Emilio

"The old man’s strategy worked better than he could have imagined. At the suggestion of his friend Gerardo Rodríguez, with whom he used to go horseback riding every morning, Emilio traveled to San Sebastián, Spain. There, through Gerardo’s friends, he joined a circle of friends that included several expatriate French. At a party he met a young and wealthy Parisian girl, who would surely meet Don Emilio’s approval. Her name was Pamella de Surmont, and she would be the next Mrs. Azcárraga."

"Another favorite of Don Emilio who contributed to TSM’s growth, but was not an employee, was his nephew Víctor Rivero Azcárraga. Víctor showed he had a firm character from a very young age by refusing to offer a bribe to avoid performing military service. After finishing his service, he founded Majestic, a factory of radio and television sets, for which Azcárraga Vidaurreta lent him the capital. Don Emilio never had an equity stake in that company, but the advantages for his own business were obvious, since if there were more televisions accessible to the public, TSM’s advertising revenues would increase. To promote the business, Don Emilio gave Majestic free airtime to advertise and financed the company’s expansion. The company grew rapidly, and Rivero —three or four years older than his cousin Emilio— was a wealthy man at the age of 30. Don Emilio took pride in this and used to exclaim: “This is a hardworking Azcárraga!” For several decades, while there were high taxes on imported products, Majestic produced many of the televisions that were sold in the country."

"Emilio had no specific purpose for his trip to Europe other than to gorge himself on all the pleasures he could find. And so he did. Accompanied by Othón, he traveled from one city to another, drinking, visiting nightclubs, and buying the company of prostitutes. At one point, while they were staying at the Palace Hotel in Madrid, they ran out of money. They were unsure how long it would take to receive funds from Emilio’s mother, so since he and Othón had been treated very well at a local brothel, they decided to ask the madam for help. As these charismatic young Mexicans were the favorites there, they were allowed to stay for a week, were fed, and had their wishes fulfilled free of charge, or at least on credit. From Madrid they went to Paris, Munich, and Vienna, sometimes accompanied by Novoa and Alemán Velasco."

"Although he had not yet turned 21, there were few restrictions in Emilio’s life. One of them was his father’s ban on acquiring a motorcycle, so, secretly, Emilio rode a powerful Indian Four lent to him by José de la Herrán Jr. Emilio continued with some business administration courses at the Technological Institute of Mexico. Nevertheless, like any rich kid, he didn’t worry about getting degrees. He also didn’t have much desire to work with his father; in fact, he resisted doing so. He trusted his abilities and wanted to succeed on his own, so obtaining a degree was utterly irrelevant. After his foray into selling encyclopedias with Othón—which, as Emilio would later admit, brought in a lot of money—the two friends began acquiring radio sets, with money that Emilio had borrowed from his mother. With another friend, Miguel Alemán Velasco, the president’s son, Emilio helped Othón start a business selling televisions."

"In his quest to prove that he could be a businessman on his own, the young Azcárraga invested in several independent companies. One of them, which he had started shortly before Emilio and Silvia met, was Super Remate de Autos. The idea was to sell used cars and loose spare parts through long advertisements that ran on Channel 2 on weekend mornings, airtime for which there was little demand. The business was launched in 1954 and was so successful that it continued for 19 years. Don Emilio did not grant him loans, but beginning in 1955 Emilio Jr. was able to obtain his own capital by offering his shares in TSM as collateral. Thus, he invested in the first Broadway musicals that came to Mexico, including Bells Are Ringing (Ring-ring, Love Calls), which starred Pinal. Although audience response was good, the 12-peso cap that the government imposed on ticket prices prevented these shows from turning a profit."

"Gina’s death also had a defining impact on Emilio’s relationships with women throughout his life. He never again practiced monogamy; he was not going to allow himself to lose control again by giving himself so completely to a relationship. He became a man of several wives and many lovers, most of them in their twenties and almost all discarded after a few years, once he had grown bored with them or when another younger one, another temporary substitute for Gina’s image, crossed his path. Forty years after Gina’s death, Emilio would say that passion was the most powerful thing there is, but he did not believe in happiness; happiness comes and goes, he would say."

