The FEN, Spanish Naturist Federation,
requested that Carlos Gil, the FEN Secretary,
were commissioned to visit several Latin-American
countries. This request was placed at the
INF/FNI XXlX World Congress in Croatia.
Carlos Gil had already established
contact with several promoters and other people
of naturist ideas in the region. That and
the fact that he could fly cheaply due to
his working for Iberia airlines, made him
an ideal candidate. At the end of the World
Congress the Central Committee met with the
FEN representatives and the proposal was examined
together in greater detail.
As neither the commission or the commissioner
were given a name, I give it one now, along
the lines of the European Union terminology,
now in fashion, the INF-FNI ‘High Commissioner’
for the Development of Naturism in Latin-America.
The outcome of this first tour
was a great success well above our expectations.
You will further see in the report which follows
down below the evolution of naturism in these
three countries after the visit of the High
Commissioner. This report will keep expanding
as we receive further data.
Congratulations for a job well done, Carlos.
Congratulations
for a job well done, Carlos.
Ismael Rodrigo, presidente de la FEN
January 2005
|
MY INF/IFN
TRIP IN SOUTH AMERICA: CHILE-ARGENTINA-URUGUAY,
by Carlos Gil
|
CHILE, René Rojas |
 |
November
30th
I arrive on the 30th at 9:30. René
Rojas was there waiting for mi as he had
told me. His friend and club member, Iván,
was also there with him.
After a 12 hour flight, and an 80 minute
nap, I was taken to PLAYA
LUNA, the naturist main venue. The place
is beautiful, (it reminded me of Templo
del Sol, in Tarragona, Spain). René
and Iván informed me about their
expectations, its history and its potential
as a naturist place.
An hour later, the journalists from “Últimas
Noticias”. (click), arrived. At
three o’clock we went to have something
to eat to a rural area by the road.
|
There I showed them all the
material I had with me and I took some time
to explain what the INF is all about. In the
afternoon we met the mayor of the municipality,
Agustín Valencia. The beach, PUCHUNCAVÍ,
is within the boundaries of that municipality.
He confessed himself a naturist as he is a
nudist for recreation but he would never confess
it in public. He was enthusiastic about declaring
the beach as part of an ecologically protected
area to protect the seagull nests and the
local beaver.
I spent the night at my relatives’.
|
December
1st
I have an appointment at ‘El
Mercurio’, the newspaper, at ten.
For over two hours I am interviewed for
the Sunday edition of that newspaper which
is sold all over the country. Later, picture
taking in the garden of the newspaper building.
After lunch, I take the bus and head for
Valparaíso, a city with many administration
services. I visit the house of the poet
Pablo Neruda, and stroll round the city
which has been declared World Heritage by
UNESCO.
I have dinner with Cristobal Fernández,
Director of the Department for Industry
at the Federico Santamaría University
for Technology, and with Carlos Ramírez,
|
 |
| Director of International Relations
and Cooperation of the University of Valparaíso.
We talk about the above mentioned project
for Playa Luna. I again spend the night at
my r elatives’. |
| |
|
December
2nd
I leave Valparaíso at 7:50 and board
the coach to Santiago.
At 10:00 I meet the Director of the National
Tourist Service, ( SERNATUR,
S.) Santalices, who holds the same rank
as a Minister, and his closest assistants.
Rojas is also present.
The outcome is very positive. These are
some of the agreements: 1. to set up an
integral plan for the area, 2. To promote
social awareness through the media, 3. The
Playa-Luna Group is given the management
of the beach, 4. The establishment of an
environmental action plan together with
the municipality and Playa Luna in order
to protect the local beaver, in danger of
extinction, and the seagull nests, and finally,
5. |
Santalices, René
& Carlos
in Sernatur |
To set up, in a short period of time,
three naturist developments in three abandoned
mining towns in the North of Chile. Blue
flags will be raised in high environmental
quality beaches, naturist beaches included.
To discuss the particulars of these projects
there will be three party meetings: SERNATUR,
the mayor of Puchuncaví and the
Playa Luna management.
|
| |
|
During the International Fair
for Tourism, (FITUR), January/February 2005,
in Madrid, there will be working sessions
in order to outline the future of tourism
for naturists in Chile.
