British Pathé Reviews the Year 1959
The source for the news in this chapter is the partial archive of the newspaper La Voz de Galicia found in the local library. Some information has been employed elsewhere (e.g. the trajectory of the shipyard's basketball team). Although other pages occasionally provide useful information I focused mainly on what by now had become the one-page section Ferrol Al Dia (Ferrol Update).
| 1. | Colombian Navy destroyer ARC 7 de Agosto entered port in mid-morning to refuel. The Colombian sailors strolled through the city. The warship departed the next day. |
| 3. |
Four men were attacked with knives in two separate incidents. Four local teams play basketball in the gymnasium of the shipyard at 5:00 and 6:00 PM. |
| 6. | Afternoon swimming contest in the cold waters of the harbour (cf. January 6, 1955). Sixteen swimmers took part, the top four finishers belonged to Bazan. The fastest time was 5 min. 2 sec. |
| 15. | Around 4:30 AM fire broke out in a 3-storey house and completely burned it down. All thirty-six tenants got out safely, but they lost their belongings. The municipal fire truck malfunctioned on site. Thanks to the fire trucks of Bazan and Navy the blaze was quenched before the flames could spread to adjacent buildings. Damage was estimated at 500,000 Pesetas. Town Hall provided alternate living quarters for the families affected. A public drive to raise funds for the dispossessed yielded 85,382 Pesetas by February 20. Note: The newspaper did not clarify whether the sum included the 30,000 Pesetas donated by Town Hall and the 16,000 Pesetas donated by the civil government (End of Note). |
| 16. | 65-year-old woman falls out of a moving tram on a curve, bumps her head hard on the pavement and died an hour later. |
| 21. | Editorial deplores the "hardly edifying spectacle offered by bunches of kids riding the top of trams." |
| 22. | Parking brakes fail, car races down the street and runs over two women, killing one. |
| 25. | Editorial renews call for the construction of a modern railway station (August 17, 1955). |
| 31. | Two basketball games on the high school grounds at 6:00 PM. |
| 1. |
At 10:00 AM Basque pelota game between Instituto and Academia Rapariz at the high school. Cross-country race starting from the stadium at 10:30 AM. Juniors Distance: 3,000 meters. Juveniles: 1,000 meters. Basketball score unimaginable in the days of coach Ruzgis: Estudiantes de Vigo 49, Bazan 36. Pardo was the outstanding player. |
| 3. | Editorial informs that the natural work of the tides shrinks the artificial beach known as Copacabana (cf. May 6, 1955) and notes that children are the main beachgoers. |
| 26. |
At 5:30 PM inauguration and blessing of a new neighbourhood built by Bazan for its workers. Ongoing high school basketball championship. |
| 28. | Arrival of four French corvettes at 9:00 AM: Commandant Amyot d'Inville, Commandant de Pimodan, Le Boulonnais and Le Bordelais (above) with a total of 538 sailors and 22 officers. |
| 1. |
The French warships offered guided tours to the public between 4:30 and 6:30 PM. Friendly soccer match between a selection of local players and a team of French Marines. Final score: Locals 7, French Marines 0. "The score could have been more lopsided." |
| 2. | Series of official functions welcoming the French warships. Reception at 12:00 noon in Town Hall, a glass of Spanish wine was served. The following Spanish dignitaries were present: the captain general of the maritime department, the fleet commander, the military governor of the city, the mayor, the local leader of the fascist Movimiento Nacional and the state prosecutor. The following French dignitaries were present: the commander of the French flotilla, the consul general in Bilbao, the naval attaché of the embassy in Madrid and the consul in Ferrol. The Spanish commander of the fleet hosted a full lunch aboard the flagship Canarias in honour of the French. In reciprocity the commander of the French flotilla hosted a tea party in local navy premises. |
| 3. | The French flotilla departed at 10:00 AM. |
| 9. | Pope John XXIII publishes a papal bull which raises the rank of San Julián Church to the status of co-cathedral. |
| 10. | Some hooligans threw a park bench into the ornamental fountain of the downtown gardens yesterday evening. |
| 12. | Creation of a children's processional brotherhood for Holy Week linked to Carmen Church. Members will be six to fourteen years old. Debut is set for Palm Sunday (March 22). |
| 15. |
Power shutdown will affect the entire city this morning. It is necessary to carry out repairs in the grid. British oil tanker "Cantex-Singapore" is in dry dock for a hull cleaning. Transatlantic passenger ship Montserrat (above) docks at rival shipyard Astano for maintenance and repairs. |
| 17. | At 11:30 AM the children of primary schools and the first and second grades of secondary will present a "spiritual and material" gift to the bishop in the co-cathedral for the construction of a seminary. |
| 18. | Thousands of Ferrolians filled Town Hall square this evening to watch the singing contest known as Rondallas a las Pepitas (Serenading the Josephines). "Añoranzas de Esteiro" confronted "Trova del Alba." The jury declared a draw and the prize of 5,000 Pesetas was split. There was a parade the following day. "Añoranzas de Esteiro" visited the Destitute Seniors Home, the Anti-Tuberculosis Sanatorium, the Navy and Charity hospitals and the municipal school for orphans. |
| 21. |
The high school's Natural Sciences teacher Manuel Pérez de Arévalo (see November 1955) gave a talk entitled "The Cosmos, Stage of Life" in a guild of the city of A Coruña. The occasion was presided by the captain general.
