What everyone wants out of a resort, varies depending on personal choice .and I prefer the Spanish side, consequently if you asked me about English bars and nightclubs,
then I wouldn't know one from the other .my days of staying up until 2 am have long gone, I am usually tucked up in bed before midnight, however, I am probably up and walking by the sea on sunrise, when most are still in bed.Where did it all begin"¦the love affair with the Brits and Benidorm?
Well, it started in the 50`s when a man called Pedro Zaragoza Orts went on his moped to Madrid, to persuade the dictator General Franco, to lift the bikini ban that was the law at that time"¦the journey took him 8 hours on his moped and a new phenomenon in the tourist industry was created.
As a young man he travelled around Spain, and the death of his father brought him back to Benidorm, he later became the "mayor" of Benidorm, armed with only a few pesetas and a few council employees"¦but he had a dream!
The books say that Benidorm was a fishing port and it is true that they lived off the sea, but this was not the main source of income.
Benidorm had always been popular with people going there for a short break by the sea, but by the late 50`s people from Europe were visiting in droves . the young Pedro had a vision, he later qualified in tourism and "took on" Franco in a case that was known as "the bikini war".
He realised that if you want tourists, then you have to accommodate their culture and what they want to wear.
The bikini was seen as a "tool of the devil" in the Catholic Spain of the 1950`s who were entwined as state and church, and things came to a head, when a women was told to cover up by the Guardia Civil, when she was sitting in a bar opposite the beach she refused, hit them and was fined 40,000 pesetas"¦a lot of money in those days.
In stepped Pedro, and he took the epic journey to Madrid in 1959 to gain an audience with Franco, everyone thought he was looney, but he did get an audience, and the bikini ban was lifted, Benidorm being the first town to achieve this.
He didn't` stop there, he promoted wine from Valencia was Benidorm`s "mayor" for 16 years, and many people were " short sighted" when he insisted that the Avda Mediterrano be made wide there were only a handful of cars around at the time, but his vision and dream became the place we love today.
When he was asked why tourism.? instead of following in his fathers footsteps as a captain on the transatlantic ships he said we have the sun, sea and the beaches enough said.!!!
Finally, Benidorm takes its name from the Arabic "Bendahrim" the name of the family that initially colonised the area.
I think I need to get some housework done
and are we any better for knowing all this.? Besos xxx
sanJi
. It was Dad not me who made the comments. I wouldn't dream of upsetting you when you trailed all the way to the Flamingo Oasis for me to check out the best rooms. I really appreciated that 