We hold a press conference at the end of our
meeting. See: La
Tercera; Las
Últimas Noticias;Another fromLa
Tercera; La
Nación (recomended)
In the afternoon I visited the public exhibition,
‘Painted
Bodies’, in La Moneda Square.
Later, working session in the home of René
Rojas.
My relatives put me up for the night. |
Can't
imagine Pinochet walking into the Casa de
la Moneda: a carabineer, the Chilean flag...and
naked bodies! |
|
| ARGENTINA |
 |
December 3RD
At 7:30 I leave for the airport of Santiago,
bound for Córdoba, Argentina, on a
LAN Chile flight. I arrive in Córdoba
and I have to wait for over an hour to go
through customs. Miguel Suárez, the
promoter of Yatan
Rumi.
is waiting for me. |
We stop in Córdoba to
work on the Internet and to have a photo session.
Yatan Rumi is a 1,200 Hectares property, a
granite quarry, which is crossed by several
rivers and with and exceptional flora of bushes
and trees. There are cows, fowls, foxes and
insects which shared the place with us. The
condors and the eagles flew very close to
our shelter.
It may very well be the widest and most ecological
naturist place in the world. Presently it
was taken care of by Pablo
Urso, the painter.
The Yatan Rumi people are friendly and cordial.
They treat visitors as if they were members
of their family. We spent the night in a hut
under the stars. |
December
4th
The birds chirping wake us up. After breakfast
all the lodgers at the cabin go for a walk.
We saw remains of old stone houses, cows
and their calves. We swam in a river and
then we returned for lunch under the powerful
sun of the southern tip.
Foxes keep us company, (we were twelve in
all), and take away whatever remains of
our meal.
We go out for another stroll in the country.
On our return we talk about organized naturism.
After supper we have a rest after the four
hours of talks. It was two in the morning.
December 5th
In the morning, Pablo Urso, Florencia Brenner,
secretary for the APANNA, and I had breakfast
while we continued with the talks of the
night before.
Among other items in the agenda, we prepared
the meeting with the Argentine Secretary
of State. |
 |
Three journalists from the first
paper in the country, Clarín, turn
up at lunch time:
- Crece
la movida naturista, ¿se viene una
Argentina al desnudo? (14-I-2005)
- Los
nudistas nos miramos siempre a los ojos
(17-I-2005)
- Infobae: Buenos
Aires al natural (18 Enero 2005) |
We are interviewed and taken some pictures
in the country. The German photographer is
a regular naturist. The weather gets worse
and ends up raining.
Florence takes the bus, I head for the airport:
our destination, Buenos Aires.
At 23:30 I go to spend the night at APREA,
‘bed and breakfast’ in the very
centre of the federal capital. |
 |
 |
| |
"El
Tobagán" of Yatam Rumi
|
December
6th
I have breakfast with one of the owners, Sergio
Aprea
(see website). See video-reportaje
from Canal 9 (wmv, 1,3MB). At 10:00 a.m. I
have and interview with the most important
radio personality in Argentina, Rolando
Hangling. Somebody that was listening,
gives me a call and wants to know more about
naturism. She is a partner in a small chain
of hotels. We agree to meet later in the afternoon.
At 4:00, L. shows up and tells me of her interest
in setting up a naturist hotel. That is a
tourist area not far from the Falls. I think
she is enthusiastic about the development
of naturist tourism and its potential. |
 |
She said she would
put forward the proposal at the next Executive
Board meeting.
After that, the Aprea club members and I meet
again in order to decide whether they want
to run a naturist hotel, as an alternative
to their present status.
They put me up for the night at Aprea. |
| |
|
December
7th
I spend the morning in the centre of the capital
city getting Iberia flight tickets, bus tickets
to go to Rosario, photocopying pictures and
working on the Internet.
In the afternoon I meet some journalists and
we agree to take on the commitment to spread
the notion of naturism even further, in the
near future.
At 20:30, the founding members of APANNA
hold a welcoming reception for me at Florencia
Brenner’s , the Secretary.
