'The keys to Flight 605': welcome, Mister Álvarez

One of the founding myths of Spanish rock connects its appearance with the US military bases: it is claimed that “modern music” sneaked in thanks to the AFN (American Forces Network) stations in Rota, Morón, Torrejón and Zaragoza. Hmmm…. a good argument for the theory of cocacolonization of the country or even as an example of the soft power imperial.

But there are doubts. Without underestimating the cultural irradiation capacity of the bases, always on an informal scale, their radios had few Spanish listeners: their range was limited and they broadcast in modulated frequency when there were hardly any suitable receivers here. No: if we investigate the emergence of music Made in USAthe figure of Ángel Álvarez (1917-2004) emerges.

Álvarez was already in his forties when, in 1960, he released Musical Caravan in The Voice of Madrid. He made a formidable impact because of his kind and close voice, apart from the use of unreleased records. As a radio navigator for Iberia, he flew regularly to New York and there obtained music that was not published in Spain (already established as a broadcaster, he visited the promotion departments of New York record labels). He did not depend on Spanish companies, like previous prestigious presenters such as Raúl Matas or Pepe Palau.

As was common in successful music programs, Musical Caravan It generated a club of enthusiasts who were grateful for the identification of that temperate gentleman with “the youth.” The caravanners They met at the club's headquarters, a small office on Madrid's Calle Mayor: from there bulletins were distributed and Sunday matinees were called in the station's auditorium.

What was born as hobby, became a career: Álvarez jumped to Radio Peninsular, Radio Nacional de España and SER. His longest-running program was called Flight 605, which benefited from the sponsorship of El Corte Inglés: its president, Ramón Areces, met the aviator musician while he was traveling to New York and because of the countryman thing—both were Asturian—they reached an understanding. Department stores also distributed weekly information sheets. caravandespite the fact that many albums mentioned there were not sold in Spain.

Unfortunately, not many Ángel Álvarez programs are preserved. His own life is hazy: the journalist Álvaro Feito proposed to write his biography but the idea did not prosper. It is appreciated that another caravanner, the economist Javier Lodín, is exploring those anomalous radio adventures. After his indispensable Music and legend (2020), publish now The keys to Flight 605focusing on the man in the shadows: screenwriter Carlos Domínguez, alias Charlie.

It contains other valuable elements, such as the interview with Rafael Revert, caravanner who left the fold to establish radio formula in Spain, which Álvarez deplored. However, the presentations of the first Caravan They were equally laconic; It was Charlie's texts that added information and a certain poetic breath.

Lodín analyzes the contents of some 150 programs, basically from Flight 605 and from the nineties. Extrapolating, we can establish Álvarez's ingredients. American pop, of course, with special affection for the country (which Ángel initially presented as “peasant music”, due to his desire to translate titles and concepts). With the Beatles, he opened up to British pop. They add homeopathic doses of French, Italian, Brazilian and Spanish music (Serrat, Cecilia, Miguel Ríos). Without forgetting the devotion to the orchestras of Percy Faith, Bert Kaempfert, Ray Conniff and Glenn Miller. Regarding the latter, we find a rare case of deviation from the official story: the alternative version of his death in 1944 is suggested, which places him in a Parisian brothel. And I understand it: it is more suggestive than imagining him the victim of recklessness while he was flying over the English Channel.

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