Chapter 4 Chapter 3

·Stunning dinner · Prepare for half a year ·wedding March ·Flying Crisis ·The Pain of Bereavement After leading the Spanish roller skating team to win the world championship, Samaranch's life became more colorful. He was often invited to attend buffets or dances held by celebrities in Barcelona, ​​and he also met many girlfriends.Later, at a family masquerade ball held by Count Godot, Samaranch met a graceful and luxurious woman. Luxury and elegance.Compared with her, Samaranch felt that the pastel pinks he knew before had no color.Coupled with Earl Godot's meticulous arrangement of his residence, the lady is even more charming and charming against the soft lighting and harmonious tones.Her name was Mercedes Salisakis, and she was an amateur writer.

Count Godot always organizes family masquerade balls with originality, and each ball has a theme.The theme this time is "Under the Sea".All the people who participated in the ball dressed up as various creatures on the seabed, including corals, water demons, seaweeds, various fishes and so on.Everyone seemed to be in a strange seabed, dancing and having fun.Mrs. Mercedes dressed as a wave, dressed in soft blue and green, drifting in the sea of ​​people.The fine veil lifted by the breeze showed her slim figure.The judging took place after the ball and, as usual, Mrs. Mercedes was awarded first prize for the ladies.

Samaranch was deeply overwhelmed by Mrs. Mercedes' beauty and bearing, and since then he had a wish: to meet a girl as charming as Mrs. Mercedes.This wish made Samaranch once confused.In fact, these performances of Samaranch have long been seen by his friends.They told Samaranch that Mrs. Mercedes had a niece, Maria Theresa Salklsache-Rowe, who did not yet have a boyfriend. This girl later became Samaranch's wife. Maria was born in Barcelona on December 26, 1932.Maria's father, Mrs. Mercedes' brother, Pedro Salisakis, was the owner of a flour mill. Later, he added several real estate properties. There is also a house named Femina on Avenue Garcia in Barcelona. movie theater.Unfortunately, the movie theater was consumed by a fire of unknown origin in April 1991.

Pedro's parents died before he came of age.The difficult life has developed his stubborn character and enterprising spirit.As a factory owner, he still maintains the style of a laborer. When he comes home, he always carries a few grains of wheat in the corners of his trousers, and the legs of his trousers are also stained with flour. The living habits of people in Barcelona are the same as those in the whole of Spain. People don't eat lunch until 2 pm.Five or six o'clock in the afternoon is the time for snacks. Everyone sits together and drinks a cup of coffee and eats a snack.Dinner is usually eaten after 10 o'clock in the evening, and it often takes two or three hours to eat.After dinner, many people go to the bar to drink fruit wine or coffee.Everyone chatted, sang, danced and had fun together.

However, Barcelona people also have a habit that is different from other places in Spain, that is, many people will not stay in one place quietly drinking and chatting, but come and go in a hurry, constantly changing places, and hurrying when the seats are not warm. rush to another place, as if in a competition to see who goes to the most places. Pedro also occasionally goes for a drink, and sometimes comes and goes.But he left in a hurry, definitely not to rush to the next bar, he must have remembered something about work, and he was always thinking about his factory. Pedro's hard work brought him success and money.Gradually, he also became a celebrity in Barcelona.However, he does not want to get too involved in social situations, so his reputation is far less than that of the Samaranch family.

Maria was deeply influenced by her father's style and life experiences.She studied hard and pursued improvement since she was a child.The family's economic conditions also created conditions for her to receive a good education.She completed secondary school at the same German school that Samaranch had attended, then studied in Paraguay and a year in London.At home, she also participated in journalism training courses and published some articles in newspapers and magazines. Maria loves life and has a wide range of interests.She speaks fluent English and French, and plays the piano well.She also enjoys photography, fine arts, theater and classical music.

Maria was not in Barcelona when Samaranch heard about it.But before that, Maria had noticed Samaranch, but Samaranch didn't know it. Although he had no chance to see her beauty, Samaranch was already overwhelmed by the rumored beauty and temperament of Maria. The two were fascinated by each other, but they never had the chance to meet each other. Finally, Samaranch couldn't hold back anymore. He asked his cousin Cecilia and a friend Paco Platon to match up, and sent Cupid's arrow to Maria.Maria has also been looking forward to this day, and naturally they hit it off.Cecilia has always been a good matchmaker, and she arranged Samaranch's first official date with Maria at her own home.