This is an extract of his talk, The speaker began by comparing the act of creation to a work of art, like a painting or a musical composition. He stressed the importance of the viewer's frame of reference, whether from inside the atom, where there is no light, whether from the molecule, where light arrives in bursts, or from a macroscopic frame of reference. To appreciate a musical composition a "fourth dimension" is necessary: memory or time. The speaker then reviewed the geocentric cosmologies of Hipparchus and Ptolemy, superseded by the heliocentric cosmology of Copernicus, complemented by today's perception that outer space is an assembly of super galaxies. "But regardless," he said, "man as man will never be able to compass the cosmos because he will never be able to break free from three-dimensional space and own the fourth dimension of Minkowski. He will achieve it only when he dies." Arévalo then described the instruments that allow man to alter his viewing frame of reference, from the sights of a graphometer to the radio telescope, and he spotlighted the 21 centimeter [spectral line] predicted by van de Hulst. He next considered the appearance of man on Earth and evaluated the probability that there may be humans on other planets. The speaker demonstrated that said possibility is nil "based on the units of biocronio." Note: Did the reporter transcribe erroneously and the speaker in fact said, "based on the atomic structure of chromium?" (End of Note). The dissertation was followed by a Q & A session. Arévalo answered every question "with elegance and with extraordinary documentation" and garnered prolonged applause at the conclusion of the talk. |
| 24. | Sacred music concert by Bazan's choir in Teatro Jofre at 8:00 PM. |
| 25. | Town Hall bans downtown traffic from 1:00 PM until midnight on Holy Friday. Official cars and cars driven by officials are exempt. |
| 27. | "Very rainy weather" forced the cancellation of two processions, Holy Burial and Os Caladiños. |
| 28. | There are two processions today (Holy Saturday). The "Procession of Charity and Silence" sets out at 8:00 PM and keeps the tradition of carrying a treasure chest containing donations to the Hospital of Charity (the amount was 7,129 Pesetas). Note: The tradition was started in the year 1956 and in the year 2018 the amount donated was 4,421 Euros (End of Note). |
| 29. | Two-storey house collapses, the occupants were evacuated before the cave-in. |
| 31. | The number of households leasing a telephone line is eight hundred. |
| 1. |
The following letter addressed to the "Elder Brother of the Holy Hospital of Charity" together with a donation of 24 Pesetas was found inside the treasure chest carried in the Procession of Charity and Silence on March 28 (Holy Saturday).
