Notes in Spanish podcast no 45 - El 600

[Ben]

Marina chats to her father about classic journeys in the Seat 600, the vehicle of choice (or necessity?) in the Franco Era, plus a great trip across Spain he made on the back of a friend's Labretta.

Listen here (http://www.notesinspanish.com/2006/08/29/notes-in-spanish-podcast-advanced-45-el-600/)

Get the worksheet here (http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/)

[greytop]

Marina chats to her father about classic journeys in the Seat 600, the vehicle of choice (or necessity?) in the Franco Era, .....

What a coincidence. There was a reader's letter in the paper yesterday from someone complaining that they could no longer take the family (of 7 or 8) to the campo or the beach as with all the rules about child seats etc. they couldn't fit in the car. They finished by saying they never had this problem years ago with the 600 that they could all get in!
My spanish is not up to deciding whether the letter was "tongue in cheek"!!

[Marbella]

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful...:) :'(

Anyone out there want more from a podcast about Spain than this? Not me.

[Marina]

Thanks Marbella and Greytop, I'll show your messages to my father sometime this weekend, I'm sure he will be delighted;)

[Marbella]

Our abuelo used to have a 600. He bought it in the early 60s and loved telling the story of how he drove from Madrid, where he lived, to the family pueblo in La Rioja. When he arrived, people gathered around the car like they were royalty and they wanted their photo taken next to it. I'll try and get a copy of one of the photos next time I'm in Madrid if they won't mind me posting it here.

Marina - if your parents would tell more stories like this (the one with 'los serenos' NIS 6 was perfection!), I for one would be really grateful.

[Ben]

Marina - if your parents would tell more stories like this (the one with 'los serenos' NIS 6 was perfection!), I for one would be really grateful.
I was really excited about this one going out today as I think it is a classic bit of audio, so I'm delighted it has gone down well so far. I loved hearing Marina talking about how they willed the other car up the hill Animo! Animo! - and obviously I love the idea of the Lambretta journey to Vigo (it's a question of when, not if I do it - on my Vespa perhaps!)

If you like idea of the Seat 600 floating around Franco's Spain, then you have to read (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0140185356/202-2475839-5856646?v=glance&n=266239&s=gateway&v=glance) Monsignor Quixote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsignor_Quixote) by Graeme Greene - here's a mini review I wrote of it ages ago: A wonderful journey through Spain in the company of Monsignor Quixote, an aging priest, and his friend Sancho Panza, the communist mayor. Together they set out in Rocinante, an old Seat 600, to encounter prostitutes in Madrid, a hospitable vineyard owner, and the dreaded Guardia Civil. Vintage Graham Greene and a classic take on Cervantes' Don Quixote.
And yes, more from the in-laws is a must!

[Marbella]

I was really excited about this one going out today as I think it is a classic bit of audio, so I'm delighted it has gone down well so far. I loved hearing Marina talking about how they willed the other car up the hill Animo! Animo! - and obviously I love the idea of the Lambretta journey to Vigo (it's a question of when, not if I do it - on my Vespa perhaps!)

If you like idea of the Seat 600 floating around Franco's Spain, then you have to read (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0140185356/202-2475839-5856646?v=glance&n=266239&s=gateway&v=glance) Monsignor Quixote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsignor_Quixote) by Graeme Greene - here's a mini review I wrote of it ages ago:
And yes, more from the in-laws is a must!

I bet you were excited because it's blooody brilliant. I'm just a sucker for this kind of stuff. Hats off to whoever came up with the idea. I came over all nostalgic this morning when I saw it on the front page; brought a tear to my eye it genuinely did:'( . Thanks for the Greene tip too, I'm ordering a copy now.

[guapo]

Marina, my thanks to you and your father. I agree with Marbella this was fantastic. Do you have any pictures of the car?

I can remember about 5 years or so ago getting a ride in a colleagues Fiat 500 ("cinquecento") in Italy. There were five of us in the car and it was only a short trip but it was cosy to say the least. I can't imagine what it must have been like to do an all day trip in a 600 (which if I understood right is slightly smaller).

