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He listened with great interest. I now held a professorial chair and succeeded
in communicating to him my conviction and enthusiasm. Halfway through
the visit the Minister, a member of Opus Dei, took me by the arm and said
encouragingly, ‘Paco, we must somehow make this happen, whatever it takes.’
They invited me to have lunch with them at Las Cañadas Parador. First, we
heard mass at the chapel of the Parador, an habitual procedure at the time
among Franco’s ministers. During dessert the minister said that he wanted to
meet with me, the Chancellor, and the Manager of the University, together
with his Director General of Planning and Investment, who was accompanying him. I still remember, every time I pass that parador and the place where
we met behind closed doors (it was a bedroom). I began by giving a short
summary of the many good things that were beginning to happen and I then
went on to detail our precarious economic situation. He stopped me short
and asked me point blank how much I needed. Thinking of possible
Fig. 6.4 Jesús Rubio García-Mina, Minister for National Education, on a visit to Izaña
in 1961 to inspect site prospection activities at Teide Observatory, which he had created by ministerial order. The author explains the use of the telescope for measuring
atmospheric turbulence. (Credit: F. Sánchez)
F. Sánchez
He listened with great interest. I now held a professorial chair and succeeded
in communicating to him my conviction and enthusiasm. Halfway through
the visit the Minister, a member of Opus Dei, took me by the arm and said
encouragingly, ‘Paco, we must somehow make this happen, whatever it takes.’
They invited me to have lunch with them at Las Cañadas Parador. First, we
heard mass at the chapel of the Parador, an habitual procedure at the time
among Franco’s ministers. During dessert the minister said that he wanted to
meet with me, the Chancellor, and the Manager of the University, together
with his Director General of Planning and Investment, who was accompanying him. I still remember, every time I pass that parador and the place where
we met behind closed doors (it was a bedroom). I began by giving a short
summary of the many good things that were beginning to happen and I then
went on to detail our precarious economic situation. He stopped me short
and asked me point blank how much I needed. Thinking of possible
Fig. 6.4 Jesús Rubio García-Mina, Minister for National Education, on a visit to Izaña
in 1961 to inspect site prospection activities at Teide Observatory, which he had created by ministerial order. The author explains the use of the telescope for measuring
atmospheric turbulence. (Credit: F. Sánchez)
F. Sánchez