The last Spanish adventurer dies at 84

USPA NEWS - The Spanish reporter, athlete and adventurer Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo died at 6.00 am on Friday at his home in Madrid, at 84. He died the same day that marks 510 years of the death of the discoverer of America, Christopher Columbus.

Born in Madrid on April 30, 1932, Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo was the driver of the BBVA Route, declared of universal interest by UNESCO. Suffering from a serious illness, it has worsened since last Christmas and journalist died "quiet" this Friday with his wife and son. He studied agricultural expert, but his real passion was sport. It was a real athlete part of the section of Athletics Real Madrid and getting a total of nine championships in Spain, six in disk, two in weight and one in hammer throw. He also participated in the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960.

De la Quadra-Salcedo was a real adventurer. From 1961 to 1963, he worked as ethnobotany in the Amazon River to the Colombian Government salary. On his return to Spain, in 1963, he was contracted by Spanish Television (TVE) as a reporter. In his first work he had to cover information from the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he was on the verge of death after being sentenced to death for having filmed the execution of 300 prisoners.

As TVE correspondent he covered the Vietnam War and the coup of September 11, 1973, in Chile, perpetrated by General Augusto Pinochet, among many other events. His credits also include reports on the death of Che Guevara, Biafra, the Yom Kippur war and the return of Juan Domingo Peron to Argentina. The documentary 'Chile, curfew' was censored and could not be seen in Spain until 18 years after its completion.

De la Quadra-Salcedo was defined himself as "nomadic." In the mid-seventies of last century it changed the reportage of war for adventure. A year and half ago explained the reasons in an interview with the newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya. "There were other times and other means we had to live with the temptation to take sides with one side, which is not recommended, even in the if the just causes. So I changed reports for adventure. I preferred to Orellana and Amundsen. My experience showed me that even the popular liberation fronts purer end up corrupted."

In 1979, at the suggestion of King Juan Carlos I, De la Quadra-Salcedo created the 'Adventure 92', now called 'BBVA Route' program. Over thirty editions, over 9,000 young people around the world have had the opportunity to travel by Latin American countries. "The route is inspired by a Socratic program quickly summarized: discover yourself and then project yourself," he explained in the interview. "I feel like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, leading to young people after my footsteps," he added.