed from construction debris during Madrid’s mid-20th-century expansion. The area was originally occupied by self-built housing, home to working-class families who settled here during periods of intense rural migration. These neighborhoods lacked basic services, and residents organized for decades to demand infrastructure, housing rights, and recognition. Eventually, the houses were demolished, and the land was reshaped into a public park. Today, the hills function as a lookout over Madrid. The soundscape blends wind, voices, and leisure activity with distant traffic, carrying the memory of a place shaped by displacement, struggle, and later urban integration.