In the 50′s spanish dictator General Franco had prohibited the bikini on Spanish beaches (among many other things, including disagreeing with him). But in our many, many, many Bikini readings we found a piece in the Spanish Newspaper “El País” about the man who dared to go against the general.
Pedro Zaragosa was maire of little beach village Benidorm and he saw year after year the modern Swedish girls come to Spain with their little bikinis. It war evident that if Benidorm wanted to attract those tourists it should allow them to wear a Bikini. With that in mind, Pedro created a local law that allowed the use of Bikinis in Benidorm.
We would guess that the first one to go after Pedro would be Franco, but Pedro’s biggest problems were with the church. So big he took his little Vespa and drove all the way to Madrid to knock on Franco’s door, whom actually let him in.
Pedro managed to have Franco’s silent consent and Bernidorm became at that time Spain’s Bikini Vacation Resort.
Read the whole piece in Spanish.
The Swedish came first: Beatriz Ledesma, the first Spanish girl to wear a bikini in Benidorm.