It was a sunny day in the spring of 1955. The sky was blue and the ground was green. All things re-germinated the vitality that had been buried for a whole winter.Choosing such a day allows two young people who have long admired but never met to meet and know each other, which shows that Cecilia has unique ingenuity.As night fell, Maria came to Cecilia's house as promised.Cecilia welcomed her into the living room, and Samaranch was waiting at the door of the living room.He was wearing a brown double-breasted suit, a light blue shirt and a plain tie that set off his delicate face.Seemingly acquainted by chance, before Cecilia introduced him, Samaranch stretched out his right hand and said cordially:

"Hello, Miss Maria." Maria also extended her right hand.Samaranch found that her cheeks and hands were particularly fair, and her whole body was almost yellow: long golden hair was evenly draped over her shoulders; a beige dress showed her graceful figure; The yellow high heels further accentuated her curvaceous charm.Maria was a little reserved, and replied: "Hello, I have heard of you for a long time, Mr. Samaranch." Seeing that the two hit it off right away, Cecilia withdrew to the restaurant to arrange the tablecloths.Samaranch and Maria sat down on the sofa placed at right angles.Samaranch first talked about his own situation casually, and then recalled the scene when he met Mrs. Mercedes a few years ago. He spoke vividly and eloquently.

Maria listened quietly, occasionally raised her gaze, saw Samaranch's twinkling eyes, and quickly lowered her head again.After all, it was the first time she was alone with a glamorous, well-known man. Cecilia then came over and asked them to sit in the dining room. The table was covered with an orange tablecloth, three red candles were burning on a candlestick, and the low-pitched music played on the radio was flowing leisurely.Samaranch faced Cecilia, and Maria took a seat on Samaranch's right. The light and music in the restaurant create a dreamlike mood.In the candlelight, Samaranch saw that Maria looked more charming than before, and her two bright eyes were looking at him affectionately.Samaranch involuntarily moved his body to the right.

