Luis de Llano

"But Anselmo did fall in love with Mexico. He and his wife Mary stayed for 12 years and had three children. Anselmo wrote copy for radio commercials for JWT, and in his free time directed plays for the English-speaking community theater group. He quickly built a network of contacts in the Mexican media and ventured into Spanish-language theater. Since at that time Emilio Jr. was also dabbling in theater, it was inevitable that their paths would cross. In 1954, Emilio and René became friends. Over the following years, together with Luis de Llano of TSM, they produced various Broadway musicals. Generally, Azcárraga provided the capital, Anselmo produced, and De Llano directed. For those who worked with the trio, René was the diplomat: if Emilio lost his temper with someone, René would smooth things over, waiting until his friend was out of earshot to say, “Don’t worry, what Emilio meant is…”"

"On one occasion, during a meeting with Luis de Llano, Don Emilio noticed that the man wasn’t feeling well. De Llano explained to him that, since the Spanish Civil War, when he was wounded in the head by a bullet fired by a Messerschmitt, he had suffered recurrent headaches. Don Emilio said he was very sorry, but went on discussing programming. From time to time, as he did during one-on-one meetings, he would turn away and speak quietly on the phone and then come back to continue the discussion. When De Llano stood up to leave, his boss stopped him: “You will take a few days and go to New York”—he almost ordered. “You will see Doctor Wicks at Roosevelt Hospital; he will take care of you. Everything is arranged.” De Llano was absent for 14 days, six shrapnel fragments were removed from his skull, and he did not pay a single cent."