• 50th birthday Its shocks, challenges and Queen Letizia's greatest enemy

  • TVE Jesús Álvarez retires: his beginnings, his friend Letizia, his 'brother' Matías Prats and his father-in-law, the businessman Emiliano Revilla, kidnapped by ETA

Last Friday, February 10, at the end of

Álvarez Café

with the rojiblanco Paulo Futre, Jesús Álvarez (64) said goodbye to Spanish television viewers.

"The poet said that ours is to pass. For me it has been a passing of 47 years in this house."

Almost three decades presenting sports information on TVE news until Rosa María Mateo's arrival as boss in 2018 and lately interviewing sports myths in

Álvarez café

made him

part of the scenery of Spanish life.

The son of a television legend with the same name, Jesús Álvarez represents the friendly face of television journalism, something that is not faked, since it is also his way of being off the screen.

"Are you going to call me in the interview? He asks surprised.

Jesús with Doña Letizia, at that time the presenter of the TVE newscast

A familiarity that he transmits even when interviewing aces of the sport, with most of whom he maintains good friendships.

"One of the defects of current journalism is the lack of human contact, young people use the Internet a lot,

I have an agenda of more than two thousand personal telephone numbers,"

she says.

He has witnessed historic events, such as Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup. "It was brutal, when Iniesta scored I thought: it's not possible, it was

the happiest moment of my journalistic career."

Also of Olympic medals, Alonso's podiums in Formula 1, or the triumphs of Rafa Nadal "the athlete I most admire humanly", he was even a partner of Queen Letizia in her stage as a newscaster,

With what taste in your mouth do you retire from TVE? With that of the person who has enjoyed a lot, because for 47 years I have had the privilege of attending all the great events of Spanish sport.

But also a little disappointed by this last stage in TVE, I have felt wasted.

I was already part of the furniture in the house and I offered them to do two programs as a finishing touch to my retirement, but I had no response.

I was very saddened that the current managers did not even have five minutes to receive me. Do you think it was a political issue? No, it is a matter of education. Is there life after TVE? Of course, I intend to continue being active, a journalist is like a doctor He never stops exercising.

I will continue in another medium or some platform. Always in sports? Sport is my thing, but it's a matter of trying,

For example, with human interviews with great people, similar to what he did at Álvarez Café.

I remember that I attended a medical congress and met the scientist Juan Carlos Izpisúa, a specialist in cell rejuvenation.

I was impressed by being able to gain years from life and I would love to interview him in depth. He is the son of a journalism legend, the first newscaster at the end of the 50s. How do you remember him? When my schoolmates started asking me for photos of him signed, I realized that I did not have an ordinary profession.

I saw him more on television than at home, he would get up very early to go to work and return when he was asleep, so when he said "good afternoon" on the midday news, he would greet him from home.

He had the misfortune of losing his father very soon and then his mother, Beatriz Cervantes, a well-known presenter, in an accident. I was 12 years old when my father died and the world fell on me, I felt very protected by him.

When my mother passed away four years later, I realized that he was alone in life, and I had to wake up because my future depended on my work.

I was thinking of studying engineering but I did Journalism because I liked it, it was in my genes and I could also work right away and earn money, in fact in my first year of my degree I started in a radio station. Is it true that Matías Prats father adopted you? No, he was ours guardian for legal issues.

He offered me to live with him, since he was close to my father, but I went to live with my aunt Lola Cervantes, a presenter and dubbing actress.

Why did you choose sport? On the radio my boss told me that without finishing my degree I couldn't write news, except for sports information, which at that time was in the second division, although I always loved sports. From there to TV. I was in the second year of my degree and Joaquín Soler Serrano, who directed the program 7 Días, called me and a year later I was presenting.

Now I see myself in those photos at 20 years old and I don't even know how they let me do it so young, I didn't cut myself off because ignorance is daring. Is the current TVE very different from then? It was the only television and also the great sports reference , I have reached 15 million audiences in a program.

It was also a highly respected medium and a benchmark for truthfulness, people to confirm a piece of news would say "they said it on television."

There was manipulation then, but not as blatant as now in certain channels. He married Margarita Revilla at the age of 26 and is the father of three children. Have they followed in his footsteps? My eldest son, Jesús, who is 27 years old, studied Journalism, the twins Rafael and Alejandro who are 25, have studied ADE and are great athletes, play field hockey professionally, Alejandro became league champion with his club and Rafa has debuted with the Spanish team. His father-in-law, businessman Emiliano Revilla, was kidnapped in 1988 by ETA, which kept you in captivity for eight months and you acted as a "liaison" for the family before the press.