Muchas gracias

[Ben]

There are some photos here (http://www.seiscientos.org/coches/coches.htm), the first white one in the second row looks just like Marina's father's version. I stupidly can't find the pics I have of it... I'll take some next time we are there.

[ValenciaSon]

Very interesting slice of Spain's past told in great detail by your father, Marina. I can't wait to get my father to listen to this.

Thanks again Ben for your acoustic prowess in capturing this gem of a podcast.

Muchisimas gracias a los tres!


Recuerdos

[ValenciaSon]

When I lived in Spain, it seemed like the everyday car for every man was the Seat 1430.

[Ben]

Very interesting slice of Spain's past told in great detail by your father, Marina. I can't wait to get my father to listen to this.

You must tell us what he thought and.... couldn't you record some of his stories from the old says in Spain? Even on video if you can't sort out podcasting. something like this wonderful guy maybe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ6B2qOFp7Y)...

[Marina]

Marina, my thanks to you and your father. I agree with Marbella this was fantastic. Do you have any pictures of the car?

I can remember about 5 years or so ago getting a ride in a colleagues Fiat 500 ("cinquecento") in Italy. There were five of us in the car and it was only a short trip but it was cosy to say the least. I can't imagine what it must have been like to do an all day trip in a 600 (which if I understood right is slightly smaller).

Muchas gracias

I supposse you got the ride in the renovated model that has been in the market for the past 10 years or so, not in the old version, didn't you?. The 500 is slightly smaller than the 600, but probably there is not much difference between the two of them.

In this webpage (http://www.autogaleria.pl/tapety/fiat.php)you can find the old 500 in the first row of pics, the old 600 in the second row and the new 500 in the last row.

[ValenciaSon]

You must tell us what he thought and.... couldn't you record some of his stories from the old says in Spain? Even on video if you can't sort out podcasting. something like this wonderful guy maybe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ6B2qOFp7Y)...






Well I would certainly love to capture some of my father's experiences and share it with all who would listen. He also was born in 1927. I don't have the podcasting gear at the moment. Does NFS or YouTube take AVI files?

[Pepino]

Valencia Son, I'd definitely listen to that if you can manage to organise it.

I'm fascinated by the whole era around the civil war and the years that followed. The stories on El Mundo that Ben gave a link to recently were amazing. It's incredible what people went through in a time when the words "trauma" and "stress" were probably rarely used. Here's the link again for anyone who missed it.

http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2006/07/espana/guerracivil/francos.html

[Ben]

Well I would certainly love to capture some of my father's experiences and share it with all who would listen. He also was born in 1927. I don't have the podcasting gear at the moment. Does NFS or YouTube take AVI files?

You just post the avi file to youtube and it does the rest. Try google video too maybe. Please do this if you can! There are lots of us that would love to hear this and I will definitely flag it up on NFS! I remember the comments from your father that you posted before (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132), absolutely fascinating stuff!

[guapo]

I supposse you got the ride in the renovated model that has been in the market for the past 10 years or so, not in the old version, didn't you?. The 500 is slightly smaller than the 600, but probably there is not much difference between the two of them.

In this webpage (http://www.autogaleria.pl/tapety/fiat.php)you can find the old 500 in the first row of pics, the old 600 in the second row and the new 500 in the last row.

it was one of the old ones exactly as in the pictures. A truly fun little car, I can remember a visting US workmate saying that he could fit the whole car into the back of his pickup :)

I think the owner bought it in the 1970's and was still using it regularly to get to the office until only a few years ago. What killed it off in the end were some anti-pollution laws that prevented it from being driven into the city during the rush hour without some expensive modifications.

[Edith]

What a delightful podcast! This Seat 600 must have been Spain's equivalent of the GDR's Trabant or 'Trabi'. Everyone was poor(ish), yet everyone could afford one.


http://www.apolda.de/sites_kultur/images/landkarte-trabant.jpg

[JohnR]

En la parte después de Marina diciendo ''Animo ..

¿Qué quiere decir 'no tiraba el coche'?