At the ensuing meeting we deal with topics
such as information, organization and naturist
proper. |
 |
We also talk about INF, FEN,
the history of naturism and others. In order
to provide a service to the community, they
conclude, they must start looking for a place
for naturist recreation.
The meeting ends at 1:30 and I head for Aprea.
|
December
8th
José Blanco and another member of
EDEN,
come to pick me up at 10:30. Then, they
take me to their property in the Department
of Moreno, an administrative area, an hour
away from Buenos Aires.
EDEN is a property of about 12,500 square
metres, which has a house, small pool, garden
and a restaurant and sports area.
There were about 20 people at the presentations
and talk. We also had lunch, after which
the leading commission and I meet to discuss
all about the INF membership as they could
not see the difference there was between
being a club or an association. What part
they could play within the INF was item
under discussion. |
EDEN's
Governing Board |
They define themselves as
a welcoming club of nudists in this rented
property. A group of eight persons manage
the place.
At 18:30 they drop me at Aprea.
I take the bus towards Rosario at 19:45
and I arrive there at 23:55.
I spend the night in the house of some relatives
of mine. |
| |
|
December
9th
At 11:30 I give a short talk at the Faculty
for Civil Engineering and at 12:30 I am interviewed
for Channel 3 TV.
Anecdotes: outside people were waiting for
me to ask me all kinds of questions on how
and where to be anaturist in Rosario. I am
stopped in the street, several times, to congratulate
me on my work and give me their support for
the movement. One of them was the head of
the anti-drug police department.
|
 |
 |
I have lunch with a professor at the Faculty
for Civil Engineering.
I meet Claudio Márquez, the driving
force behind the naturist movement in Rosario.
He is trying to found a naturist association.
I have supper with my relatives and leave
for Buenos Aires by bus at 2:05. I sleep on
board. |
| |
|
December
10th
I arrive at Retiro, Buenos Aires bus station,
at 6:00. I take a taxi cab to APREA. I take
a short rest there after breakfast.
Jorge, the APANNA president, comes round
to pick me up to go by taxi cab to a meeting
with Carlos Meyer, the Secretary of State
for Tourism
in Argentina directly under the President
of the Nation. We start at 13:00 and we
soon find we understand each other well.
He is highly knowledgable and open minded.
, Alejandro García, Director for
International Relations to the Secretary
was also present. The Mayor of Buenos Aires
and the head of the province could not be
located, (as they were actually travelling),
in spite of Mr Meyer’s efforts to
bring them to the meeting.
We agreed to meet during FITUR, the Tourism
International Fair, in Madrid.
|
Carlos with the Licenciado
Alejandro García, the Director of
the International Relations Office for Tourism&
Jorge Virinni, APANNA president
Press: "Ya
hay 7 lugares donde se puede hacer nudismo
en la Argentina" (Corrientes Noticias,
20-I-2005)
Similar news in Clarín
(17-I-05) |
I come back to Aprea, to retrieve
my personal belongings and say good bye.
I board a Pluna airline company plane at Aeroparque
bound for Punta del Este, Uruguay.
At my arrival, Marcela and her children were
waiting for me to take me to El
Refugio, the place which her husband,
Ricardo Rodal, runs facing the naturist beach
of Chihuahua, at 12 Km from Punta del Este.
I have supper and try to fall asleep. |
 |
 |
| |
|
| URUGUAY |
Flor- Ricardo-Carlos
Mª Lucas-Laventure-Carlos "Liga
de Fomento de Punta del Este"
|
December 11th 11
I wake up in Chihuahua.
What a beautiful feeling: the sun, the birds
and the sea, (who cares whether it is a river
or a sea: the mouth is 50 Km wide); all join
in.
We have a relaxing breakfast and then a stroll
on the sand.
As the new Government will take over in February,
2005, we decided to visit the tourist authorities
of those regions most frequented, Punta
del Este and Rocha.
This morning we meet Martín Laventure,
Director of the Office for Tourism in the
administrative region
of Maldonado, Punta del Este. The meeting
was a success, which is becoming the norm
with the politicians, committing his office
to an assortment of decisions concerning the
local naturist movement.