How did you live those hard moments? It was terrible, my father-in-law, who is 94 years old, has been a father to me because I lost mine very young.

When they released him and I met him, I gave him the most intense hug of my life. What do you feel when you contemplate the power that Bildu has acquired with this government? I always say that ETA owes us eight months of life. He coincided with Doña Le:tizia during his time on TVE news.

How does she remember her? Like a breath of fresh air, she was a warrior and a fighter, also on screen she gave a very powerful image, she had a lot of hook.

You could tell that she was passionate about what she did, I was surprised when I found out about her commitment to the Prince and that she was leaving her profession, I really valued having gotten there. She will have many anecdotes with her. I remember that at first I wondered how she gave me It happened on the news, because she was not an expert in sports, I did the lead for her until in a short time she told me: don't worry, I'll do it.

I thought:

how quickly you learned. Do you still see each other? We were classmates and we got along well but we weren't friends.

We have coincided later in some acts.

At some awards that I was presenting at the Press Association and she was presiding with the Prince, I offered to join me on the stage, but she refused.

When it was Don Felipe's turn to say a few words, she said: "Jesus, you have asked for a princess but if you don't mind, bring a prince up."

El Rey is wonderful, I knew him from Los Rosales school, where my sons studied and he went to pick up his daughters.

I addressed him as Felipe, he is very normal to deal with. And how does she address the Queen? I still call her "Leti" as her news colleagues called her at that time.

She consents to me, with all due respect I don't get Lady or Majesty.

Do you still see each other? We were classmates and we got along but we weren't friends.

We have coincided later in some acts.

At some awards that I was presenting at the Press Association and she was presiding with the Prince, I offered to join me on the stage, but she refused.

When it was Don Felipe's turn to say a few words, she said: "Jesus, you have asked for a princess but if you don't mind, bring a prince up."

El Rey is wonderful, I knew him from Los Rosales school, where my sons studied and he went to pick up his daughters.

I addressed him as Felipe, he is very normal to deal with. And how does she address the Queen? I still call her "Leti" as her news colleagues called her at that time.

She consents to me, with all due respect I don't get Lady or Majesty.

Do you still see each other? We were classmates and we got along but we weren't friends.

We have coincided later in some acts.

At some awards that I was presenting at the Press Association and she was presiding with the Prince, I offered to join me on the stage, but she refused.

When it was Don Felipe's turn to say a few words, she said: "Jesus, you have asked for a princess but if you don't mind, bring a prince up."

El Rey is wonderful, I knew him from Los Rosales school, where my sons studied and he went to pick up his daughters.

I addressed him as Felipe, he is very normal to deal with. And how does she address the Queen? I still call her "Leti" as her news colleagues called her at that time.

She consents to me, with all due respect I don't get Lady or Majesty.

At some awards that I was presenting at the Press Association and she was presiding with the Prince, I offered to join me on the stage, but she refused.

When it was Don Felipe's turn to say a few words, she said: "Jesus, you have asked for a princess but if you don't mind, bring a prince up."

El Rey is wonderful, I knew him from Los Rosales school, where my sons studied and he went to pick up his daughters.

I addressed him as Felipe, he is very normal to deal with. And how does she address the Queen? I still call her "Leti" as her news colleagues called her at that time.

She consents to me, with all due respect I don't get Lady or Majesty.

At some awards that I was presenting at the Press Association and she was presiding with the Prince, I offered to join me on the stage, but she refused.

When it was Don Felipe's turn to say a few words, she said: "Jesus, you have asked for a princess but if you don't mind, bring a prince up."

El Rey is wonderful, I knew him from Los Rosales school, where my sons studied and he went to pick up his daughters.

I addressed him as Felipe, he is very normal to deal with. And how does she address the Queen? I still call her "Leti" as her news colleagues called her at that time.

She consents to me, with all due respect I don't get Lady or Majesty.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • TVE

  • ETA

  • Spain Soccer Team

  • bildu

  • Fernando Alonso

  • Rosa Maria Mateo

  • Rafael Nadal

  • Queen Letizia

  • Letizia Ortiz

  • Juan Carlos Izpisua