Dear Sir, Note: Might the letter's author have been the female beggar mentioned on December 11, 1955? (End of Note). |
| 2. |
The art exhibit of Abelardo Miguel López Leira (above left) opens in Town Hall at 7:30 PM. Hooligans damage several wooden park benches in the downtown gardens. |
| 10. | The strong wind downed a tree in Angustias Gardens. |
| 11. | There will be a showing of three documentaries supplied by the U.S. Embassy in the lounges of A.F.F.A. (Aficionados Ferrolanos a la Fotografía Artística) at 8:00 PM (cf. September 7, 1955). |
| 16. | In an ongoing series of seminars hosted by the high school Enrique Lafuente Ferrari will give a conference at 8:00 PM entitled, "On the Crisis of Modern Painting." In the event Lafuente's airplane could not land at Santiago Airport due to a "rainstorm and extraordinary windstorm." The conference was given on Friday 17. The act was presided over by the captain general of the maritime department, the military governor, the deputy mayor, the local leader of the fascist Movimiento Nacional and the principal. |
| 18. | Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (above right) will deliver a talk in the high school at 7:45 PM entitled, "The Novel and Its Objectivity." This will be followed by Lafuente's second presentation, "Direction and Problems of Contemporary Art." |
| 24. | The name of my oldest brother appears in the newspaper as one of nineteen students rewarded for their grades in preparatory school. |
| 30. |
Official approval has been granted for a landfill project that will expand the shipyard grounds by 39,000 square meters. Chorale Toxos E Froles organizes a Portuguese-Galician Festival. Rendilheiras da Praça de Vila do Conde were the invited guest performers. The night was "a great success." |
| 1. | In an ongoing series of seminars held in the high school Dámaso Alonso (above) will give a seminar at 8:00 PM entitled, "Spain and Poetry." |
| 10. | International friendly basketball game: Bazan 56, Unión Española Deportiva de Valparaíso 63. The Chilean team led throughout. The game had to be played in the gymnasium because of rain, the park had been the intended venue. |
| 14. | Editorial cautions that vandalism is increasing and proposes launching an "anti-hoodlum" campaign. |
| 19. | Editorial informs that the road to Valdoviño is "an endless succession of potholes" and blames the bad quality of the asphalt. |
| 20. |
Shutoff of the city's water main is scheduled from 10:00 AM onward. Stoker non-commissioned officer dies in an accident aboard a destroyer. |
| 23. |
Inauguration of the furniture shop "Muebles El Hogar" with the blessing of a prelate. A full-page advertisement the next day boasted that the store had twenty windows and its showroom area covered 400 square meters. Traditional meal for the poor served to more than 1,000 Ferrolians on the grounds of a local garrison,
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| 26. |
3-year-old baby seriously injured after falling off a balcony. 48-year-old man seriously injured after falling out of a tram. |
| 12. | Turkish freighter Kjrfehjr in port. |
| 20. | Inauguration of a restaurant in the municipal park (above). A ½ page advertisement a week later stated that the restaurant was open continuously from 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM and that it could be reserved for banquets, weddings and baptisms. It described the park as a "marvel." |
| 23. | Premiere of circus "Atlas" at 11:00 PM in Plaza de Sevilla. A ½ page advertisement promised "seals from the Pole, Arizona Indians, chimpanzees, motorists, Chinese troupes, wise dogs." One of its star attractions was a pair of clowns known as Hermanos Tonetti. |
| 1. |
De Los Vieneses Circus sets up in Plaza de Sevilla. Shows at 7:30 and 11:00 PM. Passengers complain about overcrowding in the train that arrives to Ferrol at 9:30 PM. |
| 8. | Hottest day thus far. Maximum temperature: 36°C. |
| 14. | 3-year-old baby girl was run over by a motorcycle. |
| 15. |
A poem entitled "Alborada Ferrolana" (Ferrolian Morning Song) by Jesús González Lorenzo tabs Ferrol a working city that awakes to the sound of a madly blaring siren (the shipyard's). The city's "guardian angels are the dockside cranes." The winding lines of workers come on the trails riding their bicycles and "smoking their own yawns." The other characters of the dawn are "the female fishmongers, the stuttering newspaper vendor, the solitary sailor with his bayonet, the dear old lady heading to early Mass, the night watchman who returns home, the sound of a bugle." Editorial cautions that the city "still faces numerous problems" and bemoans the absence of trade colleges or of a bus station and the dismal state of the roads. Moreover the beach of Copacabana needs broadening and trees need to be planted close to beaches. Summertime charity raffle stand has been inaugurated by local dignitaries and blessed by the bishop (cf. August 3, 1955). |
