This is the man who invented the best New Years Eve party in the world

Not in New York, not in Sydney, not in Paris. The best way to celebrate the start of the year is celebrated in Madrid and three friends pulled it out of their sleeves while having a few beers in a bar in Vallecas, back in the 60s of the last century. "It all started as a kind of joke. Carlos Roa and Manolo Fernández and I were

on Monte Igueldo de Vallecas street and I told them that I was tired of organizing cross at Casa de Campo and going back to house up to the top of mud,

, recalls Antonio Sabugueiro, founder of founder and president of the San Silvestre Vallecana Association.

Said and done. With much more enthusiasm than resources, Sabugueiro had no choice but to use ingenuity and contacts to materialize his idea: "We were starting from scratch. These

and money, of course, was not abundant. So, although I was the head of sports services from all over Madrid, I had to turn to the Vallecas district chief, Ramón Sánchez Anaya, who managed more budget than me, to support us financially as much as possible. "

The 5,000 pesetas that Sánchez Anaya lent them were enough to celebrate, in 1964, the first edition of a race predestined to become one of the great events on the international calendar: "The route, which ran through Vallecas, was very short,

Not even traffic was cut off.

participated

and Jesus Hurtado, from Real Madrid, who at that time had a great athletic team, won out. I remember people cheating on us and yelling at us from the bars.

! ", Remembers Sabugueiro.

What was originally going to be called the Vallecas Grand Prix was renamed the day after it had been held for the first time by a sports journalist: "In the chronicle of the newspaper MARCA, which was for me like the Gospel, José Luis Gilabert told that Madrid finally had its

and I loved the idea of ​​calling it that way ".

So much so that, "although, at first, I had thought that it would take place on the last Sunday of the year, I decided to

to make it coincide with the saints for that day."

From that moment, the race became dependent on Rayo Vallecano and "began to pull up" to the delight of its promoters who did not give up in their efforts to knock on all the doors and for having in search of the necessary financial resources to boost your dream. "I dedicated myself to

everywhere. And, little by little, my efforts began to bear fruit. I remember with special affection the support that the then president of the Central Bank, Alfonso Escámez, gave us."

Turned into the most anticipated event in Vallecas, the people of the Rayista clubs joined Sabugueiro in his mission to make his beloved San Silvestre grow. "They were dedicated to going through the neighborhood establishments to invite the merchants to collaborate with what they could.

... Each one contributed what they had and we stored it all in the bar from the stadium until the day of the race. "

In his incessant search for ideas to enhance the test, his mentor came up with the idea of ​​appointing an exceptional godmother every year. "Each edition, we invited one of the great stars of the moment to sponsor the competition.

, to name a few, were some of those who kicked off a race in the that, by the way, participation was open to women from its first edition ".

Focus of attention for the best national and international athletes who indicated December 31 as one of the most important dates in their competition agenda, the test made the final leap in 1977 thanks to the suggestion of another journalist, this time, radiophonic: "One day, I went to the Iñaki Gabilondo program and Pepe Domingo Castaño told me that the race was very good for the elite but that those who ran as a hobby, like himself, also wanted the idea of ​​ending the year jogging through the streets of Madrid.

".

Antonio Sabugueiro, founder and president of the San Silvestre Vallecana Association.

The father of the 'Sansil' is "crowded with memories" when he speaks of his creature: "We have lived so many

throughout these years that it is impossible for me to highlight one in particular although the one I do remember is from the year that I had to take the grapes just because I couldn't join my family due to the organization of the race. "

USUAL ROUTE

Back after the forced parenthesis imposed by the coronavirus in 2020, the San Silvestre will once again become, on December 31, the best way to say goodbye to the year for the 40,000 popular runners who are scheduled to participate in a test that will return to leave Concha Espina to conclude in Candilejas after traveling the most magical 10 kilometers on the planet. An unrepeatable experience that Marije Scholma, Deputy General Manager and Director of Employee Experience at Nationale-Nederlanden Spain, will repeat: "Without a doubt, it is one of the

I have had in an official career. Many people had told me about it before that I could participate in it but, until I did, I could not appreciate how special it is. More than a sports event,

. "

Sponsors of more than fifty races around the world for decades, the support that, year after year, their group lends to Vallecana, is one more example of "our firm commitment to sport as a guarantor of

. We love being able to contribute to taking sports practice out onto the streets, bringing it closer to the people. "

Sabugueiro listens excitedly to Scholma's words.

"If I am aware of what we have bundled? I am very demanding with myself. Seeing what we have achieved, the people we move and that more than two thousand 'wild san' have emerged in different locations throughout the country is for me a proud".

And is not for less.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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