Rocío Laura Espinosa López-CeperoLaura Valenzuela. In Spain, she was a pioneer of television, to the point that she was the first presenter that TVE had. She was also the one at the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest or the unforgettable Galas del Sábado with the aforementioned Joaquín Prat. A figure present in many homes, and the brands were aware of it: this “Influencers” thing, you can see that, except for the name in question, it is nothing new.
And among those brands, the Spanish Tourism Automobile Society, SEAT, of course, opted for the actress and presenter.
Searching through the brand’s archives, we came across several testimonials from this association. In number 31 of “SEAT, Company Magazine” (published during the Christmas holidays of 1968) appears the publication of the presentation of the Seat 1500 version 1969, the famous «bifaro», made at the brand’s headquarters in Madrid. There it is said that “…the very popular Laura Valenzuela and Joaquín Prat” acted as presenters. Both starred in a short film about the new saloon: “The film had been more explicit than a long technical dissertation, which, on the other hand, was prepared for anyone who wanted to request it,” says the Time.news.
And within the same number, there is an interview where (let’s remember that 1968 was the year of the presentation of the 124) the presenter is asked
— Joaquín, how is your new 124?
— I’ve only had it for fifteen days. So far great. But, anyway, you know better than me the class of the car.
— Why 124?
— My wife liked it and so did I. Me, I have no idea about mechanics, but the car is spacious and elegant, and how would she tell you? it suits us very well.
Laura has just finalized some details about the next number (we are on a break from filming in the famous studio 1 of “Saturday Galas”). She approaches us.
— We were talking about cars, Laura…
Laura Valenzuela interrupts.
— Well, it’s not that I envy Joaquín’s 124. But if it occurred to SEAT to tell the Kings to give me one…
Laura Valenzuela presents the 1430 at the brand’s headquarters in Madrid
And the 1430 arrives
In the spring of 1969, 1430 appears, just one year after the 124 with which it shares the platform, bodywork and mechanics, although the latter sees its displacement increased by 20%. It went from 1,197 to 1,438 cc, and the power rises from 65 to 75 CV. In addition, the design differences, especially the front with four square headlights instead of the two round ones, as well as the interior, gave it another air. And the behavior also meant a significant qualitative leap thanks to a lighter and better guided rear end, and the incorporation of radial tires.
And in the magazine of the brand included the official presentation of the new model: «Several hundred guests, among whom were numerous personalities, attended the nice act in which Laura Valenzuela made her personal grace shine once again by showing the new car carefully, with her fine comments and her translation of the characteristics of the car. vehicle to the language with which women usually deal with mechanical issues. Laura then gave the turn to an “off” voice -that of Matías Prats- who, now seriously, explained to the bystanders the characteristics of the car, its technical qualities, and the benefits it is capable of”.
Although derived from the 124, the 1430 brought great differences in behavior
In September 1971Laura Valenzuela, in number 56 of the magazine “SEAT” is interviewed:
—Laura Valenzuela said many beautiful things about 1430 when this model appeared, which she presented in public. Do you still believe them?
-Yes of course. It’s a comfortable car, isn’t it? And elegant.
To Laura Valenzuela, mechanics says very little. But she has miles under her belt.
—1430 is beautiful inside and out…
“And apart from pretty?”
“It’s comfortable and fast, isn’t it?”
“Well, you’re the one who thinks.
“He drives wonderfully and this is important to the woman.”
“Isn’t that too fast, precisely, for the woman?”
I think it’s a matter of prudence. I think that the more power the car has, the better it can be controlled and, therefore, driven.
«Laura Valenzuela is of a simple logic. talking about carshas that same intelligent attitude that leads her to say the right thing, almost the exact thing, when it is so difficult to stay between justice and exactitude”, comments the interviewer who continues with a new question:
—With the woman, although the woman is in this case as qualified as Laura Valenzuela, the topical question is almost inevitable. As a driver, there are still those who think that the woman, even in the best of cases, is only so-so.
—I think that at this point it is no longer possible to generalize about the female driver. There are, as with men, good and bad drivers. The woman, on the other hand, although she likes speed, she does not usually, when she drives, exceed. I also think that women are getting more used to the car every day. Today the woman can drive a big car just like a man.
“A car like the 1430?”
-Of course!
Together with his television partner Joaquín Prat, another television legend also linked to SEAT
Bueno, a few lines before it was Joaquín Prat the one who answered the journalist’s questions, and at one point in the interview talks about the benefits of 1430 in a way that would currently create a scandal on social networks:
“I’ve reached a hundred and forty-five kilometers per hour.” But the car is practically running out.
And to this the interviewer added some lines that are not wasted: «Joaquín Prat does not like to run nor does he stop liking it. Joaquín Prat, with that balance that characterizes him, is not crazy about speed; but if you have to run, he runs and in peace… »
Under the title “Speed at all comfort”a No-Do production for “Cine-Seat” (with a script and production by José Ochoa), Laura Valenzuela, and as co-star in this case none other than the pilot Jorge de Bagration, would also make a promotional film for 1430 which is another curiosity not to miss.
Testimonies of a time that must be seen in their context and that we bring to these lines to remember the figure of Laura Valenzuela, a true symbol in a society, like the Spanish one, in which the automobile was also beginning to play an important role.
Today, all the Spaniards who lived through that time mourn the loss of that special woman, who amazed everyone, not only for her beauty, but for her good work. She could present the most comical, but also the most serious. It was carried out in several languages… Those who at that time agreed to the baptism of the wheel, also remember it accompanying the arrival of those models of the 60s, which dazzled from the pages of the motor magazines of that time, and from the screen of the incipient television .
Laura Valenzuela and the SEATs… What more can be said? A whole era that marked many lives.