Cecilia stood up, poured wine for the two people from their right sides, and poured some mineral water into the two tall glasses.Then she served beef with peppercorns from the left side of the two. "Thank you, Cecilia." Maria said, turning her head. "Yes, Cecilia, thank you very much." Samaranch added meaningfully. Cecilia smiled and said with a pun, "You're welcome. There's Paea below, I'll go and prepare it." After speaking, Cecilia went to the kitchen again, and they were the only ones left in the dining room Two people. Paea is a Spanish dish, which is a bit similar to our Chinese eight-treasure rice. The difference is that instead of peanuts, longan, etc., the rice is filled with various seafood. "Pa" is the first syllable of "for" in Spanish, and "Eia" means "she", which together means "for her". "How is your aunt?" Samaranch asked casually in order not to interrupt the conversation, but it seemed insincere. "Why don't you talk about you and me?" Maria avoided answering, but asked Samaranch instead. Samaranch couldn't help feeling a little emotional, and couldn't help holding Maria's hand.Maria's face became hot, and she withdrew her hand. "You don't know me yet," Maria said as she cut the beef. "Maybe I'm not the kind of person you want. I was self-willed when I was a child, and I always liked to compete with others in everything. My mother worried that I would not be a good wife and a good wife." My mother always said to me, 'Even if you can't be a good wife and mother, you have to learn to behave and don't cause any trouble for him.' Who knows if I can do it in the future?" Samaranch smiled brightly and said, "It's nothing. Women should have their own place in society, not men's vassals." At this time Cecilia came and sat down, and the three talked while eating.Before I knew it, 3 hours had passed.Maria wiped her lips with a napkin, stood up and said, "It's getting late, I should go. Thank you, Cecilia, your craftsmanship is really good, I enjoyed eating." Samaranch stood up: "May I see you off?" In the moonlit night, everything is silent.The air felt a slight spring chill.Samaranch drove slowly on the empty road.Before I knew it, I had arrived at the door of Maria's house.Samaranch stopped the car and asked Maria: "There will be a roller skating race tomorrow, shall we watch it together?" "Okay, you will pick me up tomorrow." Samaranch kissed Maria on the cheek, and then watched her enter the house. That dinner started the silky love affair between the two for half a year.In the eyes of Samaranch, Maria is the stunning beauty of Barcelona.In Maria's eyes, Samaranch was simply a masterpiece of that era. He was resolute but not arrogant, serious but not cold, shy but graceful, well-dressed and decent.Maria believed that she would belong to an important person in the future, and this person seemed to be Samaranch. Samaranch was 35 years old at the time, while Maria was under 23.However, the difference in age did not constitute any obstacle between the two. On December 1, 1955, half a year after the two met, Samaranch and Maria officially held their wedding. Samaranch is a celebrity in Barcelona, ​​so the news of his marriage was reported in every newspaper.The "Pioneer" that day also published an article interviewing Maria.The report introduced the situation of Samaranch and Maria, and also mentioned that Bishop Modrego would preside over their wedding.I don't want this article to have sparked a protest from Bishop Modrego.A snippet of this article is as follows: - Did you realize that it was going to be a character?the reporter asked. —I shall be the wife of a character.Maria answered. —Are you born to be the wife of a man, or for something else? ——He was born in his time, I was born in my time, we only come together occasionally. ——Are you going to be a qualified lady? ——No, it is not necessary. — When did you know him? —I already knew him.It's been less than a year with him, but I think that's enough. —What gift did he give you? —You know that, but there is also a small car. ——Do you know the contents of Paul’s Epistles? —that a woman should obey her husband, but that was a long-ago doctrine —Have you read "The Qualified Lady"? --No. - What are you looking forward to now? — looking forward to getting married. According to the "New Testament", Paul is one of the founders of Christianity.Legend has it that after Jesus ascended to heaven, he appeared to Paul and directly asked him to act as a messenger to spread the gospel of Christianity.So Paul went on several trips to preach.He not only preached orally and established churches in various places, but also contacted churches in various places by writing letters to spread Christian doctrine more widely.These letters provided important materials for studying the early development of Christianity, and also passed down many Christian doctrines and canons to later generations.These letters were later included in the New Testament. There are a total of 13 Paul's letters, most of which are long expositions, occasionally expressing opinions on certain specific issues, expounding issues such as faith, theology, and ethics.The discussion of ethics in it is similar to the Chinese Confucianism in some respects that "the emperor guides his ministers, the father guides his son, and the husband guides his wife." The state religion of Spain is Catholicism.In a Catholic country, Maria could not openly speak of the sacred Book of Paul, and declare it obsolete, without making Bishop Modrego furious.He refused to preside over the wedding for Samaranch and Maria as originally agreed. But the wedding took place as scheduled. On the morning of December 1st, the sky began to drizzle, which may be another shortcoming of Samaranch and Maria's wedding.But the number of guests who attended their wedding at the church did not decrease at all that day.In "Wedding March", Maria wears a white wedding dress, holding her father's right arm in her left hand, and walks from the door to the front of the altar.Samaranch was waiting there in a black dress. "Son, I give her to you. May you love each other until death," said Pedro Salisakis. After Maria kissed Samaranch, she turned around, held Samaranch's left arm with her right hand, passed through the crowd who came to bless her, and walked slowly towards the car at the door... After marriage, Maria is completely a "qualified wife".She cares about her husband's life and supports her husband's career.She often personally prepared for Samaranch his favorite fin fish with rice, and prepared clear soup, yogurt and fruit for him for dinner.Maria believes that the ideal summer outfit is a white top and gray trousers, and a beige suit is also chic.One can notice