| 16. | Our Lady of Carmel, patron saint of the Navy. Troops will be served extraordinary meals and there will be sporting events at the various garrisons. At 11:00 AM solemn pontifical Mass in the "military temple" of San Francisco Church (above) presided by the Minister for the Navy and officiated by the bishop. A procession followed the end of the Mass. The Minister for the Navy, the captain general of the maritime department, the military governor of the city, the mayor, the admiral, rear admirals and other top commanders took part. Other officials that joined the procession were the local leader of the fascist Movimiento Nacional, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the chairman of the shipyard, the police commissary and various representatives of the Revenue Ministry, Civil Guard, Customs, Post and Telegraph Office and other institutions. The route of the procession was secured by two companies of naval infantry and two companies of armed sailors. These troops paraded after the procession. Night parties were held at 10:30 PM in the gardens of Navy Command Headquarters for commanders and officers, at the municipal park for non-commissioned officers and in the downtown gardens for everybody else. |
| 17. | Requiem Mass for all dead navymen in San Francisco Church at 11:00 AM. |
| 18. | A dance will be held at 9:00 PM in the premises of the Tennis Club to honour the Navy. Army personnel are encouraged to attend. |
| 19. |
Snipe class regattas start today at 6:00 PM. Open-air staging of the operetta Doña Francisquita at 11:00 PM in the park. |
| 20. |
Puppet show at 5:00 PM in the park. Operetta Bohemios at 11:00 PM. |
| 21. | Last day of operettas. Gigantes y Cabezudos and La Boda de Luís Alonso. |
| 22. | Night party at 11:00 PM in the harbour followed by "nautical fireworks" which were "a resounding success." |
| 28. | The effects of drought are becoming evident. |
| 1. | Extraordinary Portuguese-Galician Festival at 7:30 PM in the park (cf. April 30). Two Galician folk groups plus the Portuguese folk group Pescadores das Caxinas e Poça da Barca de Vila do Conde took part. The Portuguese performers were "genuinely colossal" and the thousands of Ferrolians who watched the spectacle tributed "very hearty applause." The Portuguese "also performed repeatedly in cafeterias, bars, streets and squares." |
| 5. | Ferrol will host the 17th National Basketball Tournament, premier division. |
| 6. | Fire in the hills surrounding Ferrol consumes "thousands of trees." |
| 7. |
Town Hall serves notice that until further notice the supply of water to households will be curtailed severely and will operate during these times: 7:00 to 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM and 8:00 to 11:00 PM. Fire on hill A Graña west of the city. |
| 8. | The fire to the west flares up again in mid-morning. |
| 11. |
Fire northwest of Ferrol on hill Chamorro. Stage play "Irma La Dulce" starring Nuria Torray (above) in Teatro Jofre. Two shows: 8:00 and 11:15 PM. One day only. |
| 14. |
Although San Julián Church was raised to co-cathedral status by Pope John XXIII on March 9, 1959, today is the official inauguration of the church under its new status. At 8:00 AM the bugle-and-drum bands of the artillery corps, regular infantry and Bazan paraded about the city. Every church bell rang out at 12:00 noon. Town Hall sponsored a mid-day meal for "about one hundred poor people,"
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| 23. | Basketball final in the park: Bazan 60, Agromán de Madrid 46 (August 5). Pardo was the top scorer for Bazan. |
| 25. | Town Hall notifies the citizenry about further restrictions in the water supply. Five-hour service per day: 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM and 9:00 to 11:00 PM. |
| 26. | Further reduction of hours is necessary to ensure that water reaches the upper floors. Accordingly half the city will have running water from noon to 1:30 PM and the other half from 1:30 to 3:00 PM. |
| 27. | 11-year-old boy hanging from the backside of a tram falls off. Slightly injured. |
| 31. | Fireworks at Plaza de Amboage. The eight structures torched were: The two enchanted stars ♠ The great celestial sphere ♠ The great Egyptian windmill ♠ Pharaoh and the snakes ♠ The great Maltese Cross ♠ The two automatons ♠ The great pond of Venus ♠ The Alhambra of Granada. This last contrivance consisted of "more than six thousand flares" and two "rotating suns." "The grand finale lasted several minutes." |
| 6. | At 4:00 PM swimming race across the bay. Distance: 2,400 meters. Nearly fifty swimmers took part, among them five Corunnese women. Multiple starts, the female swimmers went first. Women's best finish: 29 min. 45 sec. Men's best finish: 20 min. 25 sec. |
| 10. | Heavy shower at 4:45 PM. |
| 11. | Rain. "We believe the onset of the rain was never as desired as on this occasion." |
| 20. |
General Franco visits Ferrol and attends a pontifical Mass at the co-cathedral of San Julián.
