She grew up surrounded by the smell of soldering irons and piles of circuit boards. Her father fixed TVs and radios in his spare time, while her mother’s red cassette player filled the house with music from her favorite radio station. It was that mix of music and electronics that sparked Manuela’s dream of making radio herself. As a child, she played pretend DJ recording shows on cassette tapes, using a mic from her dad’s workbench. After high school, she sent homemade radio shows on tape to various stations, holding her breath and hoping someone out there would hear her… and give her a shot. ​ After facing rejection after rejection from local and national stations, she decided to take matters into her own hands and start broadcasting illegal radio, just like the pirate stations of the time. Her father built her first tiny transmitter. Its range was limited, but the thrill was massive, and her passion for the craft grew stronger every day. Once she caught the bug, she wanted more, much more. She bought an old fishing boat from her uncle and, together with her father, transformed it into a full-fledged radio studio. In the summer of 1985, the first legendary broadcast of Radio Manuela hit the airwaves at 108 MHz. With her sensual voice, irresistible music selection, and hilarious jingles, she quickly won the hearts of thousands of listeners. The station grew into one of the most popular illegal radio stations in the Netherlands. Her mission: to spread joy and share great music. But in the autumn of 1987, tragedy struck. During a fierce storm, her boat capsized. Since then, nothing has ever been heard from Manuela again. Her body and the boat were never found. The only thing that ever resurfaced was the homemade transmitter built by her fathe ​ Years later, inspired by his childhood heroine, Rotterdam DJ OSOSONIC  decided to breathe new life into the legendary station. He managed to acquire the original Radio Manuela transmitter and with endless patience and technical dedication, brought the device back to life. But one problem remained: the salty seawater had damaged the transmitter. Broadcasting on the original frequency of 108 MHz was no longer possible. Only 109 MHz still worked a frequency that no standard radio can receive. But fuck it, its all about love and spreading good energie, people feel that anyway. ​