"Despite his playboy image, Emilio was gaining presence within TSM. His charm and energy, his growing powers of persuasion, and his imposing height guaranteed that he would become a skillful salesman. These attributes, and the fact that his father let him venture into different sectors within TSM, allowed him to earn the respect of the young employees and create his own power base. The circle began with Othón Vélez Jr. Over time, Vélez became the company’s chief sales executive, although his beginnings did not portend it. After graduating from Culver in 1949, he set up a used-car business in Mexico City that never turned a profit. Although his father assumed the losses, he refused to use his influence to get his son a job at XEW, thinking that Othón Jr. should continue trying to make his own way. But he did help him obtain a license to sell televisions, representing the American company Capehart. It was not until 1957, the year Vélez retired, that Othón Jr. entered XEW. There he frequently worked shoulder to shoulder with Emilio Jr., and the two friends became an efficient sales team. Emilio contributed his charm and Othón his wit and irreverence; the combination was a success."

"For those who saw them up close there was no doubt that Azcárraga Vidaurreta loved his son and had big plans for him. But the old man’s rough, demanding nature annoyed Emilio. The father’s severity led him to develop a growing ambition, the desire to succeed independently and leave his own mark. But it also alienated this temperamental young man and caused him to keep on carousing. The beautiful actresses and singers who paraded through the doors of XEW and Televicentro provided him with a good pastime. There was reciprocity: by the mid-1950s, Emilio had filled out and was extremely attractive, so the combination of looks, charm, and power made him irresistible to many of the young stars."

"Pimstein invested much of his profits in racehorses, but he failed to keep maintenance costs under control and became seriously indebted. Azcárraga Milmo not only agreed to lend him money, but also helped him buy a house by guaranteeing the mortgage. The young Emilio recognized a friendship worth cultivating, and once again his hunch was right. When Pimstein began to repay the loan, Emilio told him: “It’s the first time I’ve done something for someone and they take it into account. In all the other cases in which I’ve lent money, they lose it or disappear. I want you to work with me full-time.”"

"Before long, Emilio introduced René to his father, suggesting that it could be very useful to hire that very dynamic gringo, who had a terrible Spanish pronunciation but a very good head for the entertainment business. Don Emilio accepted, and in 1955 Anselmo was put in charge of running a new subsidiary: Teleprogramas de México, which would be responsible for exporting TSM’s programs to Central America and the United States. It was the first version of an operation that, four decades later, under the name Protele, would become the most prolific exporter of television programs in the Spanish-speaking world, with annual sales of more than 100 million dollars."

"On June 9, 1958, three months after Emilio and Pamella’s wedding in Paris, a new genre appeared on Channel 4 that would gradually revolutionize Mexican television and put it at the forefront of the Spanish-speaking world. With the actress Silvia Derbez, the Spanish immigrant Francisco Jambrina, and the Cuban Dalia Íñiguez in the starring roles, Senda prohibida went on the air, the first telenovela to be produced daily in Mexico."

"“If you stay an actor, before long you’ll be only a memory,” he warned. “But if you become a television producer, you can be successful for the rest of your life.” It was one of the first examples of Emilio’s ability to anticipate the future. Alonso signed a contract with Procter & Gamble, one of the major sponsors of television, and as a team with the Cuban writer Caridad Bravo Adams he produced his first telenovelas, El otro and Pecado mortal, in 1960. Soon, Alonso became a notable creative force within Mexican television. He explored new themes, convinced prestigious writers to work with him (as in the 1962 historical fantasy Las momias de Guanajuato), and raised the level of production with his good taste for mounting period settings and lavishly decorating his. sets Ever the leading man, he continued accepting starring roles, but now on the small screen."

"Valentín Pimstein, who along with Alonso would come to dominate television production in Mexico, also became a friend of Emilio in the mid-1950s. Pimstein arrived from Chile at the beginning of that decade, knowing no one, but in love with Mexican music and cinema, and hoping to make films with Gregorio Walerstein. Pimstein had worked in Chilean cinema and shared Walerstein’s Jewish ethnicity, but the great Mexican producer hired him only as a junior assistant."