Official Spanish Newsreel NO-DO 873 B Voice-Over Translated: Head of state Generalissimo Franco goes in El Ferrol del Caudillo to the first pontifical mass celebrated in San Julián Church which was months ago consecrated co-cathedral of the diocese Mondoñedo-Ferrol. Together with his wife, Doña Carmen Polo de Franco, he enters the temple under canopy. Dr. Argaya Goicoechea the prelate who officiates the solemn mass assisted by canons delivers a brilliant homily. Pontifical mass over, Franco leaves the temple amid demonstrative displays of affection and cordiality. From the balcony of Town Hall and before the crowd that fills Plaza de Armas he addresses the Ferrolians and affirms in his speech that our industrial and agricultural production has grown by 1,500 million dollars, which permits tackling the problem of the balance of international payments and of the stability of the currency satisfactorily. |
| 27. | Town Hall serves notice that the effects of the drought persist. Water will be shut off between 4:00 and 8:00 PM and from 11:30 PM to 8:00 AM overnight. |
| 7. | Town Hall advises that the acute water shortage continues. Water will run only four hours a day, between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM. |
| 11. | More than 4,000 Ferrolians went to Lugo to take part in the celebration of San Froilán the patron saint of that city. Town Hall, Chamber of Commerce, School of Commercial Agents, local press and Radio Ferrol led a caravan of 43 buses, 122 cars and 507 motorcycles. "The line of vehicles was more than six kilometers long." Lugo's Town Hall welcomed Ferrol's in gala uniforms and "a glass of Spanish wine was served." The cavalcade was welcomed with gunpowder shells, cheers and applause. Ferrol's mayor stated that the official visit "defined the intimate union between the cities." |
| 14. |
Forty students from a rural school arrived in Ferrol at 11:00 AM accompanied by their teacher and some relatives. The trip was sponsored by "Ferrolian schoolchildren who prefer to remain anonymous and who heard the visitors express the desire to visit Ferrol over a Madrid radio broadcast." Official reception in Town Hall. Programmed visits to Radio Ferrol and to the shipyard. Lunch in the park where they received gifts from local businesses. Afternoon cruise around the bay. They returned home in the early evening.
The photograph to the left shows the schoolchildren crowding indoors around a huge table on which a model layout of the entire arsenal lies spread out. Incidentally this drawing on p. 27 of Bazan, 13, illustrates a cruel school punishment in vogue those days. |
| 18. | Soccer match between eternal rivals Ferrol and A Coruña. Final score: Ferrol 2, Deportivo 5. |
| 25. | Yearly levy in benefit of the fascist Youth Front (cf. September 10, 1955). Compulsory for the general public, owners of cafeterias, bars, restaurants, pubs, movie houses, theaters, dance halls and any premises where a public spectacle is offered. |
| 27. | Editorial headline: "The rains have arrived." |
| 29. | Editorial again takes up the subject of children hanging from the backside of trams (January 21). |
| 9. | Official state approval granted for the construction of a new railway station (above). The initial budget is 28,000,000 Pesetas. |
| 11. | Heavy rain. |
| 13. | Movie and seminar on the Islamic woman at Discípulas de Jesús School at 9:00 PM. "All young women are invited." |
| 24. | Official state approval granted for the holding of an annual industrial exhibition fair. Projected premiere: July 10-30, 1962. |
| 28. | Local basketball tournament involves sixteen juvenile teams. All games are to be played in the gymnasium. Games start at 3:30 PM this afternoon and continue tomorrow from 9:30 AM. |
| 30. | Powerful gale causes "a lot of damage." "Hundreds of roof tiles and window panes fell to the streets...there was considerable damage in parks and gardens...a cedar was uprooted in Plaza de Amboage...power outages were very frequent throughout the day...tram, electrical power and telephone service was curtailed...there were delays in road and railway traffic." |
| 3. | Public lighting is still out in some places. |
| 4. | Note criticizes the long-term closure of the public washrooms beneath the gazebo of the downtown gardens (above). |
| 7. | Turkish cargo ship Kihirsehir in harbour for repairs. |
| 10. | British freighter "Liverpool" in harbour for repairs. |
| 12. | Local police find an abandoned batch of cod in the street. |
| 17. | The musical associations of Bazan put on a Christmas charity show at Teatro Jofre. Full house. "The concert was an apotheosis of success." Three pieces sung were: Asturian lullaby No Llores, Né ♥ Galician farewell Un Adiós a Mariquiña ♥ Sephardic love song Durme, Durme. |
| 23. |
76-year-old woman tried to commit suicide in the harbour but was thwarted by dockside workers. Heavy rain causes flooding and landslides in outlying areas. "Veritable torrents of rain fell around 3:08 AM." |
| 27. | The heavy rains continue. |
| Ferrol's New England Theater (1906-1914) |
Bazan, 13, reported on the children's visit to the shipyard in a mainly pictorial article entitled, "Here is the beautiful dream of a rural school" (pages 26-27). The report opens thus, "These are the famous children of Devesa School (