The president of the Uruguayan Naturist Association,
AUDEN, Ricardo, owner of El Refugio, and Florencia
from the APANNA, Mr Laventure and I had a
press conference, in the presence of photographers
and TV cameras. As a follow up, we were invited
to a radio station and a TV channel to express
our opinions.
We also met Néstor González
, a local representative for the enterprising
world. I had the opportunity of explaining
the development of that commercial sector
in Spain. They agreed to support our movement
and they in turn requested our collaboration
in order to find all kinds of support from
European institutions. |
Later, we went to Channel 7
TV, where we were interviewed. We invited
the people who interviewed us to come and
join us at the beach the next day, as they
showed such an interest. (see El
País, pdf document)
We had supper and spent the night at El Refugio.
|
| |
|
December
12th
I went out to take some pictures as it was
a sunny day, and then I had breakfast.
In the middle of the morning a reporter
and a Channel 7 cameraman, (Maldonado) and
Channel 10, (Montevideo), arrived. We were
interviewed in a very correct manner and
they asked the permission of those naturists
at the beach before shooting. Most of them
agreed as they are eager to spread the philosophy
in Uruguay.
At 16:30 an official car comes by El Refugio
hotel to drive us to Rocha.
Rocha is an administrative province in the
north of the country which holds areas of
natural beauty. Many of these areas have
been declared ‘Reverve of the Biosphere’
by the UNESCO.
Jorge Simeone was there waiting for us.
He is a Director for Tourism
in Rocha. |
Interview: Ricardo
and his family |
|
| There were also those people
who had demanded the official recognition
of Aguas Dulces, a 2 Km long and 400 m wide
area of dunes, as a naturist place. Some handcrafted
placards with the name of Playa la Sirena
welcome the local and national press which
is present there that day. Cacho Cola, its
promoter, showed us what from now on is going
to be naturist diggings, whose owner is Mr
Cola himself. I show him the material I have
which shows what is being done round the world.
The area is immediately declared a nudist
area. |
We meet Mr Simeone for an hour.
He assures us that this is the first step
to declare all the Rocha shore a naturist
recreation area and the official acceptance
of nudism all over the province.
A reporter from El País, the Spanish
newspaper, interviews us, Carlos Lucas and
me, back again in Punta del Este.
We arrive at El Refugio at 23:50. Exhausted,
I fall asleep.
Aspen:
Carlos Gil radio Interview. (mp3, 1,30MB,
5 min) |
|
Hasta pronto Chihuahua
|
December 13th
THE COMEBACK
We had breakfast at 8:00. Ricardo gives me
a lift to the airport at 10:00. The Pluna
flight is bound for Aeroparque, Buenos Aires
airport. I take a cab for Ezeiza, in order
to board the Iberia flight to Madrid at 14:30.
|
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|
December
14th
MADRID
I arrived in Madrid, Barajas, at 6:00. I
head for home straight away to leave the
luggage, have a shower, and then I take
off for the urban
spa AQUAESTÉTICA (first Naturist
Spa in Madrid), where Ismael Rodrigo, the
FEN president, is going to meet me and the
member of the committee, Manel, to get together
with some managers of Spanish naturist enterprises.
This is a meeting to prepare the agenda
for our first historical meeting with the
governmental highest authority for tourism
in Spain, which is expected to be held a
few hours later.
At 13:00, the Spanish Secretary of State
for Tourism, Raimón Martínez
Fraile, vonverses with us for an hour and
a half. He is also the Director of TURESPAÑA.
The FEN president’s main proposal
and the group of businessmen who are with
us is to request state support for the naturist
tourism. For example, to include information
on Spanish Naturist Tourism, a similar initiative
to the one undertaken by the governments
of France or Croatia.
We were greatly satisfied with the outcome.
This historical meeting will be the topic
of a future article, though.
I return home at 21:00 and have a rest.
For finish the day, Ismael and me spend
one hour in the national Spain Borathcastin
Radio 1, form 24:00 to 01:00. A very goog
program ("El ombligo de la luna").
Those were two weeks with a full agenda.
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CARLOS GIL , December 2004.-
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