WAQI

WAQI

Miami, Florida United States
Broadcast area	South Florida
Frequency	710 kHz
Branding	Radio Mambí
Programming
Language(s)	Spanish
Format	Talk radio
Ownership
Owner	Latino Media Network, LLC
Sister stations	WQBA
History
First air date	December 3, 1939 (84 years ago) (1939-12-03)
Former call signs	WFTL (1939–1945) WGBS (1945–1985)
Call sign meaning	"Aquí" (Spanish for "here")
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	37254
Class	B
Power	50,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	25°46′6.16″N 80°29′8.80″W / 25.7683778°N 80.4857778°W / 25.7683778; -80.4857778
Repeater(s)	107.5 WAMR-HD2 (Miami)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live (via iHeartRadio)

WAQI (710 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Miami, Florida, United States, featuring a Spanish-language talk format known as Radio Mambí. Owned by Latino Media Network and formerly operated by Uforia Audio Network, the radio division of TelevisaUnivision, under a transitional agreement, the station broadcasts with 50,000 watts and serves as South Florida's designated primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System, one of three in the state.^[2] The studios are located at Univision's Miami headquarters, and the transmitter is located at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Florida State Road 997, near the edge of the Everglades.

The history of today's WAQI begins with the establishment of WFTL in Fort Lauderdale in 1939. The tiny local station raised its profile by switching to its present frequency in 1943 and becoming the highest-power station in Florida at the time. It was acquired by George B. Storer in 1944 after a controversial acquisition that resulted in government scrutiny, moving to Miami the next year. WGBS grew into a 50,000-watt station, and Storer became headquartered in Miami, starting first an FM station and an ill-fated TV station. It generally aired an adult music format after the 1950s. When Storer opted to exit radio at the end of 1978, Jefferson-Pilot Communications purchased its Miami radio properties, converting the low-rated WGBS to a talk format in February 1983.

In 1985, Jefferson-Pilot sold WGBS to buy WNWS (790 AM), then its direct competitor, merging the two stations' programming on the 790 frequency that had a better signal into Broward County. The 710 facility, with its strong signal into Cuba, was then spun off to Cuban-American businessman Amancio Suárez, resulting in the foundation of WAQI Radio Mambí. Known for its hardline anticommunist stance from the start, Mambí has ranked among the most popular Spanish-language stations in South Florida and is also jammed by the Cuban government; however, it has also been criticized for disseminating disinformation, particularly by groups on the left. Sales of Radio Mambí in 1995 and 2022 have attracted attention in political circles.