The ball became more and bigger at times. The article by César González-Ruano in the newspaper ‘Madrid’ had caused an unstoppable avalanche. «We would like to be the first to launch the possible adoption of Valentine’s Daywhich exists in America, where … Valentine’s Day is celebrated with great show on February 14, ”the journalist had written at the end of January 1948. The Horned Pepín Fernández soon collect the glove, with an advertisement of precious galleries that inserted in ABC. In his advertising, the founder of the department stores applauded the “beautiful idea” of González Ruano and for the first time he invited that “that”Saturday, February 14!», By Valentine’s Day. «How not to predict in Spain the brightest success for Valentine’s Day?»He predicted.
That was the first projectile of a message bombardment in the press. Even Camilo José Cela, a friend and neighbor of González Ruano from Madrid’s Ríos Rosas street, joined the party and the dispensed without objection. The writer, who had already published, ‘the family of Pascual Duarte’, made it very clear in the title of his column in the newspaper ‘Above’: «Hadge on the gift and … Long Valentine’s Day!».
Between so exaltation of love and so much advertisement, a critical voice tried in vain to abort the initiative days before his birth in Spain, now 77 years ago. At least, in those terms. «As an informative informative and sacristan thoroughness, Allow me to exempt the saint from every celestine», Luis Calvo wrote in this newspaper. “Valentine’s Day, which never entrusted themselves into sets of love and courtship, cannot honestly load with the sambenito of a patronage of lovers.”
In his correspondent in London, Calvo had met that Anglo -Saxon party that, in his opinion, entailed «I do not know what passed, efluvio and joy cosmicthat exceed human love ». Therefore, he tried to explain that in England it was celebrated on February 14 because it coincided with the birds. “The English, who are the most fond of ornithology, taking pretext and teaching of the birds chose, many centuries ago, this date as a bridal emblem and ‘mare magnum’ epitalamic,” he said. Hence, in the days before Valentine’s Day, the British and American shop windows were populated with ‘Valentinas’, postcards in which Cupid fluttered with his arch, advising his arrows on offsembled hearts.
“Valentine’s Day, which never entered into love and courtship, cannot honestly load with the sambenito of a patronage of lovers”
In other times, the journalist recalled, «The narrow ones’ were played, which is Spanish game». In this kind of lottery couples were raffled, which exchanged cards with verses. «How many idylls began in Galldosian Spain!«, Calvo said. Citing the British Samuel Pepys, famous for his newspapers, he also said that at the end of the 17th century, during the reign of Carlos II of England, the draw came to include married couples “without detriment of morality and good customs.”
«Whenever we do not take Valentine’s Day for the Patron of lovers“, Calvo invited to take advantage of this day” to approach the ‘brother bird’, seek reconciliation, resume broken friendships and cross gifts “, which was, in his opinion, the Anglo -Saxon celebration. Of course your slogan, «Welcome the ornithological party of love!“, I didn’t have the blunt stuck” Long Valentine’s Day! ” of Cela, nor of the sweetened ads of precious galleries that, in a constant drip, fell among the Spaniards.
Not even Calvo himself could resist. Ten years later, being director of ABC, ‘Black and White’ announced on the cover on Valentine’s Day for Valentine’s Day with a basabe photograph in which actors Pilar Clemens and Virgilio Texeira posed. Of course, like two tortolites.
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