that Samaranch wears beige suits on many important occasions. After Samaranch entered the International Olympic Committee, Maria wholeheartedly supported her husband's work and career.With an eternal smile on her face, she deals with various forces and effectively coordinates the internal relations of the International Olympic Committee.From the following chapters, we can also see that during Samaranch's tenure as the president of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Games completely opened the door to women, and there were also a considerable number of women members in the International Olympic Committee, all of which were related to Maria's influence. It is inseparable from hard work, although Maria is not very interested in sports. As Maria recalled: "I didn't have much interest in sports, not even at all. But sports are part of Samaranch. Sometimes he was caught in sports 7 days a week. In family life During the period, he often spared some time for his children (the Samaranch couple have a son and a daughter, the son Juan Antonio is now an engineer, and the daughter Maria Teresa is a Ph. have a daughter), mostly concerned with their health and schoolwork. He also sometimes plays with the kids. Indeed, he maintains his place in family affairs. I marry him knowing full well that as a sports fan wife, I What should be done. I remember when he became the president of the IOC, the first time we went out was to watch a sports game. Later, we went out regularly, but often to play hockey or participate in other sports. He also often told me some international The relevant situation of the Olympic Committee gave me a better understanding of the International Olympic Committee and a deeper impression. Sometimes I also put forward some reasonable suggestions. He must carefully analyze these suggestions, and some suggestions were even accepted by him and his colleagues. Colleagues accepted." The life of the young couple after marriage is as sweet as honey water. They decorate their houses in a romantic and warm way, full of fun.At that time, Barcelona was warm like spring all year round, and there was not as much noise as it is now. They could sit quietly on the balcony to have dinner and chat with friends.Samaranch and Maria lived in their own "royal palace", contented and loving each other.Many friends of the two often came to their home for gatherings at that time, and their elegant residence in the outskirts of Barcelona became a famous social place in Barcelona at that time. Samaranch recalls those days still sweetly, "We didn't go out all the time, and there was no need to run on the road. We had our own well-decorated house, and we could create a dreamlike atmosphere. .It was a really good couple of years.” Until now, whenever he talked about Maria, Samaranch always showed pride: "She is very charming and never interferes with my work." At the critical moment, we can see Samaranch's true love for Maria. One day in 1958, Samaranch drove to Madrid on business.Unexpectedly, due to the excessive wear and tear of the vehicle, after barely driving to Madrid, it was no longer possible to drive that car back to Barcelona.Samaranch had to take an airplane instead. As the plane flew over Guadarrama, the pilot's anxious voice came over the loudspeaker.He told everyone that there was an abnormality in the aircraft engine.To ensure safety, the plane will drop the drop tanks and resort to a plan to get the plane to the ground as quickly as possible.He asked everyone not to panic.Fasten your seat belt and be prepared for unexpected situations that may arise. The plane lowered its altitude one after another. Samaranch had never faced such a critical moment. If the plane really had an accident, he couldn't leave this world without a sound. He thought he should leave something behind.What can be left?For whom? At this time, the only thing Samaranch thought of was Maria.Ignoring the voice of the priest who was praying to God beside him, he took the Parker pen from his coat pocket, took out a note, and began to write. The plane may touch the ground soon, danger may occur at any time, and there is not much time to think.Samaranch waved his slightly trembling wrist and hurriedly wrote: "Maria, my dear, I love you. No force can separate us." As the plane continued to descend, Samaranch seemed to have accomplished a major event and relaxed a lot.He silently waited for the catastrophic moment when the plane touched down.In his mind, and in front of his eyes, only the shadow of his beloved wife Maria. I don't know whether it was Samaranch's faith or the prayer of the priest who was sitting there. The plane made an emergency landing in a farmland. Only a few passengers were slightly injured, but Samaranch was safe and sound. Afterwards, Samaranch felt a little funny, maybe this time it wasn't the god of death threatening him, but the god of love was testing him.He has withstood the test.Maybe even he himself didn't realize that he loved Maria so deeply. A year after their marriage, Maria gave birth to a daughter, followed by a boy in November 1959.A family of four lives happily together.Samaranch felt the warmth and tranquility he had never felt before. However, happiness does not always revolve around Samaranch. Although he found a desirable partner, he lost his beloved father. In June 1957, Francisco passed away after a long illness.When he was dying, he called his whole family to him, divided the shares of Samaranch Co., Ltd. into 5, and bequeathed them to his 5 sons. The West Company was torn apart like that.He also advised his children not to get too deeply involved in politics and not to get involved in the banking industry. Before his death, Francisco was awarded the Meritorious Labor Medal and the honorary title of "Son of Barcelona City" for his outstanding contributions to Barcelona's textile industry and philanthropy.In order to leave his own ideas and business philosophy to future generations, he published two books, "Memories and Reality" and "Impressions" in 1950 and 1953, although the influence of the two books was very small ("Memories and Reality" was only printed published 10 copies, and "Impression" printed 30 copies), but it provides important materials for us to study the growth of Samaranch today.Part of the material about Samaranch's youth in this book comes from these two books. Soon after recovering from the pain of losing his father, Samaranch faced such a dilemma: should he follow his father's behest and work together with his brothers to develop Samaranch Co., Ltd.?Or should he devote himself to the sports and politics he loves according to his own wishes? Samaranch chose the latter.Yet he was on the right track.