Summary
The Spanish town of Benidorm is now one of the world's most popular holiday resorts - receiving more than 10 million visitors a year. The hotels and skyscrapers are the vision of Benidorm's mayor in the 1950s and 60s, Pedro Zaragoza. Zaragoza personally convinced Spain's dictator, General Franco, to allow more tourism - and to allow sunbathers to wear the bikini. Simon Watts introduces the memories of Pedro Zaragoza, as recorded by Radio Elche Cadena Ser shortly before his death.
PHOTO: A busy day at Benidorm (Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
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| 0:35.4 | Sounds. |
| 0:36.4 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:40.9 | My name's Linda Davies and I commissioned |
| 0:43.0 | podcast for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:45.0 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality, |
| 0:49.0 | featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:54.4 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 1:00.9 | poltergeist, cricket and conspiracy theories, Cricket, and Conspiracy Theories. |
| 1:04.3 | And that's just a few examples. |
| 1:06.2 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, |
| 1:09.4 | find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. Hello, and thank you for downloading the BBC World Service History Program Witness with me Simon Watts. |
| 1:19.0 | Today I'm bringing you the story of the man who turned the small Spanish town of Benidorm into one of the world's most popular holiday resorts. Thank you're |
| 1:35.0 | ladies and gentlemen here we are coming into Benadour. |
| 1:38.0 | Your holiday resort. |
| 1:39.0 | Every year millions of tourists arrive in Benadour, on Spain's Costa Blanca to... of in the Every part of his being from his twinkling eyes behind the glasses to his big white mustache is energetic and alert. |
| 2:09.0 | For a short person he has the personality and the resonant voice of a giant and modern day |
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